Doris Fisher: Down the Dark Money Rabbit Hole
Doris Fisher and her family have quietly become among the largest political funders of charter school efforts in the country. Much of her money goes to promoting pro-charter school candidates and organizations.
As co-founder of the Gap, San Francisco-based business leader and philanthropist Doris Fisher boasts a net worth of $2.7 billion, making her the country’s eighth-richest self-made woman, according to Forbes. And she’s focused much of her wealth and resources on building charter schools. She and her late husband Donald donated more than $70 million to the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) and helped to personally build the operation into the largest network of charter schools in the country, with 224 schools serving nearly 100,000 students in 20 states. Doris’ son John serves as the chairman of KIPP’s board of directors.
Doris’ passion for charter schools also fuels her political donations. While not as well-known as other deep-pocketed charter school advocates like Eli Broad and the Walton family (heirs to the Walmart fortune), Fisher and her family have quietly become among the largest political funders of charter school efforts in the country. Fisher contributed $5.6 million to state political campaigns between 2013 and 2016, and much of her money goes to promoting pro-charter school candidates and organizations. While often labelled a Republican, she gives to Democrats and Republicans alike, just as long as they’re supportive of the charter school movement.
So far for this election cycle she’s spent more than $3.1 million on the political action committee of charter school advocacy group EdVoice, which is backing pro-charter candidate Marshall Tuck for superintendent of public instruction in California. Tuck is running against Assemblymember Tony Thurmond in what has become the most expensive race ever for state school superintendent. Supporters of Tuck have raised far more than those of Thurmond, with more than a two-to-one advantage. Thurmond’s largest source of support is teachers unions. (Disclosure: The teachers unions supporting Thurmond are financial supporters of this website.)
Fisher’s philanthropic and political efforts are not as straightforward as simply promoting education, however. Recent investigations have found that she’s used dark-money networks to funnel funds into California campaign initiatives that many say targeted teachers and Continue reading: Doris Fisher: Down the Dark Money Rabbit Hole | Capital & Main
