Left-leaning ‘dark money’ network poured millions into Michigan elections

Election Day in Kalamazoo

A man fills out his ballot at First United Methodist Church on Election Day in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Tuesday, November 5, 2019. This location is Precinct 1 and 3 in the City of Kalamazoo. On the ballot was election of a new mayor, three city commission seats and a millage for KRESA. Emil Lippe | MLive.com

A well-funded left-leaning “dark money” network funneled nearly $9 million to Michigan activist causes in 2018.

Sixteen Thirty Fund, a nonprofit focused on promoting social welfare, supported an anti-gerrymandering ballot initiative and other Democrat-backed causes during the 2018 midterm elections, according to tax filings released by Politico last week. Incorporation records on file with the District of Columbia also show the network operated at least two statewide projects, Secure Michigan Elections and Michigan Families for Economic Prosperity, and other projects under various trade names.

Simon Schuster, executive director for the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, said the documents offer a glimpse of the influence dark money groups can have on elections. Sixteen Thirty Fund isn’t required by the IRS to disclose its donors and is exempt from registering as a charity under Michigan law, creating an incomplete picture of where support for candidates and ballot initiatives are coming from.

“One of my major concerns with the structure of organizations like this is that there’s a significant lag in reporting,” Schuster said. “This organization can have a broad influence on an election, but because they don’t have to file the documents that disclose their spending, then we don’t even know the extent of their influence until long after the election."

Politico’s analysis of Sixteen Thirty Fund’s spending in 2018 found it dedicated $141 million to more than 100 left-leaning causes. It also supported House Democrats in crucial elections across the country.

Sixteen Thirty Fund is run by Eric Kessler, who worked in the Clinton administration, and administered by Arabella Advisors, a Washington, D.C.-based philanthropy consulting firm that supports left-leaning causes. Arabella Advisors controls a larger network of organizations that serve as incubators for other left-leaning nonprofits, including the New Venture Fund, the Hopewell Fund, and the Windward Fund.

Schuster said conservative activists have long taken advantage of dark money organizations to fund their causes. Powerful progressive groups using the same tactic is a relatively new development, he said.

Sixteen Thirty Fund fund was a major donor of Count MI Vote, the affiliated nonprofit for Voters Not Politicians, which led the successful 2018 ballot initiative to create a bipartisan redistricting commission. Sixteen Thirty Fund gave $6 million to the effort in 2018, a sizable chunk of the overall $16.4 million donated to Voters Not Politicians.

Sixteen Thirty Fund also gave $1.76 million to MI Time to Care, a ballot measure committee created to put a paid medical leave proposal on the 2018 ballot. Republicans in the Legislature adopted and amended the proposals instead of letting them go to the ballot.

Sixteen Thirty Fund donated to the successful 2018 proposal that created no-reason absentee voting, same-day voter registration and other options that make voting easier. It gave $250,000 to Promote the Vote, which was founded to push the ballot initiative.

The Michigan League of Responsible Voters, which describes itself as a “coalition of non-partisan organizations” formed to educate voters about 2018 ballot initiatives, received $250,000 last year.

ProgressNow, a network of progressive advocacy organizations, received $335,688 from Sixteen Thirty Fund in 2018. Progress Michigan, a local affiliate and progressive nonprofit, was given $240,000.

Michigan Families for Economic Prosperity is another advocacy group managed by Sixteen Thirty Fund. It released ads opposing U.S. Rep. Fred Upton’s 2018 re-election bid and criticized the Michigan Republican throughout the last election cycle.

Schuster said the Michigan Families for Economic Prosperity case shows “dark money foundations” like the Sixteen Thirty Fund can avoid public scrutiny by registering trade names to carry out their work. The groups pose as grassroots activist organizations, he said, while being connected to much larger organizations.

“By adopting a ‘trade name,’ this can mean Michigan voters have little way of knowing who is controlling, much less funding, organizations like Michigan Families for Economic Prosperity until well after an election has ended," Schuster said. "In this case, the fund didn’t report that as a name they used until 12 days after voters went to the ballots.”

Sixteen Thirty Fund is involved in supporting Democratic lawmakers and candidates as well as criticizing Republicans.

Protect Our Care is a healthcare advocacy organization operating as a registered trade name of Sixteen Thirty Fund.

Protect Our Care launched a $2 million ad campaign to support newly-elected members of Congress carrying out the Democratic healthcare agenda. The group is running digital ads to support freshmen U.S. Reps. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, and Haley Stevens, D-Bloomfield Township.

“I think it’s important to recognize that these things are not just something that comes out in a run up to those few months before a general election,” Schuster said. “These are things that are continuing operations in between elections and ensuring that regular voters have an awareness of the issues that they value.”

A veterans group urging Republican lawmakers to “put country over politics” amid the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump is another project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund.

Defend American Democracy is spending six figures on advertisements pressuring Republican members of Congress, including Upton, to “hold the president accountable for abusing his office and risking national security for his own gain.”

The group presents itself as a veterans group and features military veterans in its ads. On November 14, Defend American Democracy held a press conference in Kalamazoo with veterans who pressured Upton to support impeachment.

Arabella Advisors, the larger organization which manages Sixteen Thirty Fund, also manages The Hopewell Fund.

The Hopewell Fund also sponsored The States Newsroom, a network of progressive media outlets that launched Michigan Advance in 2018.

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