Role in the network: The deliberately opaque sibling foundation to Kelson, with revenue matching its brother’s foundation to within $486 on $38.6 million, whose $3.1 million grant to the Arabella Advisors-managed New Venture Fund flows through a dark money intermediary to fund VotingWorks — the election technology company where the foundation president’s brother works as hardware lead.
Bio
The Loud Hound Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation based in San Francisco, California. It was established in 2017 and granted tax-exempt status by the IRS in July 2017 — the same month and year as its sibling, the Kelson Foundation. Its EIN is 81-3588263. The foundation’s address is 1660 Bush St, Suite 300, San Francisco — shared with Kelson and Crankstart’s operations. Phone: 415-561-6540. [1] [2] [3]
The foundation is led by William Moritz, who serves as President. William is the son of Michael Moritz (Sequoia Capital/Sequoia Heritage, Formation Bio board director). Unlike his brother Jake, William maintains almost no public profile — no personal website, no visible LinkedIn, no public portfolio. Inside Philanthropy describes the foundation as “under-the-radar” and notes it “lacks transparency and does not maintain a website or have much of an internet presence.” [2]
Michael Moritz serves as Secretary/Treasurer — the same financial control position he holds at Kelson. Additional officers include Melissa Narula and Wendy Yu Einhorn. Notably, Melissa Narula is the same person as “Missy” Narula, CEO of the Crankstart Foundation — confirming that the Moritz family foundations share operational staff at the executive level. [1] [4]
No compensation is paid to any officer. The foundation operates through Pacific Foundation Services for program and administrative services and Arabella Advisors for philanthropy advisory. [1]
Financial Profile
| Year | Revenue | Grants | Number of Grants | Assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | — | — | 64 | ~$111M |
| 2021 | $38,630,222 | — | 38 | — |
| 2022 | $6,148,067 | $10.9M | 17 | — |
| 2023 | $2,769,303 | $9.45M | 6 | — |
| 2024 | $8,057,536 | — | — | — |
The grant count is collapsing while grant size increases: 64 grants (2020) to 38 (2021) to 17 (2022) to 6 grants (2023). The foundation is consolidating from dozens of five- and six-figure gifts into a handful of seven-figure grants. Fewer recipients, larger checks, less public visibility per dollar moved. [5] [6]
The Mirror Coordination
Loud Hound’s revenue matches Kelson’s (Jake’s foundation) to an extraordinary degree:
| Year | Loud Hound (William) | Kelson (Jake) | Difference | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $38,630,222 | $38,630,708 | $486 | 0.001% |
| 2022 | $6,148,067 | $6,565,332 | $417K | 6.4% |
| 2023 | $2,769,303 | $1,798,886 | $970K | 35% |
| 2024 | $8,057,536 | $8,090,595 | $33K | 0.4% |
Michael Moritz, as Secretary/Treasurer of both, controls the financial inputs. The outputs are functionally identical in 2021 and 2024. The 2022-2023 divergence and 2024 reconvergence suggest a temporary desynchronization that was corrected. [7]
The Arabella Advisors / New Venture Fund Pipeline
In 2022, Loud Hound Foundation:
- Paid Arabella Advisors $208,667 for “philanthropy advisory services”
- Granted $3,100,000 to the New Venture Fund (an Arabella-managed fiscal sponsor)
- Granted $5,000,000 to the Amalgamated Charitable Foundation
- Granted $1,500,000 to the Miami Foundation
[1]
Arabella Advisors is a Washington, DC-based consultancy that manages a network of nonprofit fiscal sponsors — including the New Venture Fund, Sixteen Thirty Fund, Windward Fund, and North Fund. These entities function as pass-through vehicles: donors give to the Arabella-managed fund, which then regrants to projects and organizations. The original donor’s identity is obscured behind the intermediary fund’s name. Critics have called this structure “dark money” infrastructure. [1]
The New Venture Fund — which received Loud Hound’s $3.1M — is the same entity that funds VotingWorks, the election technology company where William’s brother Jake works as hardware lead. [8]
The money flow:
Michael Moritz (wealth source)
|
|--- distributes to Loud Hound Foundation (William, president)
| |
| |--- $208,667 to Arabella Advisors (advisory services)
| |--- $3,100,000 to New Venture Fund (Arabella-managed)
| |
| |--- New Venture Fund grants to VotingWorks
| |
| |--- Jake Moritz works here (brother)
|
|--- distributes to Kelson Foundation (Jake, president)
|--- Jake is VotingWorks hardware leadWilliam’s foundation pays for Arabella’s advisory services. William’s foundation then gives $3.1M to an Arabella-managed fund. That fund gives money to VotingWorks. Jake works at VotingWorks. The money flows from father through one son’s foundation through a dark money intermediary to the other son’s employer.
No single transaction is illegal. Private foundations can grant to donor-advised funds and fiscal sponsors. Arabella Advisors provides legitimate advisory services. New Venture Fund is a registered 501(c)(3). VotingWorks is a legitimate nonprofit. But the pipeline from Moritz family wealth through an opacity layer to the election technology company where a Moritz son works is architecturally significant.
