Now that he’s running for governor, we’re hearing a lot more about U.S. Rep. Jared Polis’s foundation and all of the money he contributes to his causes.
And he should. Wednesday’s announcement that U.S. Rep. Daryl Issa will retire means Polis could soon be the richest man in Congress with an estimated worth of more than $300 million.
However, less than one percent of his money actually goes to the Jared Polis Foundation.
And the largest beneficiary of his foundation is his executive director, Gina Nocera, not the New American School for new immigrants or the Academy of Urban Learning for homeless youth. It wasn’t the teacher or technology grants or the school grants that he’s always boasting about.
PeakPolitics™ did a deep dive into the Jared Polis Foundation’s tax returns from 2010 through 2015 (the most recent available), and a clear pattern emerged:
He donated a total of $2,220,250 — a hefty tax break— while less than a quarter of the money actually went to charities and grants.
Nocera earned a total of $642,623 in salaries and expenses, more than the grants, combined. We didn’t include her benefits.
Meanwhile, the foundations’s five grant programs plus a pot of miscellaneous donations received a total of $514,119.
The remaining $1,063,508 went to expenses and stuff.
Here’s the breakdown of total grant payouts from 2010 through 2015:
- $205,574 Mini technology grants
- $199,561 Teacher grants
- $75,000 School grants
- $24,324 Miscellaneous donations
- $6,150 Academy of Urban Learning
- $3,510 New America School
If Polis is serious about his charitable works and wants to convince us he can handle the state’s budget as governor, then he needs to get his own house in order and make sure his funding is actually going to those in need and not for meals, paper clips, and his one staffer.
For donating only 23 percent of less than one percent of his money to charities, we give Polis an F for lack of effort.