Access Strategies Fund is a Massachusetts-based investment group which funds left-leaning advocacy groups. It claims to on empower people of color, women, people who identify as LGBT, immigrants, and others whom the Fund believes have been disenfranchised and lack power in America. ¹

Funding

Access Strategies Fund does not list funders, financial partners, or funding recipients on its website. ² Its revenues come from its financial investing strategy. ³

The organization’s annual revenues ranged from almost $328,000 to over $631,000 between 2011 and 2015. Dividends, sales of assets, and direct contributions make up most of its revenues. Almost all of its expenses come from its grantmaking. ⁴

Initiatives

Access Strategies Fund’s primary mission is to provide “funding and technical assistance” to non-profits with left-leaning political advocacy goals, especially those oriented towards election-related advocacy, voter turnout, and legal changes to election systems. ⁵ The Fund’s mission focuses heavily on alleged voting rights violations, redistricting, and other election-related issues. Access Strategies Fund partners with many like-minded organizations, such as the social activism group Neighborhood Funders Group. ⁶

It facilitated the launch of the Massachusetts Census Equity Fund, which brought together dozens of partner and funding groups to change Massachusetts’ use of the Census to draw districts and make other decisions. Created just before the 2010 Census, the Equity Fund raised over $1 million and gave 30 grants. Grantees increased mail participation rates and the Census outreach led to future opportunities for left-leaning groups to engage people through social activism after the Census was over. ⁷

The Equity Fund gave out $500,000 in advance of the 2020 census. ⁸ It purports to want a more accurate Census because of federal dollars which come to Massachusetts as a result of the Census. These dollars totaled $16 billion in 2015. ⁹

Access Strategies Fund partnered with other groups to file a lawsuit which led to taxpayer-funded voter registration forms being mailed to 478,000 people in Massachusetts. According to the lawsuit, the state was not following the National Voter Registration Act prior to the mailing. ¹⁰

Access Strategies Fund has signed on to Philanthropy’s Promise, an initiative of the left-wing National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, that holds Access Strategies to a promise that it will provide most of its grant money to “marginalized communities” and at least a quarter of its grant money to community-related activities such as organizing. ¹¹

Leadership

Alexie Torres-Fleming is Access Strategies Fund’s executive director. ¹² A career activist for left-wing social policies, she was appointed to the White House Council of Faith and Neighborhood Partnerships by former President Barack Obama. She was previously at the faith-based liberal social activist group Sojourners. ¹³

Maria Jobin-Leeds founded Access Strategies Fund and is its board chair. She has founded a number of groups dedicated to left-leaning social activism. ¹⁴

Greg Jobin-Leeds is Access Strategies Fund’s co-founder and board of director emeritus. He and his wife have started a number of advocacy organizations. Greg was appointed by former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (D) to serve on a state board in 2007. ¹⁵

Diana Salas is on Access Strategies Fund’s board of directors. She is a Ph.D. student at the University of Massachusetts with a focus on gender, poverty, and immigration. She was previously a left-leaning community organizer. ¹⁶

Mariama White-Hammond is a Methodist pastor and left-leaning social activist who serves on Access Strategies Fund’s board of directors. She is also a fellow with the Green Justice Coalition and was executive director of Project Highways Into the Past – History, Organizing and Power. ¹⁷

1. Access Strategies Fund, Our Mission, Accessed October 17, 2019. http://www.accessstrategies.org/about-us/our-mission
2. Access Strategies Fund, Funding, Accessed October 17, 2019. http://www.accessstrategies.org/funding
3. ProPublica, Access Strategies Fund 2015 990, Accessed October 17, 2019. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/43464581/2016_06_PF%2F04-3464581_990PF_201506
4. ProPublica, Access Strategies Fund 990 page, Accessed October 17, 2019. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/43464581
5. Access Strategies Fund, Our Mission, Accessed October 17, 2019. http://www.accessstrategies.org/about-us/our-mission
6. Neighborhood Funders Group, Our Members, Accessed October 17, 2019. https://www.nfg.org/about-us/our-members
7. Massachusetts Census Equity Fund, About The Fund, Accessed October 17, 2019. https://www.masscensusequity.org/about
8. Philanthropy Massachusetts, Massachusetts Census Equity Fund 2020, Accessed October 17, 2019. https://www.philanthropyma.org/node/58660
9. GMA Foundations, “Massachusetts Census Equity Fund to promote accurate 2020 count,” Accessed October 17, 2019. https://www.gmafoundations.com/census-equity-fund-2020-massachusetts/
10. Access Strategies Fund, Fall 2012 newsletter, Accessed October 17, 2019. archive.constantcontact.com/fs129/1103550702632/archive/1111275321007.html
11. Foundation Directories Online, Access Strategies Fund, Last updated September 9, 2019. Accessed October 17, 2019. https://fconline.foundationcenter.org/fdo-grantmaker-profile/?key=ACCE007 
12. Access Strategies Fund, Alexie Torres-Fleming, Accessed October 17, 2019. http://www.accessstrategies.org/about-us/our-people/alexie-torres-fleming
13. LinkedIn, Alexie Torres-Fleming profile page, Accessed October 17, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexie-torres-6b468051/
14. Access Strategies Fund, Maria Jobin-Leeds, Accessed October 17, 2019. http://www.accessstrategies.org/about-us/our-people/maria-jobin-leeds
15. Access Strategies Fund, Greg Jobin-Leeds, Accessed October 17, 2019. http://www.accessstrategies.org/about-us/our-people/greg-jobin-leeds
16. Access Strategies Fund, Diana Salas, Accessed October 17, 2019. http://www.accessstrategies.org/about-us/our-people/diana-salas
17. Access Strategies Fund, Mariama White-Hammond, Accessed October 17, 2019.  http://www.accessstrategies.org/rev-mariama-white-hammond