Formation Bio Holdings
| Year | Name on Filing | Fair Market Value |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | TRIALSPARK | $249,999 |
| 2022 | TRIALSPARK | $174,999 |
| 2023 | FORMATION BIO | Listed |
| 2024 | FORMATION BIO | Listed |
Identical to Kelson’s holdings in 2021 and 2022 ($249,999 and $174,999 respectively), confirming coordinated stock distribution from the father. [7]
Grant Focus Areas
Despite not publicly naming its interest areas, 990 analysis reveals Loud Hound funds: [2]
Democracy and civic engagement — overlapping with Jake’s VotingWorks work and Kelson’s State Voices/NEO Philanthropy grants
Education — overlapping with Crankstart’s education portfolio
Community health and human services — Bay Area focus
Arts and culture — Bay Area and New York
Journalism — notable given Michael Moritz’s ownership of the San Francisco Standard
Progressive causes — including Arabella Advisors network organizations
The Opacity Pattern
Loud Hound is the most deliberately opaque entity in the Moritz foundation network:
| Dimension | Crankstart | Kelson (Jake) | Loud Hound (William) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website | sfstandard.com (media arm) | jakemoritz.com (personal) | None |
| Public profile | Extensive media coverage | Design portfolio, VotingWorks | Nearly invisible |
| Named interest areas | Yes (education, democracy, etc.) | Visible through grantees | Not specified |
| Internet presence | High | Moderate | Minimal |
| Transparency rating | — | — | “Lacks transparency” (Inside Philanthropy) |
Inside Philanthropy explicitly warns potential grantees: the foundation “does not provide a clear way to get in touch” and advises “network here by looking over its recent 990s to see if you recognize anyone in your contacts list.” [2]
The deliberate opacity of Loud Hound contrasts with VotingWorks’ deliberate transparency (open-source code, public donor list, published machine designs). The Moritz family operates through maximum opacity on the funding side and maximum transparency on the product side — the donations are hidden but the voting machines are public.
Shared Infrastructure Across Three Foundations
| Shared Element | Crankstart | Kelson | Loud Hound |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address | 1660 Bush St Ste 300 | 1660 Bush St Ste 300 | 1660 Bush St Ste 300 |
| Michael Moritz role | CEO (2024+) | Secretary/Treasurer | Secretary/Treasurer |
| Melissa “Missy” Narula | CEO | — | Officer |
| Formation Bio stock | Yes (“LABNOOK AKA TRIALSPARK”) | Yes (“TRIALSPARK”/”FORMATION BIO”) | Yes (“TRIALSPARK”/”FORMATION BIO”) |
| Founded | Jun 2002 | Jul 2017 | Jul 2017 |
| Compensation | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Missy Narula serving as CEO of Crankstart AND officer of Loud Hound confirms these are not operationally independent foundations. They share leadership, address, and administrative services. [1] [4]
Key People
| Person | Role | Network Connection |
|---|---|---|
| William Moritz | President | Michael Moritz’s son. Near-zero public profile. Controls $100M+ in foundation assets. |
| Michael Moritz | Secretary/Treasurer | Controls finances. Same role at Kelson. CEO of Crankstart. Formation Bio board director. |
| Melissa “Missy” Narula | Officer | Also CEO of Crankstart Foundation. Cross-entity executive. |
| Wendy Yu Einhorn | Officer | Additional officer. Background TBD. |
Nodes and Open Questions
- Who is William Moritz? He controls a $100M+ foundation, holds Formation Bio stock, and directs millions through dark money intermediaries — yet has almost no public profile. What does he do professionally? Where did he go to school? Why is he the invisible Moritz?
- The New Venture Fund pipeline: Does the $3.1M Loud Hound → New Venture Fund → VotingWorks flow constitute indirect support of a brother’s employer through an opacity layer? Is this a self-dealing concern under IRC 4941 (transactions between disqualified persons)?
- Arabella Advisors: What specific advisory services does Arabella provide for $208K annually? Does Arabella advise on grant strategy that routes money through its own managed funds? Is Loud Hound paying for the advisory AND the pass-through?
- Grant consolidation: 64 grants (2020) → 6 grants (2023). Why is the foundation consolidating from many small grants to a few large ones? Fewer grants mean fewer public touchpoints and less visibility. Is this intentional opacity?
- Wendy Yu Einhorn: Who is she? What is her background? Is she connected to any entities in the investigation?
- Journalism grants: Loud Hound funds “journalism” as a category while the foundation president’s father owns the San Francisco Standard. Do any Loud Hound journalism grants go to the Standard or Standard-adjacent entities?
- The $5M Amalgamated Charitable Foundation grant: Amalgamated is a progressive giving vehicle associated with Amalgamated Bank (the “bank of progressives”). What is the ultimate destination of this $5M?
Sources
[1] [Archive] (https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/loud-hound-foundation/)
[2] [Archive] (https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/find-a-grant/grants-l/loud-hound-foundation)
[3] [Archive] (https://fconline.foundationcenter.org/fdo-grantmaker-profile/?collection=grantmakers&activity=result&key=5023488)
[4] [Archive] (https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2022-9-21-this-bay-area-billionaires-foundation-is-booming-heres-what-we-know-about-crankstart)
[5] [Archive] (https://www.instrumentl.com/990-report/loud-hound-foundation)
[6] [Archive] (https://www.theshareway.com/funder/loud-hound-23894)
[7] Prior investigation sessions — Loud Hound/Kelson/Crankstart 990-PF comparative analysis
[8] [Archive] (https://www.voting.works/about) — New Venture Fund listed as VotingWorks foundation funder