A Curtain Falls on Arabella: Gates Foundation Steps Away from the Dark Money Machine

The Gates Foundation has quietly drawn a curtain on one of the most powerful conduits of money in American politics, halting support for the network of nonprofit funds managed by Arabella Advisors, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

An internal June 24 announcement, circulated among foundation staff who oversee grants, made no mention of politics. Instead, it spoke in the gentle language of mission and legacy — of building “deeper, more durable relationships” with partners “embedded in the communities we serve.” Yet the effect was unmistakable: one of the world’s most influential philanthropies stepping back from a machine long criticized as the beating heart of Democratic “dark money.”

Arabella’s reach is immense. Its constellation of funds has poured hundreds of millions into left-of-center causes and advocacy groups, often through channels difficult to trace. In 2022 alone, the network raised more than $1 billion, fueling campaigns and policy pushes across the country.

The Gates Foundation, in its public statement to the Times, cast the move as nothing more than a “business decision” — the outcome of “regular strategic assessments of partnerships and operating models.” In practice, that decision means no new grants to Arabella-related entities, no extensions on existing commitments, and where possible, an early exit from long-term investments.

Founded in 2005 by Eric Kessler, a Clinton administration veteran and Democratic operative, Arabella has become synonymous with the infrastructure of the modern progressive movement. Its affiliates have funneled millions into environmental groups, voter engagement operations, and battleground-state registration drives. In 2022, its nonprofit arms spent over $4 million bolstering turnout efforts in key states.

For the Gates Foundation, whose fortune underwrites health campaigns and education efforts across the globe, the shift represents something larger than a bookkeeping choice. It signals a recalibration — a step away from partisan machinery, and toward something the foundation says will be more rooted, more enduring, more true to the legacy it wishes to leave behind.

Five anonymous sources told the New York Times that some of Arabella’s own clients, wary that President Donald Trump might one day turn his gaze toward their operations, have quietly explored ways to loosen their dependence on the firm’s vast machinery.