The American Conservative Union (ACU), also known as CPAC after the acronym for the Conservative Political Action Conference the group has organized since 1974, ¹ is an advocacy organization that aims to unite and mobilize conservative Americans through events, trainings, and policy forums in support of the tenets of individual liberty, personal responsibility, traditional values, and a strong national defense. ² The American Conservative Union (ACU) Foundation is the 501(c)(3) sister organization of ACU. ³

Matt Schlapp, a former George W. Bush administration official, is the chair of CPAC and the ACU. ⁴

Background

The American Conservative Union advocates the protection of individual rights that are secured by limiting the power of government, guaranteeing liberty through a free market economic system, and encouraging personal responsibility that includes joining with others to protect individual rights. As a conservative organization, ACU seeks to protect the founding principles of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence, and created the Conservative Political Action Conference to support and promote what it claims to be responsible political action. ⁵

CPAC

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is the largest annual gathering of conservatives in the U.S. that brings together elected leaders, prominent conservative voices, and conservative activists. CPAC intends to educate and equip conservatives with skills to grow the conservative movement by becoming more effective activists. ⁶

To further CPAC’s educational content and activist training beyond its annual conference, the CPAC Tour travels to cities across the U.S. and abroad. ⁷ In 2022, CPAC hosted events in Dallas, Texas; Orlando, Florida; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Budapest, Hungary; Tel Aviv, Israel; and Sydney, Australia. ⁸

CPAC makes endorsements for conservative candidates on its website, ⁹ where it also hosts an action center, allowing citizens to easily take online action in support of individual freedom and opportunity. CPAC encourages citizens to take action in support of expanding school choice, banning critical race theory in schools, protecting women’s sports from gender-identity policies that would enable natal males to compete against women, stopping on-demand abortions, and holding major technology companies accountable. ¹⁰

Funding

The American Conservative Union is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. While ACU does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from the Mercer Family Foundation ($250,000 in 2016), ¹¹ the Motion Picture Association ($150,000 in 2019), ¹² and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America ($150,000 in 2019). ¹³

People

Daniel Schneider worked as executive director of both the American Conservative Union and the ACU Foundation until September 2022. He formerly sat on the board of Americans United for Life. Schneider is vice president of the Free Speech America and Business Divisions at Media Research Center. ¹⁴

Matt Schlapp is the chair of the boards of ACU and the ACU Foundation. Schlapp is a member of the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board and formerly worked as White House political director for former President George W. Bush. ¹⁵

Charlie Gerow is the vice chair of ACU and a member of the Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania. ¹⁶

1. “About Us.” American Conservative Union, 2022. Accessed October 3, 2022. https://www.conservative.org/about/.
2. American Conservative Union Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2019, Part I, Line 1.
3. American Conservative Union Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2019, Schedule R, Part II.
4. “CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp.” CPAC, July 25, 2022. https://www.conservative.org/staff/matt-schlapp/.
5. “What We Believe.” American Conservative Union, 2022. Accessed October 3, 2022. https://www.conservative.org/what-we-believe/.
6. “About Us.” American Conservative Union, 2022. Accessed October 3, 2022. https://www.conservative.org/about/.
7. “About Us.” American Conservative Union, 2022. Accessed October 3, 2022. https://www.conservative.org/about/.
8. “Events.” American Conservative Union, 2022. Accessed October 3, 2022. https://www.conservative.org/events/
9. “2022 CPAC Endorsements.” American Conservative Union, 2022. Accessed October 3, 2022. https://www.conservative.org/endorsements/.
10. “Take Action.” American Conservative Union, 2022. Accessed October 3, 2022. https://www.conservative.org/action/.
11. Mercer Family Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2016, Part XV, Line 3.
12. Motion Picture Association, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2019, Schedule I, Part II.
13. Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2019, Schedule I, Part II.
14. “Dan Schneider.” LinkedIn, 2022. Accessed October 2, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-schneider-79b35b7/.
15. “Matt Schlapp.” American Conservative Union, 2022. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://www.conservative.org/staff/matt-schlapp/.
16. “Meet Charlie Gerow.” Charlie Gerow. Accessed October 2, 2022. https://www.charliegerow.com/about.