American Economic Freedom Alliance (AEFA)

The American Economic Freedom Alliance (AEFA) is or was a right-of-center advocacy organization focused on economic freedom issues. 1 As of 2026, it is unclear whether the AEFA is still active, as its website is defunct and it has not filed a tax return since 2022. 2

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(4)
Ideological Alignment: Right of Center
Issue Areas: Economic Policy
Website: americaneconomicfreedomalliance.com
Formation:

2017

President:

Phil Cox

Location: Washington, DC View on map

Contents

    Activities

    The American Economic Freedom Alliance aimed to educate and engage policymakers, business and community leaders, and the American public about economic issues that it claims are threatening America’s position as an economic leader. The AEFA promoted free-market policy solutions at the state and national levels to address these issues. The AEFA advocated for American competitiveness and job creation, fair tax reforms that reward entrepreneurship, regulatory reforms that support innovation, and eliminating regulations that stifle job growth. 3

    The AEFA was concerned with policies that support commonsense health care, new technology, workforce training, data and privacy protections, responsible energy sources, and regulations that support innovation.  3

    In a 2023 article, Sludge, an online investigative journalism outlet, claimed that the American Economic Freedom Alliance was a “dark money” group that funded Conservative Americans PAC, which, in turn, funded the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with then-U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). 4

    Financials

    According to its 2022 tax return, the American Economic Freedom Alliance generated $1.6 million in revenue from contributions and grants. 5 It claimed $4.3 million in assets.  6

    Tax filings confirm that the AEFA received a $1 million contribution for general support from the American Action Network in 2021.  7

    In 2022, the AEFA reported $2.6 million in expenses.  8 It spent $1.3 million to support its economic freedom advocacy, including $800,000 in grants.  9 The AEFA also reported making $1 million in contributions to political committees, including the Conservative Americans PAC ($875,000), Resolute PAC ($80,000), and Friends of Ron DeSantis ($50,000).  10

    In 2022, the AEFA paid Cascade Consulting $80,000 for management consulting. At the time, Catherine Linkul was both the executive director of the AEFA and the owner of Cascade Consulting.  11

    In 2022, the AEFA granted $700,000 to the American Prosperity Alliance and $100,000 to Stand for America. 12

    In 2021, the AEFA awarded $2.3 million in grants supporting issue education, including $1 million to Americans for Limited Government, $481,000 to the Better Jobs Coalition, and $250,000 to Building America’s Future.  13

    In 2020, the AEFA awarded $2.2 million in grants, including $1.2 million to Conservatives with Courage and $480,350 to the 60 Plus Association.  14

    Leadership

    As of its 2022 tax filing, Phil Cox was the president of the American Economic Freedom Alliance. As of 2026, Cox was serving as a partner at P2 Public Affairs. Cox previously served as the executive director of the Republican Governors Association and the national co-chair of Trade Works for America. To date, Cox has helped to elect 30 Republican governors and has served as a senior adviser to campaigns for president, U.S. Senate, and the House of Representatives. 15

    At the time of its 2022 tax filing, Chris Jankowski was serving as the executive director of the AEFA, a position he started in August 2022.  16 Jankowski previously worked as the president of the Republican State Leadership Committee, 17 the chief executive of the Never Back Down super PAC, and a longtime political adviser to Leonard Leo. 18

    Catherine Linkul was executive director of the AEFA until August 2022.  16 As of 2026, Linkul was serving as the deputy independent expenditure director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Linkul previously was the vice president of P2 Public Affairs, the vice president of 50 State, and the executive director of A New Missouri. 19

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    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. American Economic Freedom Alliance Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Part III, Line 1.
    2. “American Economic Freedom Alliance Inc.” ProPublica. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/821876204.
    3. “Home.” American Economic Freedom Alliance. Archived from the original March 19, 2024. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://web.archive.org/web/20240319035705/https://americaneconomicfreedomalliance.com/.
    4. Moore, David. “Congressional Leaders Are Embracing Dark Money Like Never Before.” Sludge. March 1, 2023. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://readsludge.com/2023/03/01/congressional-leaders-are-embracing-dark-money-like-never-before/.
    5. American Economic Freedom Alliance Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Part I, Line 8.
    6. American Economic Freedom Alliance Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Part I, Line 22.
    7. American Action Network Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2021, Schedule I, Part II.
    8. American Economic Freedom Alliance Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Part I, Lins 13-19.
    9. American Economic Freedom Alliance Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Part III, Lines 4a-4c.
    10. American Economic Freedom Alliance Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Schedule C, Part I-C.
    11. American Economic Freedom Alliance Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Schedule L, Part IV.
    12. American Economic Freedom Alliance Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Schedule I, Part II.
    13. American Economic Freedom Alliance Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2021, Schedule I, Part II.
    14. American Economic Freedom Alliance Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2020, Schedule I, Part II.
    15. “Phil Cox.” P2 Public Affairs. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://p2publicaffairs.com/team/phil-cox/.
    16. American Economic Freedom Alliance Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Part VII, Section A, Line 1a.
    17. “Republican State Leadership Committee.” Ballotpedia. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://ballotpedia.org/Republican_State_Leadership_Committee.
    18. Haberman, Maggie and Goldmacher, Shane. “DeSantis Super PAC C.E.O. Resigns.” The New York Times, November 22, 2023. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/22/us/politics/desantis-pac-chris-jankowski.html.
    19. “Catherine Chestnut Linkul.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-chestnut-linkul-85065727/.