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] [14] [15] [16] [17]} 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. ^{[18] [19]}

Neil Kornze, a former official in the Obama administration, was named CEO of both Campion organizations in 2019. ^[20] 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. ^{[21] [22]}

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. ^[23] In the state of Washington, the Campion Advocacy Fund employs lobbyists that advocate for its concerns regarding homelessness. ^[24]

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. ^[25]

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. ^[26]

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. ^[27] 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. ^[28]