Donors, key findings, and profiles of the top 15 dark money groups

The top 15 dark money groups examined by Issue One’s new “Dark Money Illuminated” report have been spending millions of dollars in our elections since Citizens United without publicly disclosing their donors. Dark money groups frequently operate as attack dogs during campaigns, criticizing candidates from the shadows. Dark money groups also often push the envelope in terms of how much political spending they can engage in without running afoul of rules that prohibit them from existing primarily to influence elections. By masquerading as a trade association or “social welfare” nonprofit, dark money groups avoid the mandatory donor disclosure rules that would come with registering as a political committee whose primary purpose is to influence elections.

The 45Committee

Here’s what Issue One’s year-long “Dark Money Illuminated” investigation revealed:

• The 45Committee raised $49 million between April 2015 and March 2017
• Issue One identified 3 donors to this dark money group
• These donors collectively accounted for 2% of its funding.

Issue One found 3 donors that gave any amount since April 2015:

• Wellspring Committee: $750,000
• Judicial Crisis Network: $250,000
• Ending Spending: $75,000

Note: These numbers have been rounded to two significant figures. Click here to see more details about these contributions — and all identified donors to this group — in Issue One’s exclusive database of dark money donors, and click here to learn more about how these contributors were identified. 

The 45Committee self-reported to the IRS that 47% of its total spending was related to political campaign activities.

It also told the FEC that 85% of its political spending was negative.

About the 45Committee

Before the GOP selected its presidential nominee in 2016, the 45Committee was founded in April 2015 as a “social welfare” organization under Sec. 501(c)(4) of the tax code to aid whomever that person would be. According to the Washington Post, this group is “primarily funded by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and the family of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts.” These contributions, however, have never been publicly disclosed.

Tax records indicate that at least 60 percent of the money the 45Committee raised during its first two years came from four unidentified donors — who each gave $7.5 million. Seven other unknown donors contributed at least $1 million to the 45Committee during this period.

Brian Baker, a longtime political adviser to the Ricketts family, serves as the chairman and president of the 45Committee. Federal campaign finance records show that both the Adelson family and Ricketts family, which owns the Chicago Cubs baseball team, have also been major donors to the 45Committee’s sister super PAC, which is called Future45. Joe Ricketts’ son Todd Ricketts — who now serves as the finance chairman of the Republican National Committee — was, according to media reports, actively involved in raising funds for both groups ahead of the 2016 election.

In its second year of operation — a period that corresponded with the 2016 presidential election — nearly 48 percent of the 45Committee’s spending went toward “direct or indirect political campaign activities,” according to documents it filed with the Internal Revenue Service. The group has continued to spend money during the 2018 election cycle, typically aiding Republican candidates.

60 Plus Association

Here’s what Issue One’s year-long “Dark Money Illuminated” investigation revealed:

• The 60 Plus Association raised $92 million between July 2009 and June 2017
• Issue One identified 29 donors to this dark money group
• These donors collectively accounted for 51% of its funding

Issue One found  13 donors that gave at least $100,000 since July 2009:

• American Encore (formerly Center to Protect Patient Rights): $16 million
• Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce: $16 million
• American Future Fund: $4.6 million
• TC4 Trust: $4.1 million
• Consumer Information Council: $1.9 million
• Vote Alabama: $1 million
• Free Enterprise America: $840,000
• Peoples Alliance for Leadership: $630,000
• Mobile Consumers for Choice and Competition (formerly Midwest Consumers for Choice and Competition): $250,000
• Arizona Free Enterprise Club: $200,000
• Next Century Fund: $140,000
• Citizens for a Digital Future: $100,000
• Policy and Taxation Group: $100,000

Note: These numbers have been rounded to two significant figures. Click here to see more details about these contributions — and all identified donors to this group — in Issue One’s exclusive database of dark money donors, and click here to learn more about how these contributors were identified. 

The 60 Plus Association self-reported to the IRS that 10% of its total spending was related to political campaign activities.

It also told the FEC that 72% of its political spending was negative.

About the 60 Plus Association

Incorporated in Virginia in August 1990 as a 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organization, the 60 Plus Association markets itself as a conservative alternative to AARP. The group’s founder and longtime chairman is Jim Martin, a former journalist who served as the chief of staff to a Republican senator during the 1960s. Martin is also the man who is credited as popularizing the term “death tax” for the tax paid by the wealthiest Americans when they pass their estates onto their heirs. Singer Pat Boone, who rose to fame in the 1950s for his pop and gospel songs, serves as the 60 Plus Association’s national spokesman.

When it applied for tax-exempt status, the 60 Plus Association told the Internal Revenue Service it planned to raise money from unspecified “individuals, corporations and foundations.”

In 2016, the Federal Election Commission levied a $50,000 fine against the 60 Plus Association for failing to disclose that a nonprofit known as the Center to Protect Patient Rights — a group associated with the political network of billionaires Charles and David Koch — was a donor behind some of its political expenditures in 2010. However, according to media reports, the 60 Plus Association only paid one-tenth of this fine — and decided to contest the remaining amount.

