OUR INDEPENDENCE IS AT RISK
& OUR FUNDING HAS BEEN STOPPED

For 40 Years, Community Power Has Been Our North Star

For four decades, the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation has supported community organizing to advance justice, equity, and dignity for all. Our ability to fund grassroots movements, those fighting for racial justice, climate action, immigrants’ and workers’ rights, and LGBTQ+ dignity, has always depended on one essential principle:

Independence.

That independence is now at risk.

Corporate Interference Threatens a Proven Model of Community-Led, Progressive Philanthropy

Unilever/Magnum has been attempting to assert authority over the Foundation for over a year.
These attempts include:

• Imposing an undefined forensic audit and refusing to share the full audit report.
• Demanding unprecedented authority over Foundation Board appointments
• Withholding required funding.

Let’s be clear:

This isn’t about governance. This isn’t about an audit.

This is about whether a corporation can pressure an independent foundation for its human rights advocacy.

We cannot allow corporate interests to decide which communities, values, or viewpoints are “acceptable” in progressive philanthropy. Our mission exists precisely to support people challenging entrenched power and systemic injustice.

Our Commitment

We remain steadfast in our dedication to:

• Transparency
• Responsible stewardship
• Partnership with communities most impacted by injustice
• Protecting a legally established model of independent, community-rooted philanthropy

We will take whatever steps are necessary to defend our autonomy and ensure our work supporting people-powered justice continues without corporate interference.

A Message from Foundation Leadership

“TMICC is a multi-billion-dollar multinational corporation. This is exactly the kind of David and Goliath fight our grantees face every day – and like them we are not backing down. It breaks our hearts that we are being forced to step back at such an urgent time, when community organizations across the country who rely on funders like us are facing growing resistance in their fights for justice, human dignity, and environmental protection.”

— Liz Bankowski

Our Message is Simple: #HandsOffTheFoundation

Human rights work and progressive philanthropy must remain free from corporate interference.