For more information, see American Conservation Coalition (Nonprofit)

American Conservation Coalition Campus (ACC or ACC Campus) is the 501(c)(3) arm of the nominally right-leaning environmental advocacy group American Conservation Coalition (ACC).

ACC Campus publishes “Right on Climate,” a blog that pushes environmentalism as a conservative issue. ¹

Leadership

President

Benjamin “Benji” Backer is president of ACC Campus and ACC. According to the group’s founding documents filed with the IRS (Form 1023), Backer is an uncompensated volunteer. ²

Board of Directors

ACC Campus’ board of directors has included: ³

• ACC/ACC Campus president Benji Backer;
• Software engineering intern Chandler Crane (former member, 2017-2018);
• Sarah Backer, an ACC Campus volunteer accountant and Benji Backer’s mother; and
• Sarah Hunt, a liberal Republican operative who formerly worked as director of state affairs for the libertarian-turned-liberal group Niskanen Center and co-founder of the left-leaning think tank Joseph Rainey Center for Public Policy.

Funding

Financial Overview

ACC Campus is a 501(c)(3) public charity.

Donors to ACC Campus

In 2018, ACC Campus reported total contributions of $149,000. ⁴ While ACC Campus’ list of donors is not publicly published by the IRS, a significant portion of that funding came from from the left-wing William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which awarded the group a $100,000 grant over two years. ⁵

The Capital Research Center obtained a redacted copy of ACC Campus’ Schedule B list of donors from 2018 (archived here), containing the donation amounts (but not the contributors’ names). Those amounts were for $85,000 and $50,000, respectively. ⁶

Financial Documents

ACC Campus is a 501(c)(3) public charity established in December 2017. ⁷

ACC Campus’ 2018 IRS Form 990 filing, including its redacted list of donors (Schedule B), is archived here.

ACC Campus’ tax exempt recognition from the IRS was received on August 2, 2018, and is archived here.

ACC Campus’ IRS application for recognition of tax exempt status (Form 1023) is available here.

1. “About.” Right on Campus. Accessed December 16, 2019. https://rightonclimate.eco/about
2. “Form 1023: Volunteer Officer Agreement.” American Conservation Campus Coalition. Archived: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2020/01/ACC-Campus-Form-1023.pdf

   Obtained via public records request by the Capital Research Center. See page 32 (PDF).

3. “Form 1023: Volunteer Officer Agreement.” American Conservation Campus Coalition. Archived: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2020/01/ACC-Campus-Form-1023.pdf

   Obtained via public records request by the Capital Research Center.

4. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-RZ). American Conservation Coalition Campus. Part I. Line 1.
5. “Grants: American Conservation Coalition Campus. For the Clean Energy Program.” Hewlett Foundation. October 29, 2018. Accessed December 16, 2019. Original URL: https://hewlett.org/grants/american-conservation-coalition-campus-for-the-clean-energy-program/ Archived: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/12/Hewlett-Foundation-2018-grant-to-ACC-Campus.-12.2019.pdf
6. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-EZ). American Conservation Coalition Campus. 2018. Schedule B. Archived: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2020/01/ACC-Campus-Form-990-EZ-2018.pdf
7. Letter of IRS Tax Exemption Determination. American Conservation Coalition Campus. Filed August 2, 2018. Archived: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/12/American-Conservation-Coalition-Campus-Determination-Letter.-12.2019.pdf