Action Network Fund, formerly called the Corporate Action Network (CAN), is the charitable arm of Action Network. Action Network Fund provides technology tools and strategies to left-progressive advocacy groups to help them organize and advance a left-of-center political agenda. ¹

Action Network Fund started as the Corporate Action Network (CAN) supporting campaigns seeking to end so-called corporate abuse. ² CAN was part of the Johnson & Johnson Hurts Women campaign that called on the Department of Justice to conduct a criminal investigation into Johnson & Johnson and its top executives. ³

CAN became a project of the Action Network Fund in 2014. ⁴ Action Network Fund continued CAN’s work by aiding in the development of Keep Your Promises Dupont, an action group that targeted DuPont Chemical Company. ⁵

History

Action Network Fund was founded in 2012 as the Corporate Action Network (CAN) to support groups and projects campaigning against businesses. CAN partnered with labor unions, community organizations, and legal groups intending to expose and prosecute businesses. ²

Activity

In 2014, CAN launched its Johnson & Johnson Hurts Women campaign calling on the company to stop manufacturing pelvic mesh implants. Additionally, CAN called on the Department of Justice to conduct a criminal investigation into Johnson & Johnson and its top executives. ³

In March 2014, CAN’s website indicated that it had become a project of the Action Network Fund. ⁴

Action Network Fund aided in the development of Keep Your Promises Dupont, an action group that targeted DuPont Chemical Company. ⁵

On March 30, 2025, former Wall Street Journal journalist Asra Nomani posted a thread on her X (formerly Twitter) profile which listed Action Network Fund among several nonprofit organizations and activist groups that were allegedly involved with planning and taking part in #TeslaTakedown, a series of nationwide protests targeting car company Tesla over its CEO Elon Musk‘s ties to the Second Trump Administration. ⁶

People

Mark Fleischman is the founder and president of the Action Network Fund. Fleischman is a former union organizer and formerly served as vice president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and Unite Here. ⁷

Brian Young serves as managing director and is the executive director of Action Network. Young formerly served as the new media director for former Senator John Kerry (D-MA) after serving as the internet director of Kerry’s campaign. ⁸

Douglas Land is a founder and the chair of the board of the Action Network Fund. Douglas serves on the boards of the Land Trust Alliance and several Hudson Valley land trusts, and formerly served on the board of the New York Region of the Anti-Defamation League. ⁹

1. “About.” Action Network Fund. Accessed August 1, 2020. http://www.actionnetworkfund.org/about.html.
2. Action Network Fund, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990), 2013, Part III, Line 4a.
3. “Corporate Action Network: Injured Women Call on Johnson & Johnson to Immediately Stop Producing Dangerous Pelvic Mesh Implants.” Business Wire, May 7, 2014. Accessed August 1, 2020. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140507005446/en/Corporate-Action-Network-Injured-Women-Call-Johnson.
4. “Who We Are.” Corporate Action Network, 2014. Archived from the original March 28, 2014. Accessed August 1, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20140328193728/http://corporateactionnetwork.org/.
5. “About Us.” Keep Your Promises, 2020. Accessed August 1, 2020. http://keepyourpromisesdupont.com/about/.
6. Nomani, Asra (@AsraNomani). “Hello @ElonMusk and Friends, You asked who is funding and organizing the #TeslaTakedown protests. I’ve got answers for you, after going onto the streets of northern Virginia for the local protests here, seeing familiar faces from the Virginia Democratic political machine and then following the money — and the data.” X, March 30, 2025. https://x.com/AsraNomani/status/1906281197430329459
7. “Mark Fleischman.” LinkedIn, 2020. Accessed August 1, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-fleischman-6a1a07a0/.
8. “Brian Young.” LinkedIn, 2020. Accessed August 1, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-young-0973035/.
9. “Board of Directors.” Land Trust Alliance, 2020. Accessed August 1, 2020. https://www.landtrustalliance.org/about/board-directors.