Americans United for Change (AUFC)

As of 2025, the organization appears defunct, with its last 990 form filed in 2017. ⁴

Background

Americans United for Change (AUFC) was founded in 2005 as part of efforts to prevent then-President George W. Bush’s efforts to reform Social Security. ⁵ The group later expanded its advocacy focus towards left-of-center policy on immigration, energy, and the economy. The group would support immigration-focused executive orders passed by the Obama Administration, criticize reports that advocated against biofuel production efforts, and criticizing Republican members of Congress for supporting the Tea Party political movement. ⁶

As of 2025, the organization appears defunct, with its last 990 form filed in 2017. ⁴

Funding

Americans United for Change (AUFC) previously received funding from labor unions and left-of-center organization. Donors included the AFL-CIO; the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); the Partnership Project Action Fund; the Unity Fund; the Ploughshares Fund; and the Atlantic Philanthropies.⁷

The AUFC has received supported from the campaigns of Democratic candidates as well as political action committees (PACs). By 2017, this included both then-House Democratic Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) campaign committee and its leadership PAC. In addition, the NextGen Climate Action Committee, associated with Democracy Alliance donor Tom Steyer, also donated over $100,000 to AUFC.⁸

AUFC reportedly collected near $830,000 in union dues in 2016, according to the Center for Union Facts.⁹

Controversies

October 2016 Project Veritas Footage

For more information, see Robert Creamer | 2016 Presidential Campaign Controversy

In October 2016, Americans United for Change (AUFC) fired its then-National Field Director Scott Foval after he was caught on camera by investigative journalist group Project Veritas claiming that AUFC had paid mentally ill and homeless people to instigate violence at Trump campaign events in 2016. In the released videos, Foval discusses the tactics used by AUFC and making President Donald Trump and supporters be viewed as “anarchic.” ¹⁰ Foval further claimed on camera that AUFC used agitators to create “conflict engagement in the lines at Trump rallies” with the goal of “starting anarchy” at the events and obtaining negative media coverage for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. He was also quoted as claiming “[w]e know that Trump’s people will [tend to] freak the f*** out…,” Foval said in a video. “It is not hard to get some of these assholes to ‘pop off.’” ¹¹

Affiliated with the controversy was Robert Creamer, co-founder of Democracy Partners consulting firm and a former general consultant to AUFC. ¹² In 2016, Creamer supported then-former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign until the release of the Project Veritas video. Following the story’s release, Creamer announced he was removing himself from the Clinton campaign. ¹³ Foval described Creamer as the “kingpin” who is “diabolical, and I love him for it.” ¹¹ Creamer was allegedly shown in the Veritas camera footage. ¹³

Following this, Democracy Partners issued a statement claiming it had been the “victim of a well-funded, systematic spy operation that is the modern day equivalent of the Watergate burglars,” and the intent had been to “goad unsuspecting individuals into making careless statements on hidden cameras” that “do not reflect our values.” ¹¹

As general consultant to AUFC, Creamer credits himself with “coordinati[ing] the campaign to pass” then-President Barack Obama’s 2009 Recession stimulus package as well as the 2015 Iran Nuclear Agreement. ¹⁴ Creamer is married to House Rep. Jan Schakowsy (D-IL). ^{15 16}