In 2014, a liberal watchdog group asked the IRS to determine whether the 60 Plus Association had violated federal law “by intentionally failing to disclose” millions of dollars in spending on political activities in 2010 and 2012. An Issue One review of federal records shows that the 60 Plus Association told the FEC that it spent at least $2.3 million more expressly advocating for the election or defeat of candidates between July 2009 and June 2017 than the group told the IRS it spent on “direct or indirect political campaign activities” during the same period.

American Action Network

Here’s what Issue One’s year-long “Dark Money Illuminated” investigation revealed:

• The American Action Network raised $170 million between July 2009 and June 2017
• Issue One identified 23 donors to this dark money group
• These donors collectively accounted for 13% of its funding.

Issue One found 13 donors that gave at least $100,000 since July 2009:

• Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA): $12 million
• Republican Jewish Coalition: $4 million
• Aetna Inc.: $3.3 million
• Crossroads GPS: $500,000
• Wellspring Committee: $310,000
• Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care: $250,000
• American Petroleum Institute: $250,000
• Boeing Co. PAC: $250,000
• Dow Chemical Co.: $250,000
• Association of American Railroads: $200,000
• FWD.us: $150,000
• Online Consumers Network: $100,000
• The Annual Fund: $100,000

Note: These numbers have been rounded to two significant figures. Click here to see more details about these contributions — and all identified donors to this group — in Issue One’s exclusive database of dark money donors, and click here to learn more about how these contributors were identified. 

The American Action Network self-reported to the IRS that 32% of its total spending was related to political campaign activities.

It also told the FEC that 93% of its political spending was negative.

About American Action Network

Incorporated in Delaware in July 2009 as a 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organization, the American Action Network was not publicly rolled out by high-profile Republicans until February 2010 — one month after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision.

The self-described “action tank” was founded by veteran Republican fundraiser Fred Malek, the former Marriott Hotels president and CEO who has helped raise campaign cash for a number of GOP presidential candidates over the years.

Former Republican Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota served as the American Action Network’s first CEO and is still the chairman of the organization’s board of directors.

Brian Walsh — the former political director for the National Republican Congressional Committee who helped Republicans win control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010 — served as the president of the American Action Network between 2011 and 2015.

The group’s current executive director is Corry Bliss, who managed Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman’s successful re-election campaign in 2016.

When it applied for tax-exempt status, the American Action Network told the Internal Revenue Service that only a “minor portion” of its activities would likely be classified as political campaign intervention — likely no more than 20 percent. Yet in the wake of Citizens United, the American Action Network emerged as a major political player, spending nearly 40 percent of its funds on “direct or indirect political campaign activities” in some years.

In June 2014, the Federal Election Commission deadlocked 3-3 in response to a complaint about whether the American Action Network should have registered as a political committee, which would have required the group to disclose its donors. The FEC again deadlocked 3-3 on the same question in October 2016, after a federal judge ordered the agency to reevaluate its decision.

Americans for Job Security

Here’s what Issue One’s year-long “Dark Money Illuminated” investigation revealed:

• Americans for Job Security $68 million between November 2009 and October 2014
• Issue One identified 80 donors to this dark money group
• These donors collectively accounted for 55% of its funding

Issue One found 10 donors that gave at least $1 million since November 2009:

• Charles Schwab: $6.7 million
• John Fisher: $5 million
• American Encore (formerly Center to Protect Patient Rights): $4.9 million
• Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies (Crossroads GPS): $2 million
• Doris Fisher: $2 million
• William Fisher: $2 million
• Retail Industry Leaders Association: $1.5 million
• Involve America: $1.4 million
• Eli Broad: $1 million
• Robert Fisher: $1 million

Note: These numbers have been rounded to two significant figures. Click here to see more details about these contributions — and all identified donors to this group — in Issue One’s exclusive database of dark money donors, and click here to learn more about how these contributors were identified. 

Americans for Job Security self-reported to the IRS that 31% of its total spending was related to political campaign activities.

It also told the FEC that 98% of its political spending was negative.

About Americans for Job Security

Formed in November 1997 as a 501(c)(6) trade association, Americans for Job Security ranks among the earliest political dark money groups. In recent years, however, the group has all but vanished. Stephen DeMaura, a former executive director of the New Hampshire Republican Party, served as Americans for Job Security’s president for nearly a decade, beginning in 2008. The group was founded by political operatives David Carney and Michael Dubke, who briefly served as communications director for President Donald Trump in the White House last year.

In addition to its own political spending, which has typically aided Republican candidates, Americans for Job Security also played a prominent role in funneling tens of millions of dollars to two ballot measure fights in California during the 2012 election. The California Fair Political Practices Commission later concluded this effort was designed to hide the identities of the actual donors supporting the ballot measures. As part of its investigation, the commission released a poorly redacted list of Americans for Job Security’s donors in 2012, which led media organizations and others to identify many of the group’s donors that year.

In June 2014, the Federal Election Commission deadlocked 3-3 in response to a complaint about whether Americans for Job Security should have registered as a political committee, which would have required the group to disclose its donors.

