Children’s Campaign Fund (CCF)

As of 2026, the organization was doing business as the Children’s Campaign Fund Network (CCFN), which represents a collection of three affiliated entities: the Children’s Campaign Fund, also known as Children’s Campaign Fund Action (CCFA), its 501(c)(4) advocacy arm; Children’s Campaign Victory Fund, a 527 state PAC; and Children’s Campaign, a 501(c)(3) charity. ³

In the 2022 election cycle, the CCF’s staff and board members claimed to have interviewed more than 100 candidates for the Washington state legislature and contributed more than $52,000 to legislative races statewide. ²

Background

The Children’s Campaign Fund traces its origins to the 1990 formation of a political action committee registered in Washington state. It emerged directly from the defeat of a 1989 state ballot measure known as “the Children’s Initiative,” which would have created a dedicated tax-funded pool for children’s programs. Children’s advocates concluded that the initiative lost in part because supporters of the programs lacked an organized electoral voice; the CCF was created to remedy this by raising money for legislative candidates who would prioritize left-of-center child welfare policies. ²

In its first election cycle in 1990, the CCF donated $1,850 to four candidates for the Washington state legislature. The organization was volunteer-led for its first three decades; it did not hire its first executive director until 2020. ^{2 4}

In October 2022, the CCF launched an affiliated 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, Children’s Campaign Fund Action, to support legislative lobbying and advocacy work separate from its electoral activities.  ¹

In April 2026, the legal entity Children’s Campaign Fund Action began doing business as Children’s Campaign Fund, and the affiliated PAC rebranded as Children’s Campaign Victory Fund. ⁵

The CCF claims to have played a role in the creation of Washington State’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), the state agency established in 2017 to consolidate child welfare and early learning programs. ²

Activities

Candidate Endorsements and Electoral Work

The Children’s Campaign Fund’s core electoral program involves interviewing state legislative candidates and endorsing those it determined would support its policy agenda; it then contributes money to their campaigns through the state PAC. Candidates sign a pledge committing to its priorities, including expanded child-care access, behavioral health funding, and juvenile rehabilitation programs before being considered for endorsement. In November 2025, the CCF announced that every candidate it had endorsed in the 2025 elections won their race. ^{6 7 8}

Legislative Advocacy

Through its Children’s Campaign Fund Action advocacy arm, the CCF lobbies the Washington state legislature on a range of issues. In 2025, the CCF’s stated legislative priorities included maintaining implementation of the state’s Fair Start for Kids Act, a $1.1 billion early learning investment enacted in 2021; expanding income eligibility for the Working Connections Child Care subsidy program; and removing the per-pupil funding cap on special education. That year, the CCF also advocated for what it called “progressive revenue reform,” including higher taxes on higher-income Washingtonians, to fund state children’s services amid a projected state budget shortfall. ⁹

Candidate and Legislator Education

The CCF operated a program called the Legislator Education and Action Project (LEAP), conducted in partnership with the Association of Washington Business Institute (AWBi). LEAP organized educational tours for state legislators and policy staff focused on childcare and early learning policy. In another program, CCFA partnered with MomsRising and One America Votes to conduct polling on childcare attitudes and organize candidate briefings.  ¹⁰

Coalition Work

On March 5th, 2025, CCFA co-organized a Youth Day of Action in Olympia, alongside the Washington Youth Alliance Action Fund, the League of Education Voters Foundation, the Alliance for Gun Responsibility, and Team Enough. The CCF also co-produced a 2021 video series with the Save the Children Action Network to highlight Seattle mayoral candidates’ positions on children’s issues.  ¹¹

Funding

The Children’s Campaign Fund’s stated funding sources include individual donors, special events, and peer-to-peer fundraising, with donors’ employer information shared with the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) as required by state law.  ¹²

The CCF’s PAC is state-registered and reports contributions through the PDC. ¹²

Leadership

As of 2026, Alex Galeana was the executive director of the Children’s Campaign Fund Network. Galeana previously worked at America Votes, Strategies 360, the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, and NextGen America.  ¹³

Former Washington State Representative Ruth Kagi (D-Lake Forest) sat on the boards of both CCF and Children’s Campaign Fund Advocacy. Kagi previously represented the 32nd Legislative District from 1999 to 2019 and served as chair of the House Early Learning and Human Services Committee.  ¹⁴