Dream Corps is a left-leaning non-profit advocacy organization that promotes various left-leaning policy issues and receives funding from a variety of notable left-leaning organizations, tech companies, and private donors. The organization has three main projects that respectively focus on environmentalist issues, criminal justice and incarceration, and diversity quotas in the technology sector. [1]
The organization has received funding from notable athletes, musicians, and organizations, including Apple[2] and the National Football League. [3]
People
Dream Corps was founded in 2007 by Van Jones, a left-of-center political commentator and activist best known for serving in the Obama White House as Special Advisor for Green Jobs and hosting the “Van Jones Show” on CNN. Jones has a long record of promoting environmentalism and leading billions of dollars of investments into environmentalist-aligned companies in his role as a senior advisor in the Obama administration. [4]
Jones resigned from the Obama administration after receiving criticism from Republicans due to his association with 9/11 terrorist attack conspiracy “truthers,” [5] and for calling Republicans “a**holes” [6] before being appointed to his position within the administration. [7]
Vien Truong, a California-based climate activist who formerly led the Oakland Planning Commission, works as the CEO of Dream Corps. [8] Truong earned over $221,000 in compensation from the organization in 2018. [9]
Activity
Among the most visible of the projects conducted by Dream Corps is the #Cut50 campaign. The campaign is dedicated to reducing the number of incarcerated inmates in all 50 states. Cut50 works with “formerly and currently incarcerated individuals.” [10] Notable Cut50 partners include Shaka Senghor, who served 19 years for murder, and Michael Mendoza, who was convicted for the role he played in a gang-related murder. [11]
Many notable organizations and individuals have supported the #cut50 campaign including the San Francisco 49ers football team. [12] Additionally, rapper Travis Scott performed at the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show under the condition that the National Football League make a donation to the organization, which led to the NFL making a $500,000 contribution to Dream Corps. [13]
Other campaigns led by Dream Corps include the Green for All campaign, which promote left-leaning environmentalist policies and seeks to garner support for such initiatives from low-income communities,[14] and the Dream Corps Tech campaign which seeks to promote diversity within the technology sector. The Tech campaign also includes the #YesWeCode initiative, which has drawn support from large tech companies including Apple that have partnered with Dream Corps to promote coding education programs in the Oakland area. [15]