In July 2016, the FEC fined Americans for Job Security $43,000 after the agency concluded that the group should have disclosed a nonprofit known as the Center to Protect Patient Rights — a group associated with the political network of billionaires Charles and David Koch — as a donor behind some of its political expenditures in 2010.

In March 2018, the Internal Revenue Service revoked the tax-exempt status of Americans for Job Security after the group failed to file mandatory tax returns for three consecutive years. According to its most recent tax return, Americans for Job Security had about $620,000 in the bank as of October 2014. Beyond paying the FEC fine in 2016, it’s unclear how that money has been spent.

Americans for Prosperity

Here’s what Issue One’s year-long “Dark Money Illuminated” investigation revealed:

• Americans for Prosperity raised $398 million between January 2010 and December 2016
• Issue One identified 29 donors to this dark money group
• These donors collectively accounted for 39% of its funding.

Issue One found 9 donors that gave at least $100,000 since January 2010:

• Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce: $140 million
• American Encore (formerly Center to Protect Patient Rights): $14 million
• TC4 Trust: $1.4 million
• Alliance for a Free Society: $430,000
• NCTA – The Internet and Television Association (formerly the National Cable and Telecommunications Association): $240,000
• Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA): $190,000
• Cornerstone Policy Research Action (CPR Action): $150,000
• Education Freedom Alliance: $120,000
• American Energy Alliance: $100,000

Note: These numbers have been rounded to two significant figures. Click here to see more details about these contributions — and all identified donors to this group — in Issue One’s exclusive database of dark money donors,  and click here to learn more about how these contributors were identified. 

Americans for Prosperity self-reported to the IRS that 14% of its total spending was related to political campaign activities

It also told the FEC that 100% of its political spending was negative.

About Americans for Prosperity

Founded in March 2004 as a 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organization, Americans for Prosperity is the flagship of the political network of billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch, the latter of whom was the Libertarian Party’s vice presidential nominee in 1980. Americans for Prosperity grew out of another group formed by the Koch brothers, Citizens for a Sound Economy, which split due to internal disagreements.

In 2009 and 2010, Americans for Prosperity was deeply involved in mobilizing voters and helping elect the wave of tea party-aligned Republicans that helped the GOP win 63 seats and control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010. Americans for Prosperity currently operates a national office as well as chapters in 36 states to promote its vision for “economic freedom.”

Based on its vast resources and infrastructure, the Washington Post once referred to Americans for Prosperity as “America’s third-biggest political party.” The group hosts semi-annual, invitation-only summits for conservative political donors, which are often attended by lawmakers and candidates.

Tim Phillips, a veteran political strategist who once served as the chief of staff to Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), has been the president of Americans for Prosperity since 2006. In 2017, Emily Seidel, a strategist in the Koch network for years, was appointed as Americans for Prosperity’s CEO.

Much of the money known to have funded Americans for Prosperity has come from three groups that have acted as financial hubs for the Koch brothers’ political network over the years: the Freedom Partners Chambers of Commerce, TC4 Trust and the Center to Protect Patient Rights (now known as American Encore), each of which has made large grants to Americans for Prosperity, as well as a number of other politically active nonprofit groups.

Americans for Tax Reform

Here’s what Issue One’s year-long “Dark Money Illuminated” investigation revealed:

• Americans for Tax Reform raised $67 million between January 2010 and December 2016
• Issue One identified 23 donors to this dark money group
• These donors collectively accounted for 58% of its funding.

Issue One found 11 donors that gave at least $100,000 since January 2010:

• Crossroads GPS: $30 million
• American Encore (formerly Center to Protect Patient Rights): $4.5 million
• Free Enterprise America: $810,000
• Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA): $730,000
• Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA): $600,000
• American Petroleum Institute: $380,000
• NCTA – The Internet and Television Association (formerly the National Cable and Telecommunications Association): $300,000
• Reynolds American Inc.: $280,000
• ACTwireless (formerly MyWireless.org): $170,000
• Edison Electric Institute: $160,000
• Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce: $100,000

Note: These numbers have been rounded to two significant figures. Click here to see more details about these contributions — and all identified donors to this group — in Issue One’s exclusive database of dark money donors, and click here to learn more about how these contributors were identified. 

Americans for Tax Reform self-reported to the IRS that 19% of its total spending was related to political campaign activities.

It also told the FEC that 91% of its political spending was negative

About Americans for Tax Reform

Originally founded in July 1985 to promote President Ronald Reagan’s proposal for tax reform, Americans for Tax Reform remains a powerful lobbying organization today that also frequently spends money in elections to aid Republican candidates. The group’s founder and president is Grover Norquist, a conservative activist who once boasted that his goal was to get government “down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub.”

In 1994, Norquist was one of the co-authors of the “Contract with America,” the campaign platform that helped the GOP win control of the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time in more than forty years and helped elevate Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-GA), another co-author, to the position of Speaker of the House.

Americans for Tax Reform’s primary advocacy tool is its “Taxpayer Protection Pledge,” which asks politicians at the local, state and national level to “make a written commitment to oppose any and all tax increases.”

