American Future Fund: No election, little cash
Revenue at Koch brothers-backed nonprofit American Future Fund took a massive dive during 2013, according to new tax filings reviewed by the Center for Public Integrity.
The group’s cash flow fell from $67.9 million in 2012, when it spent about $20 million overtly advocating for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and against President Barack Obama, to less than $6.4 million in 2013, a non-election year..
This continues a trend for American Future Fund, one of several politically active nonprofits with ties to the Koch brothers, which now typically reports far less revenue in non-election years.
About one third of the money American Future Fund received in 2013 came from two large contributors, one who gave $1.25 million and one who gave $1 million, according to the tax filing.
As a “social welfare” nonprofit organized under section 501(c)(4) of the U.S. tax code, American Future Fund is not required to disclose the identities of its donors, but must itemize contributions of $5,000 or more on its tax filing.
The itemized contributions total nearly $4.7 million. The source of the rest of American Future Fund’s 2013 revenue isn’t clear, and the organization didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from the Center for Public Integrity.
In terms of expenses, American Future Fund in 2013 reported $7 million in spending, far less than the $66.9 million it reported in 2012.
The group disclosed paying Concordia Enterprises LLC, the consulting firm of its founder, Nick Ryan, $515,016 in 2013 for “consulting and management services.” It paid Angler LLC, a company tied to a political operative connected to the Koch brothers, Sean Noble, $487,550 for “media services.”
There’s more to this story. Click here to read the rest at the Center for Public Integrity.
This story is part of Primary Source. Primary Source keeps you up-to-date on developments in the post-Citizens United world of money in politics. Click here to read more stories in this blog.
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Copyright 2014 The Center for Public Integrity. This story was published by The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization in Washington, D.C.
