Archewell

Archewell Inc. is a Beverly Hills-based mix of for-profit and not-for-profit (public) 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 nonprofit charitable foundation, as well as lucrative 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 (USPTO) 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 'Advertising and Business' is advertising, business management, business 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 a catalogue of 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 updated 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 applications 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 raised $13 million in its first year of operation, $3 million of which were 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 the $13 million came from two anonymous backers, while Harry and Meghan each worked 52 hours in the year or one hour per week. Archewell raised less than $4,500 in public donations.

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 (NTEE) 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 (Harry and Meghan's communications lead in the United Kingdom). 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 and she is expected to leave her position some time 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 of 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.