The Biden Foundation, created in 2017 by former Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden, announced Thursday that it would suspend operations effective immediately, just hours after Joe Biden formally launched his campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
According to a statement from the foundation, the suspension will include "activities related to fundraising, staffing, policy, and partnership collaboration across its policy pillars."
"The Vice President and Dr. Biden are the heart and soul of the foundation and now will be devoting all their time and effort to the presidential campaign," Ted Kaufman, chairman of the Biden Foundation's board, said in a statement Thursday. "We are immediately suspending foundation activities. In the coming days, the board will put together a plan for an orderly wind-down of all of the foundation's work."
Since its founding, the Biden Foundation has served as a means by which the former vice president and his wife could remain engaged in causes they worked on while in the Obama White House, such as expanding college affordability, broadening employment opportunities for military spouses, and combatting violence against women. In its first year, the foundation reported raising $6.6 million. Fundraising figures for 2018 had yet to be released on Thursday.
News of the foundation's imminent suspension was first reported by The New York Times.