Arabella Advisors is the biggest name in politics you’ve never heard.
The firm is deeply involved with some of the most prominent financiers of progressive policies and Democratic Party candidates. It manages a complex network of tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations that quietly funnels money to progressive organizations, political action committees, and the campaigns of Democratic Party candidates.
In 2020 and 2022, according to federal election finance filings and nonprofit tax forms, groups linked to Arabella were active in financing Democrats and left-leaning get-out-the-vote efforts. A leader of one of the funds connected to Arabella has already promised to keep up their efforts in 2024.
Arabella didn’t respond to requests for comment by The Epoch Times.
Its website says its clients include families and individuals, foundations, nonprofits, and corporations. It doesn’t disclose financial records or details of its activities outside of so-called annual impact reports.
The latest such report, reflecting its activities in 2021 and 2022, said it worked to “deploy more than half a billion dollars in grants to more than 2,800 grantees working in more than 100 countries and almost every state in the United States.”
The report also shows evidence of Arabella’s political leanings. It lists defending democracy and elevating equity as part of “how it helps.”
In a December 2023 hearing before the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee, Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) described Arabella as “a key part of the Democrat Party’s political infrastructure in recent years.”
Mr. Smith asked about the amount of money allegedly flowing into Arabella from foreign sources. In his testimony, Capital Research Center President Scott Walter said one donor in particular, Swiss medical device billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, is sending millions of dollars to Arabella-linked groups through his nonprofit organizations the Wyss Foundation and the Berger Action Fund.
“Our country is increasingly polarized in many ways, but we possess near-universal agreement that foreigners and foreign money should not meddle in our politics,” Mr. Walter said.
In November 2023, Arabella named Himesh Bhise, formerly a telecom executive, as its CEO. He replaced Sampriti Ganguli, who, according to her LinkedIn page, left the organization in December 2022 after she moved from CEO to become a part-time senior adviser.
In November 2021, Ms. Ganguli said in an interview with The Atlantic that Arabella is the American left’s equivalent to the conservative mega-donor Charles Koch. She is now an independent consultant in Arlington, Virginia.
Mr. Bhise, according to political donor records maintained by watchdog organization OpenSecrets, made small donations to Democrat candidates between 2008 and 2018.
The Nonprofit Funds
According to nonprofit tax forms reviewed by The Epoch Times, Arabella is paid to provide the administrative, operations, and management services for six politically active tax-exempt funds: New Venture Fund, Sixteen Thirty Fund, Hopewell Fund, Windward Fund, North Fund, and Impetus Fund.In 2020, in the run-up to the general election between now-President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump, those groups funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to organizations that were intimately involved in a myriad of activities, including efforts to get out the vote, facilitate mail-in voting, explicitly oppose President Trump’s campaign, or support President Biden’s campaign.
Influencing the 2020 Election
Collectively, the Arabella-linked funds spent about $1.4 billion in fiscal 2020. The groups sent more than $48 million back to Arabella for their services.
In 2020, the Arabella-linked funds sent about $218 million toward groups that were directly involved in the efforts against President Trump and other Republican candidates, according to IRS records.
The organizations said they were, and are still, working to protect democracy. A financial analysis shows that when they received money from an Arabella-linked fund in 2020, it almost always went toward efforts to stop either President Trump or another Republican candidate.
The largest recipient, by far, was America Votes. It got four of every five dollars of funds spent in the so-called shadow campaign.
The second-largest beneficiary was the Center for Technology and Civic Life. That group, according to earlier reporting from The Epoch Times, spent heavily to increase voter turnout in Biden-friendly districts. It got nearly $25 million from the Arabella-linked groups.
America Votes describes itself as “the coordination hub of the progressive community.” On its website, it says its coalition includes groups such as the Democratic Governor’s Association, Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, and the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.
According to its tax records, America Votes spent about $257 million between July 2019 and June 2021. It sent money to more than 200 progressive organizations during that period. Several received more than $1 million each.
The largest recipients of America Votes’ grants ultimately sent money into PACs that worked to help the Biden campaign and other Democratic candidates.
Family Friendly Action PAC, which is linked to The Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, received about $16 million from America Votes. According to an FEC analysis of its independent expenditures, it spent $4.2 million to support President Biden.
Additionally, Family Friendly Action PAC spent $10.9 million to support Democrats running for the U.S. Senate. The largest amount went to Theresa Greenfield, the Democratic challenger who failed to unseat Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).
Black PAC got $9.7 million from America Votes, adding to other donations it received. The group spent $14.1 million on President Biden and $1.9 million against President Trump, according to the FEC.
The PAC also spent $16.2 million on Democrats in federal races. Its largest expenditure went toward backing Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), who beat then-Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler in 2020. Mr. Warnock’s win was critical for tilting the balance of power in the Senate toward the Democrats.
Actions in 2022 and Beyond
It’s difficult to say what the groups are up to today because of the tax code. However, the leader of one of the most politically active funds has said that it’s ready to keep up its efforts.
In a blog post published in November 2023, Sixteen Thirty Fund President Amy Kurtz said of the group’s plans in the rest of 2023 and 2024, “We are prepared and proud to lead alongside our projects in the fight against authoritarianism and efforts to dismantle our freedoms.”
The post celebrated Sixteen Thirty’s involvement in efforts to influence voters ahead of the midterm elections in 2022 and off-cycle contests in 2023.
“As conservatives continued their assault on voting rights ahead of the 2022 election, our partners at America Votes rolled out the largest civic engagement program in the country,” Ms. Kurtz wrote in her blog post. “As a result of these efforts, turnout reached record highs for a midterm in Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.”
According to tax filings for fiscal 2022, the Arabella-linked funds spent more than $1.4 billion on the midterms. The groups paid Arabella $52.2 million.
Once again, America Votes was a leading recipient of donations.
The Arabella-linked groups sent America Votes $44 million in 2022. Its tax records show the progressive coalition spent about $65.3 million between July 2021 and June 2022. It sent grants to more than 130 organizations, with several receiving more than $1 million.
As in 2020, the groups that got the most money spent it on key races affecting the balance of power in Washington.
The Black Progressive Action Coalition, which is tied to Black PAC, received about $4.23 million, the largest gift of the cycle. In 2021 and 2022, according to FEC records, it spent $9.7 million on Democrats running for Congress. Mr. Warnock received $5.7 million.
The Center For Voter Information (CVI), a get-out-the-vote organization that calls itself nonpartisan, got about $2 million. The CVI is a partner organization of the Voter Participation Center (VPC). Tom Lopach is CEO and president of both organizations.
In their tax records, the CVI and the VPC both describe their organizational mission as getting unmarried women, people of color, and young people to vote.
According to his LinkedIn page, Mr. Lopach is a longtime Democratic operative. He’s a former chief of staff for Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and has worked for former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat.
America Votes also sent money to its own PAC: America Votes Action. Its PAC didn’t spend on races in 2021 or 2022, but it transferred money to groups that did.
Family Friendly Action PAC received about $1.4 million from America Votes Action. That group spent about $10.6 million to boost Democratic congressional candidates in 2021 and 2022. According to the FEC, it spent $4.1 million to help Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) win his race against Republican Mehmet Oz.
Friends Read Free