Americans for Tax Reform, which is organized as a 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organization, says that nearly 1,400 elected officials nationwide, at all levels of government, have signed its anti-tax pledge. Currently, 46 out of the 51 sitting Senate Republicans are signatories to the pledge, as are nearly 90 percent of the 235 House Republicans.

In 2012 and 2013, a liberal watchdog group twice asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate whether Americans for Tax Reform had violated federal law by failing to disclose millions of dollars in spending on political activities in 2010 and 2012. An Issue One review of federal records shows that Americans for Tax Reform told the FEC that it spent at least $8 million more expressly advocating for the election or defeat of federal candidates during those two election years than the group told the IRS it spent on “direct or indirect political campaign activities.”

American Future Fund

Here’s what Issue One’s year-long “Dark Money Illuminated” investigation revealed:

• The American Future Fund raised $137 million between January 2010 and December 2016
• Issue One identified 27 donors to this dark money group
• These donors collectively accounted for 64% of its funding

Issue One found 7 donors that gave at least $1 million since January 2010:

• American Encore (formerly Center to Protect Patient Rights): $62 million
• Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce: $14 million
• American Justice Partnership: $2.5 million
• Judicial Crisis Network: $2.1 million
• Wellspring Committee: $2.1 million
• Crossroads GPS: $2 million
• Conservative Solutions Project: $1 million

Note: These numbers have been rounded to two significant figures. Click here to see more details about these contributions — and all identified donors to this group — in Issue One’s exclusive database of dark money donors, and click here to learn more about how these contributors were identified. 

The American Future Fund self-reported to the IRS that 38% of its total spending was related to political campaign activities.

It also told the FEC that 68% of its political spending was negative

About American Future Fund

The American Future Fund, which frequently spends money in elections to aid Republican candidates, was founded in Iowa in August 2007 as a 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organization by GOP political operative Nick Ryan. Sandy Greiner, a former Republican state legislator from Iowa, served as its president from 2009 through early 2016. Allison Kleis, a Republican political consultant who works with Ryan at the Iowa-based Concordia Group, now serves in that role.

When the American Future Fund applied for tax-exempt status in 2008, it told the Internal Revenue Service that it did not plan to spend money on elections. That changed after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010, and the group has now spent tens of millions of dollars on ads that have expressly advocated for the election or defeat of federal candidates. The American Future Fund’s spending on “direct or indirect political campaign activities” typically spikes in election years — accounting for approximately 38 percent to 46 percent of its spending in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016, according to documents the group filed with the IRS. In non-election years, that percentage has been nearly zero.

For a period, the American Future Fund was a major player in the political network of billionaires Charles and David Koch, but following the 2012 election, it was reportedly exiled from the Koch network for its role in a scheme that regulators said was designed to conceal the identities of donors to two ballot initiative campaigns in California.

In November 2014, the Federal Election Commission deadlocked 3-2 in response to a complaint about whether the American Future Fund should have registered as a political committee, which would have required the group to disclose its donors. (Four affirmative votes are needed for the FEC to take action.)

Despite the fact that it has never disclosed its donors, influential Iowa businessman Bruce Rastetter — the co-founder and CEO of Hawkeye Energy Holdings, a large ethanol company — reportedly provided “seed money” to the American Future Fund.

Crossroads GPS

Here’s what Issue One’s year-long “Dark Money Illuminated” investigation revealed:

• Crossroads GPS raised $349 million between June 2010 and December 2016
• Issue One identified 10 donors to this dark money group
• These donors collectively accounted for 2% of its funding

Issue One found 7 donors that gave at least $100,000 since June 2010:

• Republican Jewish Coalition: $4 million
• Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care: $500,000
• American Health Care Association: $450,000
• Kentucky Opportunity Coalition: $350,000
• Main Street Advocacy Fund: $150,000
• Property Casualty Insurers Association of America: $150,000
• AGC Construction Advocacy Fund (formerly AGC Public Awareness and Advocacy Fund): $100,000

Note: These numbers have been rounded to two significant figures. Click here to see more details about these contributions — and all identified donors to this group — in Issue One’s exclusive database of dark money donors, and click here to learn more about how these contributors were identified. 

Crossroads GPS self-reported to the IRS that 34% of its total spending was related to political campaign activities.

It also told the FEC that 92% of its political spending was negative.

About Crossroads GPS

Crossroads GPS (also known as Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies) was conceived in the months following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision by Republican operatives including GOP strategist Karl Rove, a former senior advisor to President George W. Bush. It quickly became one of the best-known political dark money groups of the post-Citizens United era.

According to documents the group — which is organized as a “social welfare” nonprofit under Sec. 501(c)(4) of the tax code — filed with the Internal Revenue Service, its political spending typically spikes in election years. In the years featuring the 2010, 2012 and 2014 elections, for example, nearly 40 percent of Crossroads GPS’ spending went toward “direct or indirect political campaign activities.” In non-election years, that percentage has frequently been zero.

In October 2010, good-government groups urged the IRS to “investigate whether Crossroads GPS has a primary purpose of ‘participation or intervention in political campaigns on behalf of or in opposition to’ candidates for public office.”

