The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust is a private, non-profit foundation based in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...

History

Following the 1971 death of

Tektronix Tektronix, Inc., historically widely known as Tek, is an American company best known for manufacturing test and measurement devices such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and video and mobile test protocol equipment. Originally an independent ...

co-founder Jack Murdock, $90 million from his estate was transferred to a charitable foundation which, in 1975, became the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. The Trust was initially overseen by Tektronix

General Counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

James B. Castles, attorney Paul L. Boley, and Walter P. Dyke as

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

s, with Sam C. Smith appointed as its first

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

. The Trust is led by executive director Steve Moore and a board of three trustees: Jeff Grubb, Jeff Pinneo, and John W. Castles (son of James B. Castles).

Activities

Based in Vancouver, Washington, the trust funds grant-making for projects in the areas of scientific research, arts and culture, education, health and human service needs for non-profits operating in the Pacific Northwest — specifically Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. In response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the Murdock Trust expanded its grant-making to include emergency support for non-profit organizations utilizing an abridged application. The trust organizes training and educational programs for educators, students and non-profit professionals, and works to further an expansion of opportunities for collaboration through the convening of groups to discuss various issues and challenges. The Murdock Trust's funding priorities were criticized in 2016 for its donations to

political organization A political organization is any organization that involves itself in the political process, including political parties, non-governmental organizations, and special interest advocacy groups. Political organizations are those engaged in poli ...

s, specifically, the $975,000 given to the

Alliance Defending Freedom Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF, formerly Alliance Defense Fund) is an American conservative Christian legal advocacy group that works to curtail rights for LGBTQ people; expand Christian practices within public schools and in government; and ...

, including $375,000 in 2016. The Alliance Defending Freedom has been described as an anti-

LGBTQ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

organization and was designated a

hate group A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race (human classification), race, Ethnic group, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any o ...

in February 2017 by the

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...

. Murdock trustee Jeff Grubb responded to this criticism by stating that "the Murdock Trust does not give money to anti-gay or anti-women groups." The Murdock Trust faced additional scrutiny from philanthropy oversight organizations for their $240,000 donation in 2015 to the Freedom Foundation, a group based in Olympia, Washington that seeks to "bankrupt and defeat" government employees' labor unions, according to one of their fundraising letters.

References

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External links

Official website
1975 establishments in Washington (state) Charities based in Washington (state) Vancouver, Washington