Henrik Fisker Quietly Wound Down His Nonprofit After His Ev Startup Went Bankrupt

Henrik Fisker, nan laminitis of grounded EV startup Fisker Inc., and his woman Geeta softly coiled down a backstage charitable instauration established successful precocious 2021 that was expected to “incubate invention successful healthcare, education, sustainability, mobility, and each causes that thief support nan satellite and amended and further nan lives of group and animals.”

A taxation filing submitted to nan Internal Revenue Service successful December 2024 — six months aft Fisker Inc. went bankrupt — was marked arsenic nan foundation’s “final return.” The filing was made nationalist earlier this year.

The Geeta & Henrik Fisker Foundation, arsenic it was known, yet only made astir $100,000 successful grants crossed its three-year existence. Henrik Fisker did not respond to messages seeking comment.

The little beingness of nan Fiskers’ instauration is different illustration of really nan roar of electrical conveyance startups successful nan 2020s — galore of which went nationalist via typical intent acquisition institution (SPAC) mergers — helped substance a unreserved of wide-eyed optimism.

When Rivian went nationalist via a accepted IPO successful 2021, it announced its ain foundation, flush pinch 1% of nan EV company’s equity. While that liking was worthy astir $643 cardinal astatine 1 point, it yet shrank to nether $100 million. But nan Rivian Foundation is still kicking. The nonprofit gave retired its first $10 cardinal successful grants past year, and its website shows that nan instauration has made different $2.2 cardinal successful donations to day crossed 2025.

The Fiskers created their instauration successful precocious 2021, IRS filings show, astir 1 twelvemonth aft nan institution went nationalist by merging pinch a SPAC. They transferred 229,000 shares of institution banal to nan nonprofit successful December of that year, which were collectively worthy astir $4 cardinal astatine nan clip of nan donation. The mates besides look to person contributed astir $5,000 successful rate that first year. (Geeta Gupta Fisker was Fisker Inc.’s main financial and main operating officer.)

The institution did not denote nan constitution of nan husband-and-wife team’s instauration until February 14, 2022. While nan property merchandise touted nan $4 cardinal figure, by that constituent Fisker’s banal value had fallen capable that nan worth of nan nonprofit’s liking successful nan institution had already sunk to astir $2.7 million.

The instauration did not make immoderate grants that first fiscal year, filings show. When nan fiscal twelvemonth ended connected September 30, 2022, nan worth of nan shares had fallen to astir $1.7 million.

Fisker’s banal value continued to gaffe arsenic nan institution put its electrical SUV into accumulation successful precocious 2022, began deliveries successful mid-2023, and struggled to sell nan flawed EV — each of which apparently constricted nan foundation’s scope.

In nan foundation’s 2022 fiscal twelvemonth (which ended connected September 30, 2023), it made conscionable 1 assistance worthy $92,287 to a JP Morgan “Charitable Gift Fund,” according to a filing. The Fiskers only contributed $9,500 successful rate to nan instauration that year, too, meaning nan shares — nan full worth of which sunk again to astir $1.4 cardinal — were astir each it had successful position of assets.

The astir caller filing, which closes retired nan nonprofit, shows conscionable 1 assistance successful nan foundation’s last year: The Fiskers contributed different $1,988 to nan aforesaid JP Morgan fund.

The Geeta & Henrik Fisker Foundation was not nan couple’s only root of charity, though specifications astir their different giving are difficult to travel by.

The 2022 property merchandise notes that nan Fiskers “supported various causes, including those engaged successful acquisition and healthcare projects” since founding nan EV startup successful 2016.

The merchandise besides states that nan Fiskers donated astir $1.9 cardinal worthy of institution banal successful December 2021 to what’s known arsenic a donor-advised money (DAF). That aid came from nan Fiskers’ individual trust, though, an SEC filing shows — not from nan Geeta & Henrik Fisker Foundation. And neither nan property merchandise nor nan SEC filing opportunity which DAF received nan shares.

DAFs are a somewhat arguable instrumentality for philanthropic giving. While group who donate to DAFs tin still dictate wherever those costs yet go, that accusation does not person to beryllium revealed to nan public. In nan meantime, donating banal to a DAF tin let nan personification making nan publication to deduct nan worth of that banal from their taxes — moreover if nan banal worth sinks.

DAFs tin besides bent onto that money for an indiscriminate magnitude of time. It’s truthful intolerable to cognize whether nan DAF that received nan $1.9 cardinal successful Fisker shares made immoderate grants earlier aliases aft nan worth of those shares sank.