American Future Republic is a left-of-center nonprofit funder founded in 2019. Along with Patriotic Republic, it is one of the main donor nonprofits funded by LinkedIn founder and major Democratic Party donor Reid Hoffman.
In 2020, American Future Republic gave over $21 million in grants, most of it to left-of-center nonprofits. 1
Tax returns revealed that Hoffman and this organization was the major financial backer of E. Jean Carroll, a columnist who alleged that former President Donald Trump sexually assaulted her. Trump was later found in liable in a civil judgement for defaming Carroll. 2 3
Hoffman and his groups have funded nonprofits that produce ads that critics claimed were deceptive. The nonprofits’ ads have drawn criticism from both Vanity Fair on the left and the Free Beacon on the right. 4 5
Background
American Future Republic is a left-of-center nonprofit founded in 2019 by Reid Hoffman. Hoffman, a major Democratic Party donor, uses this group to fund other left-of-center activist groups. 6
Political Advertising Controversies
2017 Alabama U.S. Senate Special Election
In December 2018, the New York Times reported Hoffman invested $750,000 in American Engagement Technologies, a firm owned by a former Obama administration official. The company paid a subcontractor $100,000 to create Facebook pages that pretended to be conservative Alabama voters. The pages spread what Vanity Fair called “fake news” and encouraged support for a write-in candidate in 2017 U.S. Senate special election. 5
2020 North Carolina U.S. Senate Election
American Future Republic gave $500,000 to Piedmont Rising. In the 2020 U.S. Senate election in North Carolina, Piedmont Rising attacked U.S. Senator Thom Tillis on Medicare in an ad that resembled a newscast. Piedmont Rising backed up the ad with a website called the North Carolina Examiner that was made to look like a news publication. Piedmont Rising spent $118,000 on ads that portrayed the North Carolina Examiner as if it were a news website. 4
Carroll Lawsuit Against Trump
In April 2023, the group’s tax filings revealed that it was the primary financial backer of E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuit against former President Donald Trump for defamation. The group paid Carroll’s lawyer $7 million. 4
The Trump legal team asked for a delay in the trial, which was not granted. But the court allowed the gathering of more information about Hoffman’s financial support of Carroll’s lawsuit. Trump’s team claimed Hoffman’s support damaged Carroll’s credibility. 2
In May 2023, a jury found former President Trump liable for defamation. 3
Finances
According to its 2021 tax return, American Future Republic had $5,228,031 in revenue, which was all investment income, and $634,063 in expenses. It had $9,799,320 in assets. 7
In 2021, it made no grants. 6
In 2020, it made over $21 million in grants to left-of-center organizations. Its largest contribution to a nonprofit group was over $5 million to the organization WorkMoney. According to the American Future Republic tax filing, WorkMoney used the money to conduct voter outreach to what it called “economically insecure” voters. 1
It also contributed $1 million each to Tides Advocacy and Defending Democracy Together. 8
References
- “American Future Republic, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed June 26, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/833181719/202122999349302132/full.
- Neumeister, Larry, and The Associated Press. “Reid Hoffman Revealed as Backer of Trump Rape Accuser and Now the Court Is Investigating Who’s Really Funding the Lawsuit.” Fortune, April 14, 2023. https://fortune.com/2023/04/14/reid-hoffman-donald-trump-rape-trial-e-jean-carroll-funding-lawsuit/.
- Neumeister, Larry. “Trump Can Be Held Liable in Writer’s Defamation Lawsuit after Justice Department Reverses Course.” AP News, July 11, 2023. https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-trump-rape-defamation-carroll-b8245ba4df21b74cd8f2e724499b97ff.
- Ross, Chuck. “Fake News Group behind Deceptive TV Ad Funded by Dem Megadonor Reid Hoffman.” Washington Free Beacon, June 5, 2023. https://freebeacon.com/democrats/fake-news-group-that-targeted-tillis-funded-by-dem-megadonor-reid-hoffman/.
- Nguyen, Tina. “Reid Hoffman’s Hundred-Million-Dollar Plan to Growth-Hack Democracy.” Vanity Fair, April 30, 2019. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/04/linkedin-founder-reid-hoffman-spends-millions-to-grow-democracy.
- “American Future Republic, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed June 26, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/833181719/202202759349300205/full.
- [1]“American Future Republic, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed June 26, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/833181719/202202759349300205/full.
- [1]“American Future Republic, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed June 26, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/833181719/202122999349302132/full.