ASO Communications LLC is a communications and messaging-focused group that works with left-of-center groups to advocate their policy positions while developing linguistics research and surveys to determine political campaign messaging. Its name is an initialism for the name of the group’s founder, Anat Shenker-Osorio. ¹

Financials

From 2019 to 2023, George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF) donated $780,000 to ASO Communications. These include two grants of $24,999 and $25,000 in 2019, and another $600,000 in 2023. ^{2 3} ASO Communications founder Anat Shenker-Osorio was previously an OSF fellow in 2018. ⁴

Activities

ASO Communications claims to advocate methods of communicating left-of-center policy proposals through research, surveying, and campaigning. It has previously supported messaging on policy regarding “climate justice, transgender rights, education, and race and class.” ⁵

Race-Class Narrative Project

The Race-Class Narrative Project was developed through a partnership with ASO Communications, Lake Research Partners, Ian Hanley Lopez, Demos, and Brilliant Corners. The goal of the project is to provide tools on how to persuade voters towards a left-of-center policy agenda, using linguistic tools and framing messaging based on research. Surveys were conducted with differing wording of policy positions and concluded that using messaging which discusses “race overtly” resulted in more positive feedback from groups labeled the “base” and “persuadables.” ⁶

Demos (formally Demos: A Network for Ideas and Action), a left-of-center public policy advocacy group assisted ASO Communications with developing the Race-Class Narrative project. ⁷ Demos has received funding from several left-of-center groups including the Ford Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. ⁸ Other contributors to the Race-Class Narrative project include We Make the Future and Faith in Minnesota. ⁹

People

Anat Shenker-Osorio is the founder and principal officer of ASO Communications. Shenker-Osorio is the author of Don’t Buy It: The Trouble with Talking Nonsense About the Economy and hosts the Words to Win By podcast. ^{10 11}

1. “Messaging Guides.” ASO Communications. Accessed October 14, 2024. https://asocommunications.com/messaging-guides/.
2. “Grants and Fellowships from the Open Society Foundations.” Open Society Foundations. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants.
3. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF; multiple). Foundation to Promote Open Society. 2008-2018. Part I. Line 26.
4. “Anat Shenker-Osorio.” Open Society Foundations. Accessed October 14, 2024. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/open-society-fellowship?fellow=anat-shenker-osorio&past=1
5. Palassio, Christina. “Convincing People That Change Is Possible by ‘Painting The Beautiful Tomorrow.’” The Philanthropist Journal, August 3, 2023. https://thephilanthropist.ca/2023/07/convincing-people-that-change-is-possible-by-painting-the-beautiful-tomorrow/.
6. “Race-Class Narrative Handout.” Demos. Accessed October 14, 2024. https://www.demos.org/sites/default/files/publications/Race_Class_Narrative_Handout_C3_June%206.pdf.
7. “The Race-Class Narrative Project.” Demos. Accessed October 14, 2024. https://www.demos.org/campaign/race-class-narrative-project.
8. “Demos a Network for Ideas and Action.” Cause IQ. Accessed October 14, 2024. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/demos-a-network-for-ideas-and-action,134105066/.
9. “About the Race Class Narrative.” We Make The Future. Accessed October 14, 2024. https://www.wemakethefuture.us/about.
10. “About Us.” ASO Communications, December 4, 2023. https://asocommunications.com/team/.
11. “Words to Win By.” Words to Win By, January 9, 2024. https://wordstowinby-pod.com/.