Snapshot: A successful businessman who’s been actively supporting Democrats for the last decade, Vincent “Vin” Ryan has a more progressive bent than many of his mega-donor peers. He tends to make max direct donations to a swath of Democratic candidates while sending his largest checks to liberal PACs and party offices.
Location: Boston, MA and Vero Beach, FL
Giving Focus: Human Rights, Democratic Party power
Top Recipients: Women Vote!, DCCC, DNC
Background: Vin Ryan has built a sizable net worth through a variety of business ventures. At the top of the list are Schooner Capital, which he founded in 1971, and Iron Mountain, which he acquired that same year and built into an information management services company. He also served for a time as director of Continental Cablevision and founded National Hydro and Arch Mobile Communications. He established the Schooner Foundation in 1996, and he and his wife, Carla Meyer, run it together, focusing their charitable giving on human rights and progressive media. They’ve given to institutions like African Food and Peace Foundation, Fund for Global Human Rights and the Ploughshares Fund, along with The Nation Institute and the Foundation for National Progress, which publishes Mother Jones magazine. Ryan also serves on the board of the Carr Center for Human Rights at Harvard Kennedy School.
Ryan has a long history of supporting Democrats and has a notably more progressive bent than many of his high-dollar donor peers. Donor records show he’s supported the candidacies of Democrats across the party’s political spectrum, from Arizona Rep. Kyrsten Sinema to New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Ryan doesn’t make large bets on specific candidates, but he does have a unique record of backing challengers (many donors in his position tend to back more incumbents). As a result, his records on Followthemoney.com show he’s backed more losers than winners, but it means he’s open to newcomers that might be looking for allies. During the 2020 presidential primary, Ryan supported progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren in the press, though donor records show he didn’t contribute to her campaign PACs or those of any presidential candidate. Instead, Ryan’s money went to a variety of liberal PACs and groups, which is typically how he donates during presidential election cycles. Over the last four years, Ryan has repeatedly made six-figure gifts to the DCCC and Women Vote!, the fundraising arm of the women-in-government group Emily’s List—he gave $1 million to the group across several gifts in 2020.
Takeaways: All of Ryan's philanthropy works in service of increasing progressive power. Without being too deeply targeted, Ryan's donor records have steadily supported progressive ideas, including newcomer candidates who expand the terms of political debate. BT readers should take Ryan as an example of the power you wield as a consistent party supporter and the kind of influence your support of a challenger can have.