At a Glance
Located: Minneapolis, MN
Summary
Based in Minnesota, the Land Stewardship Project holds itself out to be a group of small-scale farmers–but the group has received millions of dollars from out-of-state special interests.
Out-of-State Funding
In 2023, the Land Stewardship Project reported raising about $3.7 million. Tax records indicate that about $2.5 million, or 67%, came from foundations. More than 80% of the grants reported to the Land Stewardship Project in 2023 came from outside of Minnesota.
Numerous funders of LSP are “donor-advised” funds–groups that act as middlemen, which obscures the true source of the donation.
Major funders of LSP include:
- Eric Schmidt, billionaire former Google CEO, through the Schmidt Family Foundation.
- The Walton Family Foundation. A billion-dollar private foundation.
- New Venture Fund. A “dark money” group that funds a variety of activist causes.
- Windward Fund. A Washington, DC group part of a “dark money” network that supports activist groups.
- Ford Foundation. A multibillion-dollar funder of activist groups.
- Silicon Valley Community Foundation. A California-based donor-advised foundation that gives grants at the behest of billionaires and other wealthy individuals.
Agenda
The Land Stewardship Project claims to be about promoting small farms–but it’s aligned with a number of political causes and receives funding from donors who also support an agenda to shut down animal agriculture.