Trump private charity received nearly $3M in donations during presidential campaign

Kevin McCoy | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump Foundation under fire Donald Trump is under fire. Not for his most recent tax return leak, but for his foundation.

Donations to President Trump's private charity reached their highest point in almost a decade, nearly $3 million, as he ran a winning campaign for the White House last year, a new tax filing shows.

The Donald J. Trump Foundation collected more than $2.9 million in contributions, gifts, grants and other income in 2016, according to a tax filing that a representative of the organization uploaded to GuideStar, a company that gathers information about all non-profit groups registered with the IRS.

The donations arrived during a year when New York's attorney general opened an investigation into the foundation's finances. Trump has said he will dissolve the charity, but that plan is barred from proceeding while the investigation is ongoing.

The giving also came at a time when the foundation was the subject of media reports documenting questionable financial practices, including reports of charitable donations that had not resulted in actual payments. The Washington Post reported that the foundation spent $258,000 to settle lawsuits against Trump's for-profit businesses.

Trump's charity also failed to register with New York state as a charity that solicits funds. As a result, state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office in October 2016 ordered the foundation to halt all fundraising pending an investigation. The order blocked the charity from a plan to disband, which was repeated in the foundation's 2016 tax filing.

"As the foundation is still under investigation by this office, it cannot legally dissolve until that investigation is complete,” Amy Spitalnick, a spokeswoman for Schneiderman, said Monday.

Donald Trump's foundation might soon be shut down A report from The New York Times says the president-elect is planning to shut down the Trump Foundation over possible conflict of interest concerns. Video provided by Newsy

As in many past years, the charity in 2016 operated largely on funds contributed by others. Trump's most recent personal contribution to the charity came in 2008, when he donated $30,000, tax filings show. The billionaire New York businessman and former reality TV star separately gave $1 million of his own fortune to veteran's groups last year.

His charity in 2016 received contributions earmarked for tax-exempt veterans organizations "as a result of a fundraiser held by a candidate for public office," the tax filing said in an apparent reference to Trump.

Follow USA TODAY Money on Facebook

Much of the money the foundation raised last year came from a few large donors. Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump gave $100,000, the tax records show. Phil Ruffin, Trump's partner in a Las Vegas hotel, gave $1 million, as did Laura Perlmutter, the wife of Marvel Entertainment CEO Isaac Perlmutter. Both are Trump supporters.

More: Trump Foundation apparently admits to self-dealing in new tax filing

A non-profit foundation that includes Steven Roth, the CEO of Vornado Realty Trust, contributed $50,000. Vornado is a partner with the family business of Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in an office and retail tower located on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue.

Ohio real estate developer John Cafaro also contributed $50,000 last year, the new tax filing shows. Joe Bell, a spokesman for the Cafaro company, said he believed the contribution was made by the company's now-retired head.

Popularly known as J.J. Cafaro, he was convicted in 2002 of paying a bribe to former Ohio Rep. James Traficant. Cafaro testified as a prosecution witness against Traficant. He also pleaded guilty in 2010 to a charge that he failed to report a $10,000 contribution to his daughter's congressional campaign. Cafaro was ordered to pay a $250,000 fine and serve three years of probation for that conviction.

Representatives for Cafaro and the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on Cafaro's contribution.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Kevin McCoy on Twitter: @kmccoynyc