Craig Newmark Philanthropies

What Craig Newmark Philanthropies does

Craig Newmark Philanthropies is a private nonprofit philanthropic foundation established by Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist, to channel his personal wealth into charitable giving. Founded around 2015–2016 and headquartered in San Francisco, the foundation operates with a small staff of 11–50 employees and has distributed more than $500 million cumulatively across its focus areas: veterans and military families, cybersecurity and cyber civil defense, trustworthy journalism and press freedom, voter protection, and women in technology. Grants are awarded through a rolling application process to IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) organizations, with multi-year commitments funded annually based on progress. The foundation has no commercial products or revenue model; it functions as a pass-through vehicle for the founder's giving, and its sole operational program beyond grantmaking is the Take9 public-service cybersecurity awareness campaign (PauseTake9.org), launched in partnership with the Aspen Institute and expanded in 2026 with Sesame Street's Count von Count as spokesperson.

The foundation's business model is philanthropy-as-distribution rather than revenue generation. It does not sell products or services, has no pricing model, and generates no commercial revenue; all capital deployed comes from Craig Newmark's personal fortune derived from Craigslist. The 2025 Giving Pledge commitment, under which Newmark pledged $450 million toward giving away the majority of his wealth, formalizes the long-term payout trajectory. Grantees operate with significant autonomy after funding, and the foundation explicitly markets an operating philosophy of avoiding 'slowness and red tape.' Major strategic partners include the Bob Woodruff Foundation, Blue Star Families, IAVA, CUNY, Stanford Internet Observatory, Wikimedia Foundation, Common Sense Media, and ProPublica, reflecting a diversified portfolio spanning national security, civic infrastructure, and media.

The foundation has no proprietary technology stack, no software products, and no AI/ML capabilities. Its communications footprint is primarily organic social media (X, LinkedIn, Mastodon, Bluesky) and a website newsroom used for press releases and impact storytelling. Geographic focus is overwhelmingly United States-based with one disclosed Kenya initiative; the foundation's competitive position rests entirely on the founder's personal brand, his Craigslist-derived wealth, and the resulting ability to make large, rapid, and flexible grants to grassroots organizations in priority cause areas.

Name

Craig Newmark Philanthropies

Legal name

Craig Newmark Foundation

Website

https://craignewmarkphilanthropies.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Craig Newmark Philanthropies is a private nonprofit foundation established by Craigslist founder Craig Newmark that has distributed over $500 million in grants to nonprofit organizations focused on veterans and military families, cybersecurity and cyber civil defense, trustworthy journalism, voter protection, and women in technology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC), Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Nonprofit foundation
• Veterans support
• Cybersecurity advocacy
• Journalism funding

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Giving: Craig Newmark Philanthropies operates as a philanthropic foundation that provides grants to nonprofit organizations working in priority areas including veterans, cybersecurity, journalism, and voter protection. The organization is funded by Craig Newmark's personal wealth from Craigslist.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Craig Newmark Philanthropies is a charitable foundation that provides grant funding to nonprofit organizations working in veterans and military family support, trustworthy journalism, cybersecurity education and cyber civil defense, voter protection, and women in technology. The foundation reviews grant proposals on a rolling basis and releases contributions annually for multi-year efforts, while also operating the Take9 public cybersecurity awareness campaign (PauseTake9.org) in partnership with the Aspen Institute.

Product overview

Craig Newmark Philanthropies is a charitable foundation operated by Craigslist founder Craig Newmark. The organization does not offer commercial technology products; instead, it provides grant funding and operates public service initiatives. Its primary offerings include the Take9 cybersecurity awareness campaign (PauseTake9.org) encouraging people to pause before clicking on suspicious content, and various grant programs supporting veterans and military families, trustworthy journalism, cybersecurity clinics, voter protection, and women in technology. The foundation has donated over $500 million to these causes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grant Programs Ongoing grant funding for 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations working on cybersecurity, veterans and military families, trustworthy journalism, voter protection, and women in technology. The foundation reviews proposals on a rolling basis and releases contributions for multi-year efforts annually based on successful progress. Grant applicants must provide an IRS determination letter, 501(c)(3) status proof, and completed Information Request forms.
• Take9 Cybersecurity Awareness Campaign A public service campaign encouraging people to count to nine seconds before clicking on suspicious online content to avoid scams. The initiative aims to protect individuals, communities, and national infrastructure from online fraud and infrastructure threats, and partners with Sesame Street's Count von Count character as a spokesperson.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $500 million given to support veterans, journalism, cybersecurity, and pigeon rescue
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

