Ben & Jerry’s Foundation to Shut Down Amid Legal Dispute

The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, the 40-year-old philanthropic arm of the iconic Vermont ice cream brand, has announced it will suspend operations by December 31, 2026, after its corporate parent cut off funding and evicted its staff from their office. The move leaves approximately $600,000 a year in grants to Vermont organizations hanging in the balance and marks a significant escalation in the long-running battle over the brand’s social mission and corporate control.

A Decades-Long Mission at Risk

Founded in 1985 by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the foundation pledged 7.5% of the company’s pre-tax profits to charitable efforts, supporting grassroots social justice organizations across the United States. Since Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry’s in 2000, the corporation has given $60 million to the foundation, which relies entirely on annual corporate funding outlined in the merger contract rather than an endowment.

According to AP News, the foundation’s three staffers were ordered to vacate their corporate office in South Burlington, Vermont, by July 15, 2026. The funding was cut off in late 2025 by The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC), the spinoff of Unilever that now owns Ben & Jerry’s.

“This is the other foot dropping in terms of the way Magnum is trying to destroy the social values of Ben & Jerry’s,” said Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade.

The Dispute: Social Mission vs. Corporate Control

The foundation’s closure is the latest chapter in a conflict that has been brewing for years. When Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry’s in 2000 for $326 million, the deal created an independent board with “primary responsibility over Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission and Essential Brand Integrity.” This structure was designed to protect the brand’s progressive values even under corporate ownership.

As Vermont Biz reports, the foundation joined the ongoing lawsuit filed by Ben & Jerry’s independent board against Unilever and Magnum in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The case, originally filed in November 2024, alleges that the parent company overreached its control, interfered with the brand’s political views, and unlawfully withheld foundation funding.

Liz Bankowski, President of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, framed the fight in stark terms: “We are a $6 million foundation. TMICC is a multi-billion-dollar multinational corporation. This is exactly the kind of David and Goliath fight our grantees face every day — and like them we are not backing down.”

The Audit Controversy

A central point of contention is an audit conducted by Unilever in April 2025. TMICC claims the audit found “clear conflicts of interest and a lack of governance and financial controls,” including foundation grants to organizations where board trustees held senior positions. The foundation disputes these findings, noting it has been independently audited every year. Ben Cohen called the audit “a bunch of trumped-up charges.”

A spokesperson for Magnum told Vermont Biz: “The decision to suspend operations is entirely down to the Trustees and their decision to ignore the findings of an independent audit and failure to put in place basic good governance.” The company stated it remains “firmly committed to funding a grant-giving foundation” with appropriate governance controls.

Impact on Vermont Communities

The most immediate tangible impact of the shutdown is on Vermont-based organizations. Approximately $600,000 per year goes to local groups, including Migrant Justice, which works with immigrant farmworkers, and Outright Vermont, an LGBTQ+ nonprofit.

Will Lambek of Migrant Justice described the foundation as a “key early funder” that supported their work even when it brought them into direct conflict with Ben & Jerry’s itself. “They believed in the human rights vision of Vermont farmworkers, even when it brought us into direct conflict with the company itself,” he said.

Broader Context: A History of Tensions

The dispute over the foundation is the culmination of years of tension between Ben & Jerry’s independent board and its corporate owners. The most significant flashpoint came in 2021 when Ben & Jerry’s announced it would stop selling ice cream in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, sparking multiple lawsuits and accusations of antisemitism. As NPR reported, the conflict escalated further when Ben & Jerry’s alleged that Unilever unlawfully fired CEO David Stever in retaliation for supporting the brand’s social activism.

In December 2025, three independent board members were removed under new governance practices with nine-year term limits. Co-founder Jerry Greenfield resigned from the company in September 2025, citing loss of independence and political censorship. The BBC reported that Greenfield said Ben & Jerry’s had lost its independence after Unilever put a halt to its social activism.

What’s Next

The foundation’s future now rests on a federal court ruling. Unless a favorable decision secures its funding, operations will cease at year’s end. Meanwhile, Ben Cohen has launched the “Free the Cone Day” campaign, gathering approximately 160,000 signatures on a petition demanding that Magnum sell Ben & Jerry’s to values-aligned investors.

The case before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York will determine whether Unilever and Magnum had the authority to withhold foundation funding, whether the independent board’s authority over social mission is enforceable, and whether the removal of board members and the CEO violated the merger agreement.

For the Vermont nonprofits that have relied on the foundation’s support for decades, the stakes could not be higher. As Rebecca Golden, the foundation’s Director of Programs and a 34-year employee, told AP News: “We fill a particular niche that not a lot of other funders fill.”