Overview: A former venture capitalist turned highly successful fantasy novel writer, T.A. Barron has been a quiet, longtime backer of Democrats. Barron dedicates most of his charity to conservation and environmental programs, with most of his political donations going to the League of Conservation Voters.
Location: Boulder, CO
Total Donated (2016-2020): $1,513,400
Top Recipients: League of Conservation Voters, DSCC
Key Issues: Conservation, Environmental Protection
Largest Donation to Date: $250,000 to LCV Victory Fund
Profile: Thomas A. Barron is best known by his pen name, T.A. Barron, under which he’s written several highly successful fantasy novel series. Barron was a Rhodes Scholar and started his career as a venture capitalist in New York. He was successful and quickly rose to president of his company, but having never lost his itch to write, he returned to his native Colorado in 1990 to become a novelist full time. His “Merlin” series is currently in talks for a TV adaptation. Throughout his life, Barron has been committed to conservation and environmentalism. He has a close relationship with Princeton University and has funded multiple environmental programs with the school, including the Thomas A. and Currie C. Barron Visiting Professorship in Humanities and the Environment and the T.A. Barron Prize for Environmental Leadership, and he serves on the Princeton Environmental Institute’s advisory board. He’s also worked closely with organizations like EarthJustice and the Wilderness Society, and funded the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes to recognize youth activists leading environmental and social welfare work in their communities.
Barron doesn’t comment publicly on politics very much, but his donor records show he’s a devoted liberal. He has consistently given to Democrats running for office around the country and supported a handful of state-level party funds, as well. By far his favorite grantee is the League of Conservation Voters and its victory fund—LCV works to advance environmental policy by supporting climate-focused candidates electorally. He donated a half-million to the LCV Victory Fund in the 2016 cycle and has given another half-million since. In 2020, he gave $100,000 to the Biden Victory Fund and a couple smaller gifts to Democratic PACs and funds.
Ideological Vibe: Solidly liberal. Barron focuses his philanthropy on environmental issues, and while he’s a consistent donor to the Democrats, he doesn’t appear to have close relationships with many in the party. His donor record offers few hints as to which wing of the party he prefers, centrist or democratic socialist.
Hits and Misses: Barron’s records show he doesn’t make large bets on the presidential races, but he is uniquely willing to back challengers with his candidate donations—FollowtheMoney.com shows Barron actually backs more challengers than incumbents. Thus, he’s backed more losers than winners with his donations, but considering his arms-length relationship to the party, those losses don’t weigh too heavily on him.
Looking Forward: Barron doesn’t go on record about politics much, but we can expect him to continue funding Democrats and environmental initiatives.
Relationships: Princeton Environmental Institute—Member of the Board of Advisors
Contact Information: N/A