23 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• CUNY Journalism SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 January 2024$10 million donation to help make the journalism school tuition-free.
• Aspen InstituteflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership for the Take9 cybersecurity campaign launched in 2024, expanded in 2026 with Sesame Street's Count von Count as spokesperson. Initiative aims to protect individuals, communities, and national infrastructure from online fraud and infrastructure threats.
• Common Sense MediacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 September 2023Partnership to advance awareness and advocacy for AI, cybersecurity, and tech safety.
• American Press InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 January 2020$388,000 grant to build real-time network of newsroom leaders and experts to combat disinformation during 2020 election.
• ProPublicacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 January 2020$1 million gift to support Electionland collaboration for national and local reporting on voting issues around 2020 US elections.
• PEN AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 January 2020$250,000 gift to fight disinformation and harassment online, expand online harassment self-defense trainings for newsrooms.
• Global Cyber AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 December 2019$750K gift to launch Craig Newmark Trustworthy Internet and Democracy Program and Craig Newmark Scholars Program. Initiative provides free cybersecurity toolkits to news outlets, election officials, and community organizations.
• Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 December 2019$500,000 matching donation to support post-9/11 veterans. Newmark serves on IAVA Board of Directors and received 2018 Civilian Leadership Award.
• Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 November 2019$150,000 gift to fuel launch of Veterans Assistance Program and support women veterans in cybersecurity.
• National Veterans IntermediarycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 October 2019$4.85 million gift for Local Partner Self-Assessment Tool as part of Craig Newmark 'Next Chapter' initiative to improve veteran well-being.
• DoSomething.orgcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2019$500,000 gift for Get Out the Vote initiative to register young Americans for 2020 presidential election, focusing on underserved voters and young People of Color.
• Wikimedia FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 September 2019$2.5 million gift for security of Wikipedia and free knowledge projects to protect sites and volunteers from cyber threats globally.
• Reporters Without BorderscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 September 2019$1.5 million gift to support implementation of Journalism Trust Initiative for transparency and ethics in news and media.
• Armed Services Arts PartnershipminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 August 2019$100,000 donation to expand arts opportunities for veterans in DC Metro Area and Hamptons Roads, VA.
• Walter Cronkite School of JournalismminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 August 2019$200,000 gift to support project combatting misinformation by improving reach and effectiveness of journalistic corrections.
• VetsinTechminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 August 2019Partnership supporting veteran cybersecurity training programs.
• University of San Francisco Data InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 August 2019$750,000 gift to launch Center for Applied Data Ethics (CADE) for data ethics education and research.
• Cybercrime Support NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2019$400,000 gift to expand efforts building national cybercrime victim hotline.
• Stanford Internet ObservatorycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 July 2019$5 million gift to support program led by Alex Stamos (former Facebook Security Chief) to detect internet abuse in real time.
• Women Who TechcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2015Partnership for Women Startup Challenge pitch competitions. Craig Newmark Philanthropic Fund partnered to award $50K to winners and support women-led startups.
• Bob Woodruff FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLongstanding partnership to support servicemembers, veterans, and their families. Through this partnership, thousands have received support during and after service. Newmark is a member of their Leadership Council.
• Blue Star FamiliescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to support active-duty servicemembers and their families with resources and support programs.
• University of San FranciscocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner$130,000 donation in 2026 to support Cybersecurity Initiative including Cybersecurity Clinic, research programs, and student organization (Women in Cybersecurity/WiCys).

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Knight Foundation: Knight Foundation is one of the largest U.S. foundations funding journalism, local news, and the free press, and supports democracy and civic engagement. It is the most direct functional peer to CNP in the journalism and democracy grantmaking space, with overlapping grantees and a similar thematic focus.
• Hewlett Foundation: The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation funds journalism, democracy, and cybersecurity-related programs through its various initiatives. It is a strong direct peer in the journalism and democracy grantmaking space, with overlapping grantees such as journalism schools and press freedom organizations.
• Emerson Collective: Emerson Collective, the philanthropic and impact-investing vehicle of Laurene Powell Jobs, funds journalism, education, and immigration reform. It is a closely comparable founder-led philanthropic peer to CNP, with a similar mix of grantmaking, mission-driven media investments, and education-focused giving.
• Schusterman Family Philanthropies: Schusterman Family Philanthropies is a private foundation supporting democracy, civic participation, and inclusion. It is a comparable peer in the voter protection and civic engagement funding space, with a similar focus on U.S. democratic institutions.

Broad incumbents

• Ford Foundation: Ford Foundation is a large, established U.S. foundation with a major focus on journalism, democratic participation, and civic engagement. It is a broader incumbent funder in the same thematic areas as CNP, operating at far greater scale and with a more institutional structure.
• Open Society Foundations: Open Society Foundations is a large private foundation with major programs in democratic governance, media independence, and election integrity. It is a broad incumbent peer to CNP in the democracy and trustworthy-journalism funding space, though operating at much larger scale and with a more political-adjacent posture.
• Bloomberg Philanthropies: Bloomberg Philanthropies is a large-scale philanthropic vehicle funding journalism, civic engagement, and public-interest media. It is a broad incumbent peer to CNP, especially in the journalism support space, though its funding is far larger and more diversified across many causes.
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: The Gates Foundation is a large-scale global philanthropy providing massive grant funding across multiple causes. It is a broad incumbent reference point for the scale of founder-led philanthropy, though its thematic focus differs significantly from CNP's veterans/journalism/cyber priorities.

Emerging players

• Mozilla Foundation: Mozilla Foundation funds trustworthy internet, online safety, and AI accountability work, overlapping with CNP's cybersecurity and trustworthy-internet grants. It is an emerging-player peer in the cyber civil defense funding niche, complementing the foundation's role as a private funder in this space.
• Patrick J. McGovern Foundation: Patrick J. McGovern Foundation funds journalism, data ethics, and AI-for-good programs, including university-based centers such as the CADE center at USF that CNP also funds. It is an emerging-player peer in the data ethics and journalism grantmaking space with overlapping grantee institutions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/craignewmark
• Facebookfacebook.com/craignewmark
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/craignewmark

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments13 records

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Frequently asked questions about Craig Newmark Philanthropies