Majority Press

Published: 10.28.2025
Grassley Probes Gates Foundation and Others for 501(c)(3) Compliance

WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is probing the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Ford Foundation to determine how the organizations are complying with applicable tax laws given their reported funding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its allies.

“According to recent reports, [your organizations], through grants and direct payments, have funded the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its allies,” Grassley wrote. “To maintain tax exempt status, an organization’s activities must be charitable in nature and may not directly support or promote the interests of a foreign government.”

“I am writing today to ask you whether these reports are true or not and, if true, how your organization’s conduct comports with 501(c)(3) requirements,” Grassley continued.

Read Grassley’s letter to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation HERE. https://www.grassley.senate.gov/download/grassley-to-gates-foundation_-foreign-funding
Read Grassley’s letter to the Rockefeller Brothers Fund HERE. https://www.grassley.senate.gov/download/grassley-to-rockefeller-brothers-fund_-foreign-funding
Read Grassley’s letter to the Ford Foundation HERE. https://www.grassley.senate.gov/download/grassley-to-ford-foundation_-foreign-funding

Background:
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code provides tax-exempt status for entities that are charitable in nature and do not directly support or promote the interests of a foreign government. While private foundations are allowed to provide funds to foreign organizations, they must follow specific rules to ensure funds are used for a qualifying charitable purpose and avoid excise taxes.