In December 2013, the Federal Election Commission deadlocked 3-3 in response to a complaint about whether Crossroads GPS should have registered as a political committee, which would have required the group to disclose its donors.

Crossroads GPS was also the subject of a nearly five-and-a-half-year investigation by the IRS into whether its substantial political spending disqualified it from tax-exemption under Section 501(c)(4) of the tax code. In September 2013, the IRS was prepared to rule against the group, but Crossroads GPS’ lawyers fought back. And in November 2015, the IRS retroactively granted Crossroads GPS tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, allowing the group to keep its donors secret.

Crossroads GPS was spun off from its sister super PAC, known as American Crossroads, which was also formed in 2010. Carl Forti, a political consultant and Rove protégé who served as Crossroads GPS’ political director, once acknowledged that donors appreciated the anonymity afforded by Crossroads GPS’ tax status. “Some donors didn’t want to be disclosed,” he said at a conference in 2010. “They were more comfortable giving to a (c)(4), and so we created one.”

When it applied for tax-exempt status, Crossroads GPS told the IRS it planned to raise money from “individuals, corporations and other organizations who support the mission of the organization.” To this day, nearly all of those donors remain anonymous, although Crossroads GPS has reportedly received substantial checks from Las Vegas casino magnates Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson.

Steven Law is the president of Crossroads GPS. Law is a former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and previously worked in senior roles at the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In the 1990s, Law served as the chief of staff to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

League of Conservation Voters

Here’s what Issue One’s year-long “Dark Money Illuminated” investigation revealed:

• The League of Conservation Voters raised $185 million between January 2010 and December 2016
• Issue One identified 33 donors to this dark money group
• These donors collectively accounted for 25% of its funding

Issue One found 17 donors that gave at least $100,000 since January 2010:

• League of Conservation Voters Education Fund: $9.5 million
• The Advocacy Fund: $8.9 million
• Green Tech Action Fund: $8.4 million
• NEO Philanthropy Action Fund (formerly Public Interest Projects Action Fund): $5.8 million
• Sixteen Thirty Fund: $5.5 million
• Environmental Defense Action Fund: $2.8 million
• Partnership Project Action Fund: $2.5 million
• Partnership Project: $2 million
• Majority Forward: $1.5 million
• Priorities USA: $650,000
• Tides Foundation: $490,000
• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Action Fund: $390,000
• America Votes: $310,000
• NextGen Climate Action: $260,000
• Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors: $210,000
• NEO Philanthropy: $140,000
• Rockefeller Family Fund: $130,000

Note: These numbers have been rounded to two significant figures. Click here to see more details about these contributions — and all identified donors to this group — in Issue One’s exclusive database of dark money donors, and click here to learn more about how these contributors were identified. 

The League of Conservation Voters self-reported to the IRS that 31% of its total spending was related to political campaign activities

It also told the FEC that 58% of its political spending was negative.

About the League of Conservation Voters

Established in 1969 by environmentalist David Brower, the League of Conservation Voters is an advocacy organization that works to elect pro-environment candidates who are typically Democrats. Boasting more than 2 million members across the country, the League of Conservation Voters claims on its website that it has “helped elect or re-elect 73 U.S. senators and 330 members of the U.S. House of Representatives” since 1994.

Gene Karpinski, a former executive director of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, has served as the president of the League of Conservation Voters since 2006. Since 1970, the League of Conservation Voters has published a scorecard that assesses politicians on environmental issues. According to documents the group filed with the Internal Revenue Service, its spending on “direct or indirect political campaign activities” typically spikes in election years — exceeding 41 percent, for instance, in 2012 when the group endorsed President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign, among other candidates.

Organized as a 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organization, the League of Conservation Voters is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and also works with affiliates in 31 states. In addition to its main 501(c)(4) arm, the League of Conservation Voters also operates a traditional political action committee that makes donations to candidates, a super PAC that sponsors political advertisements and a 501(c)(3) charity arm that seeks to increase voter participate and educate the public and elected officials about key environmental issues.

National Association of Realtors

Here’s what Issue One’s year-long “Dark Money Illuminated” investigation revealed:

• The National Association of Realtors raised $1.3 billion between January 2010 and December 2016
• Issue One identified 0 donors to this dark money group
• These donors collectively accounted for 0% of its funding

According to its filings with the IRS, the National Association of Realtors has not received any contributions or grants since January 2010. The bulk of its funding comes from membership dues, program services and investments.

The National Association of Realtors self-reported to the IRS that 4% of its total spending was related to political campaign activities.

Atypically for a dark money group, the National Association of Realtors told the FEC that 100% of its political spending was positive.

About the National Association of Realtors

Formed in May 1908, the National Association of Realtors touts itself as the largest trade association in the country, representing more than 1.3 million members in all 50 states as well as Washington, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The group strives to be “the leading advocate of the right to own, use and transfer real property” and to help its members “become more profitable and successful.”

