Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund is an advocacy group which supports greater regulation of the financial and banking industries. It is a sister organization to the left-leaning Americans for Financial Reform and the 501(c)(4) group Americans for Financial Reform Activism Fund.^{1 2} It was formed as a separate nonprofit in February 2018.³

Background

The Fund supports the mission of Americans for Financial Reform, which was created after the 2007-2008 financial crash and supported the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under the Dodd-Frank Act.⁴ Like its sister group, the Fund aims to change the financial and banking industries through greater regulatory oversight, executive compensation reform, greater industry transparency, and reduced political influence.

It regularly writes letters to regulators and elected officials on financial industry-related matters, issues reports on industry goings-on, and holds events to advocate for its positions.^{5 6 7} Like Americans for Financial Reform, with which it regularly partners for its work, it has associations with elected Democrats; the keynote speaker at a March 2019 Capitol Hill event co-hosted by the Fund was U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR).⁸

Partners

The Fund’s 200-plus coalition partners consist of left-leaning state and national groups. Examples of partners include the AFL-CIO, dozens of state-level Public Interest Network “PIRG” advocacy groups, and the think tank Demos.⁹ This is the same coalition which Americans for Financial Reform lists on its website.¹⁰

Americans for Financial Reform and the Activism Fund are projects of the Leadership Conference Education Fund and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, respectively. The IRS gave Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund independent nonprofit status in 2018 (effective backward to August 7, 2017).¹¹ In 2018, the left-leaning Arca Foundation provided $125,000 directly to the Education Fund.¹²

Activism

Nursing Home Reform

A study done by the Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund found that private-equity nursing homes had COVID infection rates 30% higher than the statewide averages.¹³ This study pushed the Biden Administration to propose more regulations for private-equity nursing homes and reform for all nursing homes.¹⁴

1. Democracy Alliance, Americans for Financial Reform, Accessed June 10, 2019. https://democracyalliance.org/organization/americans-for-financial-reform/
2. Americans for Financial Reform, About Us, Accessed June 10, 2019. https://ourfinancialsecurity.org/about/
3. Charity Navigator, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, Accessed June 10, 2019. https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.profile&ein=822553525
4. Ballotpedia, Americans for Financial Reform, Accessed June 10, 2019.

   https://ballotpedia.org/Americans_for_Financial_Reform

5. Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund Letter, July 13, 2018. Accessed June 10, 2019. https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/2018/2018-regulatory-capital-rules-3064-ae74-c-008.pdf
6. AFR Education Fund, Events, Accessed June 10, 2019. http://realbankreform.org/events/
7. AFR Education Fund, Reports, Accessed June 10, 2019. http://realbankreform.org/reports/
8. Economic Policy Institute, “Tomorrow: Wall Street and the next recession,” March 27, 2019. Accessed June 10, 2019. https://www.epi.org/press/tomorrow-wall-street-and-the-next-recession-protecting-main-street-in-the-next-economic-downturn/
9. AFR Education Fund, Our Coalition, Accessed June 10, 2019. http://realbankreform.org/about/our-coalition/
10. Americans for Financial Reform, Our Coalition, Accessed June 10, 2019. https://ourfinancialsecurity.org/about/our-coalition/
11. Internal Revenue Service, Determination Letter: Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, February 22, 2018.
12. The Arca Foundation, Grantee Database, Accessed June 10, 2019. https://www.arcafoundation.org/current-past-grantees/
13. “Deadly Combination of Private equity and Nursing Homes During a Pandemic”. (Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, 2020).
14. Eisenberg, Richard. “Why Nursing Home Reform Is Finally Coming.” Next Avenue. Next Avenue, December 23, 2022. https://www.nextavenue.org/why-nursing-home-reform-is-finally-coming/.