Lyft Founders to Give More Than 1.5 Million Shares to Donor Advised Fund

Lyft Inc.’s co-founders are donating more than 1.5 million shares of the company to the National Philanthropic Trust, one of the largest operators of donor advised funds, a controversial type of charity.

The founders, Logan Green and John Zimmer, are transferring some their class B shares, which have more voting rights, to class A common stock to make the donation. The move will leave their voting control of the company at 44.4%. 

“Lyft is deeply committed to improving people’s lives socially, economically and environmentally,” a company spokeswoman said in a statement. The ride-hailing firm disclosed the transactions in regulatory filings on Thursday. 

Donor advised funds — a popular vehicle for Silicon Valley heavyweights — have been criticized as “philanthropic fracking” for rich people. Often, donors will give to a donor advised fund, or DAF, shortly after a big payday. For example, when Facebook Inc. bought messaging platform WhatsApp, WhatsApp co-founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton put $846 million into a DAF, according to the New York Times. Nick Woodman, founder of GoPro Inc., made a similar move after his company’s initial public offering, the newspaper reported.

Source Story: Bloomberg

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