Newly released IRS documents show that the largest donation made by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Foundation in 2023 was $250,000 to a new nonprofit launched last year by Ashley Biden, the daughter of President Joe Biden.
The nonprofit is the Pennsylvania-based Women’s Wellness Space, described as a “wellness center for women affected by trauma,” according to the foundation’s Impact Report, People reported. Its founder, Ashley Biden, is a social worker with experience working with formerly incarcerated women, according to the report. Her center “aims to offer a safe haven and community for women impacted by trauma, providing resources such as nutritious food, exercise, meditation and therapeutic interventions.”
The donation was hailed by supporters of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who say it benefits a good cause that aligns with Meghan’s philanthropic history, which has long focused on uplifting women and girls.
However, the Biden connection has raised eyebrows — and more — among the couple’s critics. The right-wing Daily Mail argued that the couple insisted they would remain politically neutral ahead of the presidential election, while the Daily Beast pointed out that the Biden Administration has been accused of protecting the couple by not fulfilling a Freedom of Information request to release the duke’s immigration records.
The Heritage Foundation, the right-wing think tank which authored the controversial Project 2025 plan for the incoming Trump administration, sought Harry’s immigration records to find out if he had been honest about his past drug use when he applied for a visa. A federal judge ruled in September that Harry was entitled to privacy in the matter and his paperwork should not be released.
The news about this donation for Ashley Biden also comes as her father is under fire from various quarters, including legal experts and some Democrats, over his decision to grant a sweeping pardon to her older half-brother, Hunter Biden. Biden pardoned Hunter Biden for his convictions on tax and gun charges, as well as for any “offenses against the United States” committed over the past 11 years.
As for the Archewell Foundation’s other charitable news, their tax documents showed they garnered a $5 million donation from an unnamed individual and gave out a total of $1.3 million in grants to various organizations.
One beneficiary was ArtTogether, an Oakland nonprofit that provides art programs that foster a sense of community amongst refugee and immigrant populations. The $27,500 ArtTogether donation was made under the umbrella of the Archewell’s “Welcome Project,” which supports programming for women who have recently resettled from Afghanistan. Archewell said it supports 11 active Welcome Projects in the United States, which are “designed to foster a sense of belonging through activities including sewing, art, hiking, swimming, photography, storytelling and cooking.”
Other top Archewell beneficiaries include the NAACP and organizations that support community-based journalism and mental health services for aid workers in Israel, Gaza, Syria and Turkey.
However, the tax documents also show that the $1.3 million in grants constituted only 39% of total expenses for 2023. The foundation spent far more in 2023 — $1.9 million, or some 61% — on salaries and compensation to executives and on a range of administrative costs, travel, events, legal services, advertising and payment to consultants.