Last Updated on October 28, 2020
A foreign-owned group based in Bermuda has been financing Progressive organization in the United States in an effort to transform red states into blueish-purple toss-ups so that they become low hanging fruit for Democrats in election cycles.
The group Atlantic Philanthropies, based in the island nation of Bermuda, is a conglomeration of private foundations that, because of loopholes in US tax law, fund 501(c)(4) advocacy activities in the United States, providing them with a steady stream of dark money.
Dark money is defined as political spending by nonprofit organizations – 501(c)(4), 501(c)(5), and 501(c)(6) organizations – that are not required to make their donor lists public.
In the 2016 General Election cycle, Atlantic Philanthropies bankrolled a 501(c)(4) organization called the Civic Participation Action Fund (CPAF), that exclusively supported Democrat candidates including then-nominee Hillary Clinton.
CPAF’s CEO is currently Stephen McConnell who is the former US chief of Atlantic Philanthropies. Prior to him, Christopher G. Oechsli was CEO. He served as counsel to former US Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI). Gara LaMarche, currently the head of the Democracy Alliance group of Progressive activist donors to include George Soros, Peter Lewis and Rob Reiner, served as CEO before Oechsli.
The CPAF’s five-year plan is to target voter registration efforts to effectively transform red states into blueish-purple toss-ups states. Their hope is that this manipulation of the voter demographics will lead to Progressives winning more seats in Congress as well as a continuous capture of the presidency.
The Atlantic Advocacy Fund has given CPAF approximately $50,000,000 in grants since its inception.
CPAF is active in almost every state through their grantmaking. Groups that receive funding include, but are not limited to:
- Tides Advocacy
- Center for Popular Democracy
- Colorado Families for a Fair Wage
- Committee on States (targeting state elected offices)
- Community Change Voters
- Democracy Alliance
- Equality Virginia
- Every Citizen Counts
- Florida For All
- Latino Victory Project
- National Immigration Forum
- New Futures Fund
- Register America
- State Engagement Fund
- State Victory Fund
- Win Florida
CPAF’s activities in Arizona, Colorado, Texas, North Carolina, and Florida, are of particular concern not only because they are swing states, but because they swing states that are seeing a full-court press for mail-in voting made possible by the voter registration efforts funded by CPAF.
In the current election cycle, there are concerns that efforts by voter registration groups targeting urban Democrat strongholds will have an influence in turning Florida and Texas, two critical must-win swing states for Republicans, blue.
