Taking a peek at Trump’s (foundation) tax returns

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Hey, want to get a peek at Donald J. Trump’s tax returns?

If you’d like to see his personal returns, you may have to wait for him to disclose them or for WikiLeaks to get ahold of them. But you can get a glimpse at his Long Island-based foundation’s tax returns, which give a small window into, if not his wealth, his giving patterns.

Trump may not have released his own returns, but the Donald J. Trump Foundation, based on Long Island, shows charitable giving to conservative political groups, healthcare and sports- related charities and has been accused in the past of aggressive social media marketing tactics like buying YouTube views.

The foundation, which the tax return lists as based at 60 Crossways Park Dr. W. Suite 301 in Woodbury, had about $1.3 million in assets and made about $591,000 in grants in 2014, according to the latest returns filed and made public.

That’s down from a number of years with nearly or more than $1 million donated annually, including $918,340 donated in 2013, $1.7 million in 2012, $1 million in 2011 and 2010 and $932,000 in 2009.

The assets of the charity, which Donald J. Trump (the “J” stands for John) set up after his book “The Art of the Deal” came out, have been shrinking steadily from about $3 million in 2009 to $2 million in 2010, and $1.6 million by 2013.

The foundation reported $3,449 investment income based on data that Capital One Bank provided on the tax return.

Trump and his family last donated to the foundation in 2008, according to GuideStar, which monitors charities. But some others have kept the funds flowing while Trump, instead, makes personal donations directly.

Richard Ebers Inside Sports and Entertainment Group, a ticket reseller based in Manhattan, recently sold to CAA, donated $477,400 to the foundation in 2014.

Prestige Mills, a carpet wholesaler in Long Island City, donated $20,000 to the foundation as the only other donor listed on the tax returns that year.

It is a private foundation that distributes money, while the Clinton Foundation is a public charity that operates programs. Both are part of a section of the charity world known as celebrity foundations.

The Michael  J. Fox Foundation, for instance, is considered a key funder of research to cure Parkinson’s Disease.

Donald J. Trump is listed as president, while accountant Allen Weisselberg is listed as treasurer and Donald J. Trump Jr., Eric F. Trump and Ivanka M. Trump are listed as directors.

The books were kept by WeiserMazars, whose Woodbury office was listed as the base for the foundation’s operations, on tax returns. The foundation has no employees.

GuideStar CEO Jacob Harold has said that Trump’s foundation demonstrates “unfocused generosity” by making a large number of primarily small grants to diverse groups.

“There is nothing inherently wrong with sprinkling many small grants in unrelated areas,” Harold wrote. “But the Trump Foundation’s approach would certainly not meet the standard of focused, proactive grantmaking commonly called strategic philanthropy.”

Fifty-three organizations received grants from the foundation in 2014 including many related to diseases, sports and primarily those based in New York and Florida.

Non-profit foundations can’t donate to groups involved in elections, although Trump’s foundation at least once ran afoul of IRS regulations for donating $25,000 in 2013 to a political action committee focusing on Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Trump repaid that money and the foundation paid a $2,500 fine. Trump later said the donation was meant to come out of his personal account, rather than the foundation with checks from both written by the same person.

The foundation’s biggest donation in 2014 was $100,000 to the Citizens United Foundation and his second biggest donation was $50,000 to the Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School in Manhattan, attended by Trump’s son Barron.

The foundation, however, donated to a wide range of groups including $26,500 to the Anti-Defamation League, $10,000 to the All Faiths Beautification and Restoration Program, $5,000 to the American Skin Association, $2,000 to the Andrew Glover Youth Program and $1,000 to the Alliance for Lupus Research.

The foundation also donated $10,000 to military-related causes, including $5,000 for the Ponte Verda, Fl., based K9s for Warriors and the same amount to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation in Tampa Fl.

Its biggest grant by far, however, was the $100,000 or almost one sixth of all giving that year, to the Citizens United Foundation, founded in 1992 in Washington, D.C.

The conservative group, which fights for the right to donate to political causes, opposes Obamacare and has clashed with New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

The Citizens United Foundation in 2014 said it was filing a suit against Schneiderman whose office sought to compel it to file a list of its donors with the New York State Charities Bureau.

The suit challenged Schneiderman’s interpretation of a state regulation which he said requires non-profit organizations soliciting contributions in New York to file a complete copy of their IRS Form 990 Schedule B, listing the names, addresses and contribution amounts of top donors.

Although Trump’s foundation is prohibited from making political grants, it made one of its other biggest grants to a conservative publication whose coverage focuses on politics.

The foundation donated $25,000 to the American Spectator Foundation, the parent of conservative publication The American Spectator.

The publication is listed as a subsidiary of the American Spectator Foundation, based in Arlington, Va. The publication is led by editor in chief R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. and editorial director Wlady Pleszczynski.

The American Spectator Foundation, founded in 1999, publishes “The American Spectator,” which it says “provides Americans with news and commentary on politics, economics, and culture.”

The American Spectator Foundation describes its mission as to educate “the public on new ideas, concepts and policies that favor the principles of economic freedom, individual liberty, limited government, and traditional American values.”

It also describes The American Spectator as “an outlet for a host of both young and established conservative writers and thinkers.”

Trump’s foundation also made numerous donates to health-related charities including $25,000 to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Palm Beach, FL.  $10,000 went to the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation and $15,000 to Ronald McDonald House of New York.

The foundation’s health-related donations also included $5,000 to the Brooklyn Hospital Foundation and  $1,000 to the New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Money went to a handful of groups with a sports aspect to their mission, including $5,000 to the Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey, $4,000 for the Mariano Rivera Foundation, $25,000 for the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care and $10,000 for the New York Jets Foundation.

Donations to New York City groups included $1,000 to the Skyscraper Museum in Manhattan, $25,000 to the Police Athletic League in New York City as well as $1,000 to Citymeals-on-Wheels and the Central Park Conservancy.

The foundation donated to many groups in Florida, including $5,000 to the Big Dog Ranch Rescue Inc. in Jupiter, Fl., the Boynton Beach Community High School and the Palm Beach Opera.

The foundation’s only contribution to a Long Island-based group was $1,000 to the Long Island Sled Hockey Inc. in Lynbrook.