Clinton Foundation donations have experienced a rapid downturn following Hillary Clinton’s loss to President Donald Trump in the 2016 election, as shown by financial reports for 2020.
Axios reported, according to website information, some of the top donors to the Clinton Foundation were the Norwegian Government, Haim and Cheryl Saban longtime friends to the Clintons, and the Walton family (who founded Walmart).
The foundation received around $16.3 million in donations over the course of 2020, whereas the top-grossing year for the Clintons was in 2016, where they managed to collect $62 million for the organization.
The CEO of the Clinton Foundation, Kevin Thurm, said that 2020 was a “difficult year for philanthropy” in a letter attached to its annual financials.
“Across the sector, resources were stretched thinly and fundraising activities were impacted,” Thurm said.
He did note that all projects and activities were fully funded thanks to a hefty endowment that the organization was able to build over the course of its existence.
Historically, the foundation has relied on donations from large fundraising events, which 2020 did not allow due to pandemic restrictions. The only event the foundation was able to pull off in the 2020 fundraising year was The Clinton Global Initiative Action Network, which was in February, right before Covid-19 hit.
Throughout 2020, the foundation focused on pandemic relief, according to its 2020 review and summary.
The foundation has been under media and Republican scrutiny amid accusations of dishonest use of money and illegal activities fly. An investigation into its dealings originally opened in 2015 was paused due to it being an election year that Hillary was running in. In 2018, the FBI reopened the Clinton Foundation investigation.
President Trump and his Justice Department accused the Clinton Foundation of using funds for “pay-to-play” politics.
