For additional information, see the Campion Foundation.

The Campion Advocacy Fund the political lobbying and activism arm of the Campion Foundation, a private foundation created in 2005 and funded by Tom and Sonya Campion. ¹ It supports left-leaning environmentalism and left-of-center public policy organizations such as the New Venture Fund, the Center for American Progress, TSNE Missionworks, the Alaska Wilderness League, and the League of Conservation Voters. ^{2 3}

People

Since 2005 the Campions have given at least $89.2 million to the Campion Foundation, 99.9 percent of total funding. ^{4 5 6 7 8 9 10} According to tax filings from the Alaska Wilderness League and the Campion Foundation, Campion has been a major sponsor—and potentially the largest single supporter—of the Alaska Wilderness League. ^{11 12 13 2 14 15 5} The primary policy objective of the Alaska Wilderness League is the blocking of all energy production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a priority that is strongly supported by Tom Campion. ^{16 17}

Neil Kornze, a former official in the Obama administration, was named CEO of both Campion organizations in 2019. ¹⁸ The Campions have been strong financial supporters of Democratic politicians, including former President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and President Joe Biden, and gave nearly $1 million to the political committees supporting the 2016 presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton. ^{19 20}

Political Advocacy

The Campion Advocacy Fund supports lobbyists who work in Congress on behalf of Campion’s priorities regarding alleviating homelessness and blocking energy exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. ²¹ In the state of Washington, the Campion Advocacy Fund employs lobbyists that advocate for its concerns regarding homelessness. ²²

An April 2019 report from City Journal found that #SeattleForAll, a public relations campaign partly financed by the Campion Advocacy Fund, was spreading overly optimistic misinformation about the homeless population of Seattle, Washington. ²³

Sonya Campion testified for the Campion Advocacy Fund in the Washington state legislature on behalf of a proposal that would create a new 7 percent statewide capital gains tax. ²⁴

The Campion Advocacy Fund has been a donor to Democratic politicians. In 2020, the fund donated a total of $85,000 to political committees controlled by the Washington state House and Senate Democrats. ²⁵ Similarly in 2020, according to the campaign finance web service OpenSecrets.com, the Campion Advocacy Fund’s national political committee donated $800,000 to the Senate Majority PAC, a committee that supported the election of Democrats to the U.S. Senate. ²⁶

1. “Welcome.” Campion Foundation. Accessed March 2, 2021. http://www.campionadvocacyfund.org/campion/
2. Campion Foundation, Form 990-PF, 2018, 15, 21. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/203421717/02_2020_prefixes_16-20%2F203421717_201812_990PF_2020021317145895.
3. “Priorities.” Campion Foundation. Accessed March 2, 2021. http://www.campionadvocacyfund.org/advocacy/priorities/
4. Campion Foundation. IRS Form 990. 2016. Accessed March 2, 2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/203421717/12_2017_prefixes_20-22%2F203421717_201612_990PF_2017122815062545
5. Campion Foundation. IRS Form 990. 2014. Accessed March 1, 2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/203421717/2015_08_PF%2F20-3421717_990PF_201412
6. Campion Foundation. IRS Form 990. 2013. Accessed March 2, 2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/203421717/2014_05_PF%2F20-3421717_990PF_201312
7. Campion Foundation. IRS Form 990. 2012. Accessed March 2, 2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/203421717/2013_11_PF%2F20-3421717_990PF_201212
8. Campion Foundation. IRS Form 990. 2007. Accessed March 2, 2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/203421717/2008_05_PF%2F20-3421717_990PF_200712
9. Campion Foundation. IRS Form 990. 2006. Accessed March 2, 2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/203421717/2007_06_PF%2F20-3421717_990PF_200612
10. Campion Foundation. IRS Form 990. 2005. Accessed March 2, 2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/203421717
11. Alaska Wilderness League. IRS Form 990. 2018. Accessed March 1, 2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/521814742/02_2020_prefixes_47-52%2F521814742_201812_990_2020020517110967
12. Alaska Wilderness League. IRS Form 990. 2017. Accessed March 1, 2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/521814742/09_2018_prefixes_52-55%2F521814742_201712_990_2018092115719850
13. Alaska Wilderness League. IRS Form 990. 2015. Accessed March 1, 2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/521814742/2016_10_EO%2F52-1814742_990_201512
14. Campion Foundation. IRS Form 990. 2017. Accessed March 1, 2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/203421717/12_2018_prefixes_16-20%2F203421717_201712_990PF_2018120615979431
15. Campion Foundation. IRS Form 990. 2015. Accessed March 1, 2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/203421717/2017_03_PF%2F20-3421717_990PF_201512
16. “Pledge to Protect America’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.” Alaska Wilderness League. Accessed March 1, 2021. http://alaskawildaction.org/pledge/
17. Campion, Tom. Places where oil rigs don’t belong, the Artic Refuge is one of them.” The Seattle Times. June 13, 2016. https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/places-where-oil-rigs-dont-belong-the-arctic-refuge-is-one-of-them/?platform=hootsuite
18. “Campion Advocacy Fund Names Neil Kornze as New CEO.” Campion Advocacy Fund. January 30, 2019. http://www.campionadvocacyfund.org/updates/campion-advocacy-fund-names-neil-kornze-as-new-ceo/
19. “Power couples, tribes among state’s biggest donors to the Clinton campaign.” The Seattle Times. November 3, 2016. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/power-couples-tribes-among-states-big-donors-to-the-clinton-campaign/
20. “Joe Biden’s campaign funding ‘bundlers’ include some top names in Seattle tech.” GeekWire. November 2, 2020. https://www.geekwire.com/2020/joe-bidens-campaign-funding-bundlers-include-top-names-seattle-tech/
21. Lobbying Report: Cassidy & Associates, Inc. for Campion Advocacy Fund. 2020. https://disclosurespreview.house.gov/ld/ldxmlrelease/2020/Q1/301165720.xml
22. “Shelia Babb Anderson – January 2021.” Public Disclosure Commission. February 10, 2021. https://accesshub.pdc.wa.gov/node/75729; “Shelia Babb Anderson. Campion Advocacy Fund. Accessed February 25, 2021. http://www.campionadvocacyfund.org/team/sheila-babb-anderson/.
23. “Seattle’s Revolt of the Elites.” City Journal. April 16, 2019. https://www.city-journal.org/seattleforall-campaign
24. “‘It’s sleazy’: Local Legislators, community leaders voice discontent with capital gains tax bill.” Columbia Basin Herald. February 22, 2021. https://columbiabasinherald.com/news/2021/feb/22/its-sleazy-local-legislators-community-leaders-voi/
25. “2020-Campion Advocacy Fund L3 Report.” Public Disclosure Commission. February 1, 2021. https://accesshub.pdc.wa.gov/node/74763; “Control of Washington Legislature could be influenced with “independent’ cash.” The Spokesman-Review. October 30, 2016. https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/oct/30/control-of-washington-legislature-could-be-influen/.
26. Center for Responsive Politics. “Campion Advocacy Fund.” OpenSecrets.org. Accessed February 25, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/campion-advocacy-fund/summary?id=D000070916