Since August 2017, Bob Goldberg, a 23-year veteran of the National Association of Realtors, has served as the trade association’s CEO. The group’s current president is Elizabeth Mendenhall, a realtor from Columbia, Missouri.

While the National Association of Realtors does regularly communicate with its members about political candidates, that’s not the primary reason why the trade association ranks among the top dark money groups since Citizens United. In September 2010, the 501(c)(6) trade association formed the National Association of Realtors Congressional Fund, a super PAC that has been primarily funded by the National Associations of Realtors itself.

In fact, roughly 95 percent of the $26 million raised by this super PAC between 2010 and 2016 came from the National Association of Realtors’ own coffers. (Campaign finance records show other large donors to the Realtors’ super PAC include electronic lockbox manufacturer Sentrilock LLC and the Center for Specialized Realtor Education, a subsidiary of the National Association of Realtors that provides trainings and educational services.)

And who funds the National Association of Realtors? According to the group’s tax filings, the trade association does not receive grants or contributions from other individuals or organizations. These forms show that the bulk of the money the National Association of Realtors collects is from membership dues, although some additional revenue comes from program services and investments. According to the National Association of Realtors’ website, its dues are currently $120 per person per year.

Notably, unlike most other super PACs, fully 100 percent of the spending by the National Association of Realtors Congressional Fund has been positive, touting a mix of Democratic and Republican candidates to the general public.

In addition to advocating for policies in Washington that foster homeownership, the National Association of Realtors is also active in policy debates ranging from the National Flood Insurance Program to infrastructure spending to net neutrality.

Note: According to its filings with the IRS, the National Association of Realtors has not received any contributions or grants since January 2010. The bulk of its receipts come from membership dues, program services and investments.

National Rifle Association

Here’s what Issue One’s year-long “Dark Money Illuminated” investigation revealed:

• The National Rifle Association raised $2.1 billion between January 2010 and December 2016
• Issue One identified 37 donors to this dark money group
• These donors collectively accounted for 7% of its funding

Issue One found 17 donors that gave at least $100,000 since January 2010:

• NRA Foundation: $110 million
• Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc.: $12 million
• Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce: $8.4 million
• American Encore (formerly Center to Protect Patient Rights): $3.2 million
• American Future Fund: $3 million
• American Action Network: $2.7 million
• MidwayUSA and its owners Larry and Brenda Potterfield: $2.1 million
• Smith & Wesson Corp.: $1.6 million
• Judicial Crisis Network: $1 million
• Pierce Bullet Seal Target Systems: $1 million

Note: These numbers have been rounded to two significant figures. Click here to see more details about these contributions — and all identified donors to this group — in Issue One’s exclusive database of dark money donors, and click here to learn more about how these contributors were identified. 

The National Rifle Association self-reported to the IRS that 2% of its total spending was related to political campaign activities.

It also told the FEC that 64% of its political spending was negative.

About the National Rifle Association

The National Rifle Association (NRA) was founded in 1871 by two former Union Army Civil War officers to promote marksmanship. Since then, the NRA has evolved into one of the most powerful political and lobbying forces in Washington, typically backing Republican candidates, although it occasionally supports gun-friendly Democrats as well. The organization, which is organized as a 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organization, now touts itself as “America’s foremost defender of Second Amendment rights” and claims more than 5 million members across the country.

The NRA’s funding comes from a combination of membership dues and contributions from other sources, including gun manufacturers and executives at gun-manufacturing companies. Donors who give $1 million or more to any of the NRA’s 501(c)(4) or 501(c)(3) arms over their lifetimes are recognized as members of the “Golden Ring of Freedom.”

The NRA itself says that “gifts from companies and executives in the firearms, hunting and shooting sports industries typically comprise less than 5 percent of the NRA’s contribution revenue every year.” The organization has told the Internal Revenue Service that the “vast majority of contributions” it receives are from millions of small-dollar individual donors. Its tax returns show that membership dues, which start at $30 a year, typically comprise 40 percent to 50 percent of the NRA’s annual revenue.

Earlier this year, the NRA acknowledged that it accepts contributions from “foreign individuals and entities” but said these funds have never been used to fund its electoral activities.

The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), which was established in 1975, acts as the group’s primary political and legislative vehicle within the NRA’s main 501(c)(4) operation. The executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action is Chris W. Cox, who served as a senior legislative aide in Congress prior to joining the NRA.

Meanwhile, the NRA’s longtime leader is Wayne LaPierre, whose official title is executive vice president and CEO, and the NRA’s president, as of earlier this year, is retired Marine Corps Lt. Colonel Oliver North, who worked for President Ronald Reagan’s National Security Council and became well-known in the 1980s for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal.

In 2015 and 2016, a liberal watchdog group twice asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate whether the NRA had violated federal law by failing to disclose millions of dollars in spending on political activities between 2008 and 2014. In 2012 alone, records show that the NRA told the Federal Election Commission that it spent more than $7 million expressly advocating for the election or defeat of federal candidates, while the group told the IRS it spent no money on “direct or indirect political campaign activities on behalf of or in opposition to candidates.” The NRA has asserted that the numbers it reports to the IRS are “not necessarily expected to tie to [FEC] reporting due to different definitions and exclusions in the different regulatory regimes.” Nevertheless, these stark differences have raised eyebrows among watchdog groups and journalists.

