Archewell
Archewell Inc. is a Beverly Hills-based mix of for-profit and not-for-profit business organizations registered in Delaware and founded in 2020 by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. The group includes the couple's non-profit charitable foundation, as well as for-profit business divisions focusing on media production, Archewell Audio and Archewell Productions.
History
Sussex Royal
On July 1, 2019, Harry and Meghan registered a private company limited by guarantee in England and Wales under the title 'Sussex Royal The Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex', alternatively referred to as Sussex Royal Foundation. However, after a meeting with senior members of the British royal family, it was confirmed on February 21, 2020, that the couple would not use 'Sussex Royal' as a brand name after they stepped down as working royals at the end of March 2020. Even so, the namesake website remains visible online. On August 5, 2020, Sussex Royal Foundation was renamed 'MWX Foundation' and dissolved the same day.Formation and trademarks
On March 3, 2020, an International Class 35 trademark application for the name 'Archewell' was submitted for registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Cobblestone Lane LLC, which is registered in Delaware but linked to the Beverly Hills offices of Richard Genow, a lawyer who has worked for Meghan for years. A second logo with "the letters AW on top of each other" was registered under a different Delaware firm, IPHW LLC. The description of services for Trademark Class 35 is advertising, business management, organization and administration and office functions. The Duke and Duchess reportedly "filed paperwork to create 'their own charity and volunteering services, wide-ranging website, and sharing 'education and training materials' via films, podcasts and books' and requested to trademark a number of things including motion picture films and branded objects."On May 26, USPTO assigned an examiner to review the application, and an 'Irregularity notice' was reportedly sent addressing errors, including the vague nature of the proposed charitable work, according to documents. Such notice read: 'The wording "providing a website featuring content relating to philanthropy, monetary giving, volunteer and career opportunities" in International Class 35 is also indefinite and over broad, and must be clarified to specify the nature of the content provided.' The notice allowed until August for changes to be made.
Archewell's website was "officially launched" in October 2020. Although it was reported in April 2020 that Archewell would focus on issues including "conservation, female empowerment, and gender equality", this had not been confirmed by the organization. At the end of December 2020, the website was changed to reflect the nature of their charitable and commercial endeavors.
In March 2021, it was reported that lawyers for the couple had blocked the trademark registration of Archewell Harvatera, a Philippine brand of tawas deodorant that had filed a trademark application in July 2020. In July 2021, the organization was told their trademark application would require further revisions. Among them was requested clarification that the group's audio branch would provide "entertainment-based services"; lawyers were also asked to "specify the nature" of "live stage performances" included in its list of prospective activities. Their foundation was also asked to "define the kind of web apps they wish to provide" as listed in their purported functions.
In November 2021 and in parallel with the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, the foundation announced they would become net zero by 2030.
Finances
According to the organization's spokesperson, Archewell had no financial activity in 2020 and its first bank account was opened in January 2021. The gross amount of money raised by the charity was around $50,000 in 2020. In January 2023, the organization published an impact report of its activities between 2020 and 2022. The foundation was launched with an initial start-up revenue of $13 million in 2021, with a further $2 million raised in the same year. $3 million was donated to different causes such as refugee resettlement, procuring COVID-19 vaccines, funding academic fellows, and supporting humanitarian relief centers. The foundation's tax returns for 2021 showed that $3 million was given to the foundation anonymously, whilst $10 million came from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, while Harry and Meghan each worked the nominal amount of 52 hours in the year or one hour per week, a standard practice for directors of U.S. tax-exempt organizations. Archewell raised less than $4,500 in public donations. In 2022, the foundation raised $2 million in charitable contributions. A total of $1.2 million was donated to various causes, such as the HALO Trust, a civil rights foundation, a Washington "gender justice" project, and a project that encourages ethical technology usage. The foundation's expenses exceeded its revenue in 2022, by $674,000, though it still held $8.3 million in assets and cash. James Holt, the organization's executive director, received a salary of $228,500, plus a bonus of $26,356, which, compared to his 2021 income of less than $60,000, was a 280% rise. The organization generated $5.3 million in revenue in 2023, awarded $1.3 million in grants, and had $11.2 million in available funds, according to unaudited numbers included in their impact report. Grants were distributed to Ashley Biden's Women's Wellness ce, Humanity Crew, The Markup, NAACP, aid workers in Israel and Gaza and in Turkey and Syria.In May 2024, Archewell received a "delinquency notice" from California's attorney general, which prohibited the charity from raising money. The notice was issued as the organization failed to submit all the documents and fees related to its 2022 tax return on time, with the foundation stating that an initial cheque sent for the amount owed had been lost in the mail and a further cheque had been sent to resolve the issue. The matter was resolved within the same month, with the organization described by the Registry of Charities and Fundraisers as "current and in good standing".
