Newsom’s Germany jaunt funded by little-known nonprofit run by aides

Gavin Newsom’s whirlwind weekend in Germany will cost a pretty penny, paid for by a secretive nonprofit that’s run by his longtime aides and receives money from special interests, The California Post has learned.

The invite-only Munich Security Conference is being held across two luxury hotels in Old Town Munich — the Hotel Bayerischer Hof and Rosewood — and Newsom’s itinerary includes two sessions on climate change and transatlantic relations.

The likely 2028 presidential candidate also plans to ink a partnership with Ukraine and have a powwow with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz while rubbing elbows with foreign leaders and business elites.

The governor’s weekend jaunt to Germany — likely costing six-figures for flights and lodgings, as well as security — is being funded by the California State Protocol Foundation, which receives donations from a coterie of deep-pocketed donors, some of which have business before the state.

The Protocol Foundation was originally established in 2002 as the Golden State Host Committee, and it is now run by top Newsom advisors Steve Kawa, Jim DeBoo and Jason Elliot, along with Sacramento Kings exec Matina Kolokotronis. 

Since 2019, when Newsom was sworn in as governor, the Protocol Foundation has collected more than $6.2 million in donations to pay for his travel and events, according to state records.

Expenses have ranged from minor policy summits to his inauguration ceremony and trips to the Vatican and Mexico.

During the pandemic in 2021, Newsom used protocol funds to deliver his State of the State speech in an empty Dodger Stadium. And the nonprofit reportedly picked up the tab for burner phones Newsom sent to top tech CEOs last year, preprogrammed with his digits with a message to keep in touch.

Donors to the Protocol Foundation frequently have business with the state or are affected by decisions Newsom has made as governor.

In 2024, CVS Pharmacy Inc. gave $25,000 to the nonprofit, while Zoox, an autonomous vehicle company that has been testing robotaxis in San Francisco and other California cities, plunked down $30,000. Zoox also gave a $50,000 donation last year.

The largest checks cut to the Protocol Foundation in Newsom’s tenure as governor came from the Hewlett Foundation, which gave $300,000 in 2023 to fund a state delegation trip to China, and UC Berkeley tossing in $220,000 last March for Newsom to attend a climate summit at the Vatican.

Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson fro the governor, told The Post that no taxpayer money is being used for Newsom’s current Eurotrip.

The latest IRS filings for the Protocol Foundation show the nonprofit spent nearly a quarter-million dollars in 2024 for Newsom to go to the Vatican as well as the inauguration ceremony for Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum.

Additional donors to the foundation include the Sierra Health Foundation, the Ford Foundation and Newsom’s 2023 inaugural fund, according to tax records. 

Over the first six years of Newsom’s time as governor, most donations to the Protocol Foundation have focused on specific events, but last year the nonprofit began accepting large chunks of money for “general operating support,” according to state records.

In total, those opaque contributions totaled $375,000.

At the start of 2025, the Protocol Foundation was bleeding red ink after spending almost $600,000 more than it was bringing in the previous two years, leaving the organization with just $7,790 in net funds.

The governor’s office declined to say which posh hotel Newsom is staying at during his trip to Germany, citing security concerns. Officials confirmed he will be back in California in time for the Presidents’ Day holiday.