Patriot Majority USA

Here’s what Issue One’s year-long “Dark Money Illuminated” investigation revealed:

• Patriot Majority USA raised $66 million between March 2011 and December 2016
• Issue One identified 20 donors to this dark money group
• These donors collectively accounted for 14% of its funding

Issue One found 12 donors that gave at least $100,000 since March 2011:

• National Education Association (NEA): $1.8 million
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME): $1.7 million
• Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care: $1.3 million
• Service Employees International Union (SEIU): $860,000
• Fair Share: $850,000
• Sixteen Thirty Fund: $660,000
• Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare: $500,000
• American Health Care Association: $480,000
• America Votes: $410,000
• NEO Philanthropy Action Fund (formerly Public Interest Projects Action Fund): $300,000
• SEIU Pennsylvania State Council: $280,000
• International Association of Firefighters: $100,000

Note: These numbers have been rounded to two significant figures. Click here to see more details about these contributions — and all identified donors to this group — in Issue One’s exclusive database of dark money donors, and click here to learn more about how these contributors were identified. 

Patriot Majority USA self-reported to the IRS that 38% of its total spending was related to political campaign activities.

It also told the FEC that 91% of its political spending was negative.

About the Patriot Majority USA

Patriot Majority USA, a 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organization that often spends money in elections to aid Democratic candidates, was founded in March 2011 by political consultant Craig Varoga, a Democrat with strong ties to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). To wit: Varoga led an independent group that helped Reid win his contentious re-election race in 2010. Varoga has long been adamant that Democrats should not “unilaterally disarm” when it comes to campaigning in the post-Citizens United era. “It does not matter whether any of us agree or disagree with current campaign finance laws, or court interpretations and FEC rulings on these laws,” Varoga wrote in Campaigns & Elections magazine in 2012. “This brave new world is here.”

When Patriot Majority USA applied for tax-exempt status in 2011, it told the Internal Revenue Service that it planned to raise money from “individuals, corporations, partnerships, unions and other organizations.” Patriot Majority USA acknowledged to the IRS that it planned to spend money influencing elections — but stressed that it would not spend more than 40 percent of its money on such overt, electoral activities. According to its own tax filings, Patriot Majority USA has typically spent between 30 percent and 40 percent of its funds each year on “direct or indirect political campaign activities.”

Planned Parenthood Action Fund

Here’s what Issue One’s year-long “Dark Money Illuminated” investigation revealed:

• The Planned Parenthood Action Fund raised $179 million between July 2009 and June 2017
• Issue One identified 32 donors to this dark money group
• These donors collectively accounted for 35% of its funding

Issue One found 16 donors that gave at least $100,000 since July 2009:

• Planned Parenthood Federation of America: $29 million
• Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation: $26 million
• Priorities USA: $2.3 million
• Open Society Policy Center: $1.5 million
• American Bridge 21st Century: $500,000
• Berger Action Fund: $500,000
• America Votes: $480,000
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME): $450,000
• Atlantic Advocacy Fund: $400,000
• NextGen Climate Action Committee: $320,000
• America Votes Action Fund: $300,000
• Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors: $300,000
• NEO Philanthropy: $290,000
• Tides Foundation: $270,000
• The Advocacy Fund: $170,000
• NEO Philanthropy Action Fund (formerly Public Interest Projects Action Fund): $100,000

Note: These numbers have been rounded to two significant figures. Click here to see more details about these contributions — and all identified donors to this group — in Issue One’s exclusive database of dark money donors, and click here to learn more about how these contributors were identified. 

The Planned Parenthood Action Fund self-reported to the IRS that 22% of its total spending was related to political campaign activities.

It also told the FEC that 71% of its political spending was negative.

About the Planned Parenthood Action Fund

The Planned Parenthood Action Fund was formed in August 1989 as the advocacy arm of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1916 by sex educator, nurse and activist Margaret Sanger, who popularized the term “birth control.”

Today the Planned Parenthood Federation of America works with local affiliates that operate more than 600 health centers across the United States offering reproductive health services, including cancer screenings, contraception and abortion. The organization says that one in five American women have chosen Planned Parenthood for health care services at least once in their lives.

For its part, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which operates as a 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organization, aims to help elect politicians who support reproductive rights and to thwart anti-abortion politicians. This means it typically spends money in elections to aid Democratic candidates. It also works to educate the public and register voters. The group says it is backed by more than 10 million “activists, donors and other supporters.”

In April, Cecile Richards, who had served as the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund since 2006, stepped down from these roles. As of today, her replacement has not yet been announced.

