Emerson Collective is a for-profit corporation focused on education, immigration reform, the environment, media and journalism, and health. Founded by

Laurene Powell Jobs Laurene Powell Jobs ( Powell; born November 6, 1963)United States birth records is an American billionaire businesswoman and executive. She is the founder and chair of Emerson Collective and XQ Institute. Powell Jobs resides in Palo Alto, Cali ...

, this

limited liability company A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability ...

(LLC) uses philanthropy,

impact investing Impact investing refers to investments "made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social or environmental impact alongside a financial return". At its core, impact investing is about an a ...

, advocacy, and community engagement as tools to spur change in the United States and abroad. They purport to engage in philanthrocapitalism.

History

Emerson Collective was founded in 2004 by Laurene Powell Jobs in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

. Named after transcendentalist writer

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a cham ...

, the organization says its mission is to do the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people. In 1997, Powell Jobs had co-founded, together with Carlos Watson, the

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

College Track, a college completion program to combat the achievement gap among students of color. When Emerson Collective was established in 2004, grants and investments largely focused on the education sector. When Powell Jobs began learning more about the challenges plaguing immigrant students, particularly those whose undocumented status made it difficult to attend college, Emerson Collective broadened its portfolio to include immigration reform and advocacy. Powell Jobs and Emerson Collective were strong advocates of the creation of President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, colloquially referred to as DACA, is a United States immigration policy that allows some individuals with unlawful presence in the United States after being brought to the country as children to receive ...

(DACA) program and have continued to push for permanent legislation to provide "Dreamers" with a path to citizenship. In October 2016, she wrote the article "Immigrants Fuel Innovation. Let's Not Waste Their Potential" for ''

WIRED ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...

''. In 2015, Emerson Collective's Managing Director of Education Russlynn H. Ali launched the affiliate XQ Institute, a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

dedicated to rethinking American public high school. In 2015, Emerson Collective became the lead investor in education technology company Amplify. In 2016, Andy Karsner joined Emerson Collective to launch Emerson Elemental, a practice dedicated to investments in the environmental and clean energy space. Karsner previously served in the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United States ...

as Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. In 2016, former U.S. Secretary of Education

Arne Duncan Arne Starkey Duncan (born November 6, 1964) is an American educator who served as United States Secretary of Education from 2009 to 2015 and as Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools from 2001 to 2008. A lifelong resident of Chicago, D ...

joined Emerson Collective to launch Chicago CRED, a

committed to curbing gun violence in Chicago through counseling, training, and matching young men with jobs. In 2017 and 2018, Emerson Collective supported the immigration-focused work of the artist JR, and helped bring

Alejandro González Iñárritu Alejandro González Iñárritu (; American Spanish: ; credited since 2016 as Alejandro G. Iñárritu; born 15 August 1963) is a Mexican filmmaker and screenwriter. He is primarily known for making modern psychological drama films about the hu ...

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning, virtual reality experience '' Carne Y Arena'' to Washington, D.C. In 2019, Emerson Collective led a round of funding for Boom Supersonic, an aerospace company that aims to make supersonic commercial flight a realization again, and its proposed 55-passenger business-class transport. In recent years the organization has expanded its reach into art, film, and media, journalism, sports, and other creative ventures.

Media investments and donations

Emerson Collective was an investor in Ozy, and one of its first backers. On September 1, 2016, Emerson Collective invested in

series A A series A round (also known as series A financing or series A investment) is the name typically given to a company's first significant round of venture capital financing. The name refers to the class of preferred stock sold to investors in exc ...

funding for

Axios Media ''Axios'' (stylized as ΛXIOS) is an American news website based in Arlington County, Virginia. It was founded in 2016 and launched the following year by former '' Politico'' journalists Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz. The site's n ...

, a news website focusing on business, technology, politics and media trends. On July 28, 2017, Emerson Collective became the majority owner of ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', purchasing the majority stake from Atlantic Media's David G. Bradley. The outlets owned by Emerson Collective include ''The Atlantic'' magazine and its digital properties along with its standout events line, AtlanticLIVE, and its consulting division, Atlantic 57. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' reports Emerson Collective plans to move to full ownership of ''The Atlantic'' in "three to five years" after their investment. On August 1, 2017, Gimlet Media, the podcasting startup behind the shows '' StartUp'', '' Reply All'' and ''

Homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

'', announced that it had raised a new round of financing from investors including the Stripes Group and the Emerson Collective. In 2018, Emerson Collective acquired the parent of '' California Sunday'' and ''

Pop-Up Magazine Pop-Up Magazine is a live performance magazine. The live shows focus on breaking multimedia stories performed on stage by writers, radio producers, photographers, filmmakers, and musicians. The events are not live-streamed or recorded for later ...

''. Emerson Collective has donated money to '' Mother Jones''.

References

External links

* {{Official, http://www.emersoncollective.com/
Official Twitter Account
Organizations based in Palo Alto, California Foundations based in the United States Organizations established in 2004