The Clinton Foundation started as a very successful post-presidency foundation of the type that is normally formed under the leadership of an ex president, in this case, Bill Clinton. Later, the foundation was expanded considerably and made into the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea foundation, and rivaled and exceeded earlier similar efforts to solve the world’s problems. Now, the foundation is a big giant money magnet, that takes funds from all over and uses it for all sorts of great things, including addressing climate change.
It is normal for a president to step away from financial activities after election, in order to avoid real or perceived inappropriate influence. I’m pretty sure everyone assumed that if Hillary Clinton is elected president, this would happen with her, including her work with the Clinton Foundation, and by extension, Bill and Chelsea as well. As far as I know, this has never been seriously questioned by anyone other than the usual yammering suspects.
But, this will have significant negative effects, since so much of the money the Clinton Foundation garners flows into the foundation directly as a result of Bill Clintons’ efforts. Efforts will be made, it is said, to continue this work in other foundations and by other people, but it is almost certain that the overall effort will be diminished.
Inside Climate News has a report on this, noting that the Clinton Foundation “…runs a … global network of programs and partnerships devoted to public health and development issues. That includes a slice dedicated to climate. The Clinton Climate Initiative had a budget of $8.3 million in 2014…What had a far wider impact, however, was the annual Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) event, which brought together corporate executives, foreign leaders and nonprofit leaders who collaborated on support for many climate programs.”
This mainly Bill Clinton (as in, Bill personally) run initiative funded 474 climate project just last year, and raised about 230 million dollars for this work.
More information from Inside Climate News:
Under the still-unfolding plan for a Clinton presidency, many of the Clinton Foundation programs would be spun off into independent entities or taken over by other organizations, foundation President Donna Shalala said in an interview with NBC.
The foundation may end up being radically smaller, and rededicated to its original purpose of Bill Clinton’s presidential library in Little Rock. “The centerpiece is the library,” Shalala said. Only about 5 percent of foundation program spending has gone to the library in recent years.
Much of the money that comes into the Clinton Foundation is from foreign sources (which makes sense because it operates globally).
…the planned changes mean the foundation would have to cease international climate change work that relies on funding by foreign governments and corporations.
…The foundation … goes beyond the law’s requirements in disclosing the names of the donors. But an analysis last year by The Washington Post found that a third of Clinton Foundation donors that have given more than $1 million are foreign governments or other entities based outside the United States…
The government of Norway contributed a reported $5 million to a project launched last year to help oil-dependent island nations switch to renewable energy. …
Australia’s government provided technology it developed and $9 million to assist Kenya in developing a data system to curb . deforestation and land degradation …
The governments of Australia, Norway and Germany help fund the foundation’s global forestry work, aiding developing countries including Tanzania, on programs to reduce deforestation …
Eventually, assuming Hillary Clinton wins the presidency, there will be TWO Clinton Foundations (or one really big one) with the force of two presidents (and a secretary of state) behind them/it. So, loss will be made up and doubled. But for now, a lot of projects are going to take it in the neck, which is unfortunate. Also, this is not really anyone’s fault. This is just how it has to be. I would not even blame the right wing, which has been tainting the waters and blaming Clinton (any Clinton, or anything with the name “Clinton” on it) for everything always. Still, the firewall between actual Clintons and the Clinton Foundation was going to go up no matter what.
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