The Freedom Together Foundation paid its environment senior vice president more than $900,000 in salary and benefits in 2024—outearning every other executive except the CEO at the $3.3 billion philanthropy, according to a new report from the Capital Research Center. The same year, the foundation directed $20.4 million to organizations opposing traditional energy development, making it one of the largest funders of anti-energy advocacy in the country. The report, published as part of the center's "Enemies of Energy" series, examines how the foundation formerly known as the JPB Foundation channels its wealth toward environmental activism under new leadership.
The foundation's 2024 tax filing shows it gave more than $9.2 million to four major environmental groups: GRID Alternatives received $3 million, Earthjustice got $2.5 million, the Sierra Club Foundation received $1 million, and 350 Seattle was granted $250,000. Another $11.1 million went to the Windward Fund, described in the report as a major pass-through donor that redistributes money to other anti-energy organizations. The environment SVP's compensation package exceeded those of the foundation's senior vice presidents overseeing investments, poverty, and democracy issues—all of whom earned less than $600,000. Even the chief financial officer made less than the environment chief.
The foundation underwent a major transformation in 2024, changing its name from the JPB Foundation and installing new leadership. According to the report, founder Barbara Picower stepped down as president and appointed Deepak Bhargava, a former ACORN organizer and longtime head of the activist group Community Change. Bhargava previously served as board chair of the climate group 350.org and held advisory roles at the Open Society Foundations. His 2023 book, "Practical Radicals: Seven Strategies to Change the World," was praised by Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Pramila Jayapal as "a vital resource for progressives who want to win" and noted that "our movements must seek and win governing power to achieve our visions for a more just society," the report states.
The report's author, Robert Stilson, wrote that Freedom Together's grantmaking "illustrates how a fortune that was committed to charity can be deployed by professional activists to fund distinctly political causes—even radical ones aimed at completely upending society." The foundation was built on wealth from the late billionaire Jeffry Picower, who died in 2009, leaving his widow Barbara to oversee what became one of the most powerful forces in progressive philanthropy. Despite controlling billions, the foundation was "largely unknown in nonprofit circles" as recently as 2019, with grantees reportedly using "Barbara" as shorthand for the foundation itself due to Picower's hands-on control. Under Bhargava's leadership and with an environment chief earning nearly as much as many foundation CEOs, the rechristened Freedom Together appears positioned to expand its influence over energy policy debates for years to come.