In addition to its 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) arms, Planned Parenthood also has a traditional political action committee that makes donations to candidates and a super PAC that makes independent expenditures to aid its preferred candidates.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Here’s what Issue One’s year-long “Dark Money Illuminated” investigation revealed:

• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce raised $1.3 billion between January 2010 and December 2016
• Issue One identified 127 donors to this dark money group
• These donors collectively accounted for 7% of its funding

Issue One found 20 donors that gave at least $1 million since January 2010:

• Dow Chemical Co.: $13 million
• Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce: $5.5 million
• Aetna Inc.: $5.3 million
• Crossroads GPS: $5.3 million
• Chevron Corp.: $4.5 million
• Merck & Co., Inc.: $4.4 million
• Microsoft Corp.: $2.8 million
• Qualcomm Inc.: $2.7 million
• Prudential Financial, Inc.: $2.3 million
• American Electric Power Company, Inc.: $2.1 million
• Anthem, Inc. (formerly Wellpoint, Inc.): $2 million
• Association of American Railroads: $2 million
• Southern Company: $2 million
• 3M Co.: $1.6 million
• Intel Corp.: $1.5 million
• Exelon Corp.: $1.3 million
• MetLife, Inc.: $1.3 million
• PepsiCo, Inc.: $1.3 million
• Union Pacific Corp.: $1.2 million
• Kentucky Opportunity Coalition: $1 million

Note: These numbers have been rounded to two significant figures. Click here to see more details about these contributions — and all identified donors to this group — in Issue One’s exclusive database of dark money donors, and click here to learn more about how these contributors were identified. 

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce self-reported to the IRS that 13% of its total spending was related to political campaign activities.

It also told the FEC that 57% of its political spending was negative.

About the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Founded in 1912, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce grew out of an address by President William Taft to a delegation of more than 700 business leaders at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., who had been assembled by Charles Nagel, Taft’s secretary of Commerce and Labor.

More than 100 years later, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ranks as one of the nation’s largest and most powerful lobbying groups, with an ornate headquarters in Washington, D.C., just a block from the White House.

A trade association organized under Section 501(c)(6) of the tax code, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce mostly endorses Republican candidates, although it occasionally supports business-friendly Democrats. The group says it represents more than 3 million businesses across the country and has a membership of approximately 300,000.

While the U.S. Chamber of Commerce does not disclose its donors, nearly 100 blue-chip companies have voluntarily disclosed their own dues payments to the trade association, according to research by Issue One.

Thomas Donohue, the former president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations, has served as the president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce since 1997.

Donohue — along with the heads of the Business Roundtable and National Association of Manufacturers — has urged companies to reject calls for additional transparency measures about their political spending, criticizing such efforts as plots to “name-and-shame” companies “into either curtailing or eliminating their involvement in public policy debates.”

VoteVets Action Fund

Here’s what Issue One’s year-long “Dark Money Illuminated” investigation revealed:

• The VoteVets Action Fund raised $46 million between July 2009 and June 2017
• Issue One identified 42 donors to this dark money group
• These donors collectively accounted for 33% of its funding

Issue One found 12 donors that gave at least $500,000 since July 2009:

• Alliance for Climate Protection: $2.6 million
• Fuels America: $1.4 million
• Partnership Project Action Fund: $1.4 million
• American Federation of Government Employees: $1.2 million
• United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry: $920,000
• America Votes: $860,000
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME): $780,000
• Patriot Majority USA (formerly American Alliance for Economic Development): $750,000
• Sierra Club: $670,000
• International Union of Operating Engineers: $650,000
• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Action Fund: $500,000
• United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America: $500,000

Note: These numbers have been rounded to two significant figures. Click here to see more details about these contributions — and all identified donors to this group — in Issue One’s exclusive database of dark money donors, and click here to learn more about how these contributors were identified. 

The VoteVets Action Fund self-reported to the IRS that 29% of its total spending was related to political campaign activities

It also told the FEC that 58% of its political spending was negative.

About the VoteVets Action Fund

The VoteVets Action Fund, which often spends money in elections to aid Democratic candidates, has described itself as the “largest progressive organization of veterans in the United States.” It claims more than 500,000 supporters across the country.

The group was founded in August 2006 as a 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organization by Jon Soltz and Jeremy Broussard, both Iraq War veterans who had grown disillusioned with President George W. Bush’s handling of the war. Broussard was only briefly involved with the group, while Soltz continues to serve as the group’s chairman. The group’s initial board of advisors included retired four-star Army General Wesley Clark, the former Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO, among other Democrats with strong national security credentials.

According to documents that the VoteVets Action Fund has filed with the Internal Revenue Service, its spending on “direct or indirect political campaign activities” typically spikes in election years — exceeding 48 percent, for instance, amid the 2010 election and exceeding 52 percent amid the 2012 election.

According to a memo authored by an attorney for the VoteVets Action Fund, the group’s policy is to collect contributions from “individuals, corporations and labor unions.” An Issue One review of documents filed by unions with the Labor Department indicates that labor unions accounted for about $1 of every $8 the VoteVets Action Fund raised between July 2009 and June 2017.

The VoteVets Action Fund is affiliated with a political action committee known as VoteVets, which operates as a hybrid super PAC. This status means the PAC can donate to political candidates from one bank account funded by limited contributions and can also make independent expenditures to aid candidates from a separate bank account funded by unlimited contributions.