Etymology
In April 2020, Meghan and Harry confirmed that their US-headquartered non-royal foundation would be called 'Archewell'. The name stems from the Ancient Greek word 'arche', which means 'source of action' compounded with the English word 'well'.Taxonomy
The National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities is a classification system for non-profit organizations developed by the NCSS. Archewell comes under 'NTEE T30 Public Organizations', which typically have grantmaking as a main focus.Publicity and structure
In November 2020, former communications head at Pinterest and former Apple corporate communications manager Christine Schirmer was recruited for Archewell's publicity team. Others include Toya Holness, who led communications at the New York City Department of Education, and James Holt. It was reported that PR agency Sunshine Sachs will work with Schirmer, Holness and Holt as they oversee Archewell ventures. Holt later replaced Catherine St Laurent as the foundation's executive director in March 2021, while St Laurent remained affiliated with the organization as a senior adviser. Around the same time, Invisible Hand, a social impact agency founded by Genevieve Roth, started collaborating with Archewell on initiatives and campaigns, and Roth was appointed a senior strategic advisor. In June 2021, tech and media executive Mandana Dayani joined the foundation as its first chief operating officer. In September 2021, former Sony Pictures executive Fara Taylor was hired as head of marketing for all of the company's three divisions; she left her position in 2023. In the same year, the company hired Miranda Barbot, a former employee of Barack Obama. In May 2022, Ashley Momtaheni Hansen, the VP of Global Communications and Media Relations at the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, was named as the person who would lead Archewell's Global Communications. In the same month, Toya Holness left her position as head of communications. In September 2022, it was announced that Sunshine Sachs would no longer represent them.In December 2022, Mandana Dayani, who had been the president of Archewell, resigned following a planned departure where the Duke and Duchess would come off parental leave and jointly take over the role. In January 2023, Shauna Nep was named as co-executive director to work alongside executive director James Holt. Miranda Barbot joined the foundation as director of global communications and press secretary, while Maren Thomas was named manager of communications, and will work alongside Deesha Tank. Barbot was promoted to vice president of programs and media operations in 2024 and her previous position was filled by Kyle Boulia and Charlie Gipson as deputy press secretary and point of contact for UK and European media outlets, respectively. In October 2024 it was announced that Ashley Hansen who previously served as Harry and Meghan's chief spokesperson had signed the couple as clients for her PR consultancy firm and would oversee Archewell's philanthropic work and creative projects. Hansen was succeeded by Meredith Maines as chief communications officer and Shahed Fakhari Larson as outside strategic communications counsel.
In December 2025, Archewell Foundation was rebranded as Archewell Philanthropies, with the organization still operating within a nonprofit structure, but now through a fiscal sponsorship model. The move led to staff layoffs, which the organization's spokesperson described as "inevitable... particularly with junior admin roles". In the same month James Holt stepped down from his role as executive director of Archewell Foundation, though it was announced he would provide input as senior philanthropic advisor for Archewell Philanthropies in the future.