Just a third of money spent in 2014 went to grants, program services
The Clinton Foundation spent more on employee salaries and benefits than grants and foreign programs in 2014, according to the group’s most recent disclosure form.
A review of the Clinton Foundation’s latest Form 990 showed that just a third of the funds the group spent went to grants and foreign programs, while nearly 40 percent went to salary, compensation, and other benefits for employees. This seems to conflict with Bill Clinton’s recent comparison of himself and his foundation to Robin Hood.
While the Clinton Foundation has received hundreds of millions from foreign governments, businesses, foundations, and well-connected and deep-pocketed individuals, a review of the foundation’s most recent financial statements showed that the Clintons spent only a fraction of the money they raised through the foundation to help other groups in 2014.
The Clinton Foundation raised a total of $172,579,474 in gifts, grants, contributions, and membership fees, and spent around $91 million in 2014, according to the group’s filings.
Of the $91 million that the foundation spent in 2014, just $5,160,385, or 5.6 percent, went to grants and assistance. Additionally, the Clinton Foundation spent $23,650,328 in 2014 on “climate and economic development,” “investments,” “program services,” and “economic development” outside of America.
In total, the foundation counted $28,810,713 towards grants and foreign program funds, or just a third of the amount it spent throughout 2014.
Far more was spent on staff, travel, and conferences that same year.
The Clintons paid out $34,838,106 in salaries, compensation, and other employee benefits in 2014, or 38 percent of the money it spent.
The foundation also spent $7,863,286 on travel and $12,469,045 on conferences, conventions, and meetings. Almost half as much went to payroll taxes ($2,495,958) as went to grants ($5,160,385).
The Clinton Foundation argues that it has spent far more on “program service expenses” than on grants alone.
The foundation told the Free Beacon that it had spent $72 million on program service expenses in 2014—a sum that would inflate the total amount spent on programs to around 80 percent.
However, this number does not tell the whole story. The Clinton Foundation is a public charity and is not judged by charity watchdogs on grant-giving alone, like private charities. Public charities can include operational costs in the “program service expenses” category, as they say costs go to on-the-ground work.
The Clinton Foundation breaks down its total expenses by adding together three categories: fundraising expenses, management and general expenses, and program service expenses.
On the group’s Form 990, expenses across all three categories are broken down into numerous line items including money spent on grants and other assistance, compensation of current officers, directors, trustees, and employees, other salaries and wages, pension plan accruals, payroll taxes, management, legal, accounting, travel, conferences, and occupancy, among others. This information is shown on page 10 of the foundation’s tax returns.
All of these line items are included in the $72 million the Clinton Foundation claims to have spent on programs.
The Clinton Foundation did not return a follow-up inquiry about the amount it spent on salaries and benefits versus the amount it spent on grants and foreign program funds.
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