Employ America Action Fund

The Employ America Action Fund received $1,000,000 from the Open Philanthropy Project in 2021. ³ In 2020, the Employ America Action Fund gave the Arabella Advisors-managed Sixteen Thirty Fund $46,000 for general purposes. ^{4 5}

History and Leadership

The Employ America Action Fund was founded in 2020. The organization received tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service in March 2022. ^{6 7}

Skanda Amarnath is the executive director of the Employ America Action Fund. ⁸ He is also the executive director of Employ America, Employ America Action Fund’s sister charitable organization. ⁹ Prior to joining the Employ America groups, Amarnath was vice president at MKP Capital Management. ¹⁰

Amarnath has shared posts on his Twitter profile in support of the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. He has shared other posts attacking U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). ¹¹

Activities and Funding

The Employ America Action Fund is a left-of-center organization that advocates for legislation, regulations, and government programs to support left-of-center labor market outcomes. The Employ America Action Fund has a resource sharing agreement with its sister group, Employ America, in which the Employ America Action Fund reimburses Employ America for staff time that Employ America employees incur while carrying out programming on Employ America Action Fund-related activities. ¹²

The Employ America Action Fund supports the development of a government-backed industrial finance corporation, advocates for policies it believes will develop tight labor markets and anti-inflationary policies, and lobbies U.S. Congressional staff on economic legislation, fiscal policy, and Federal Reserve policy. ¹³

The Employ America Action Fund is a registered lobbying organization ² and lobbies public officials and the Federal Reserve regarding economic policies and the American labor market. ^{14 14} The Employ America Action Fund first registered as a lobbying organization in 2020 and was reported to have terminated lobbying activities in 2024. ¹⁵ The organization spent $90,000 on lobbying in 2023, $190,000 on lobbying in 2022, and $160,000 on lobbying in 2021. ¹⁶

In 2022, the group spent $215,066 on policy advocacy to support tight labor markets. The organization advocated for the establishment of an industrial finance corporation and other issues. ¹⁷

In 2023, the Employ America Action Fund co-signed a letter with labor unions including the AFL-CIO, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), the Communication Workers of America (CWA), the United Auto Workers (UAW), United Steelworkers (USW), the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART), and the AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees (DPE) in support of efforts to ensure that the Biden administration’s CHIPS Act-funded programs administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce used union labor as a part of their implementation. ¹⁸

The Employ America Action Fund is the sister organization of 501(c)(3) Employ America. ¹ In 2020, the Employ America Action Fund gave the left-of-center Sixteen Thirty Fund $46,000 for general purposes. ^{4 5}

Funding

The Employ America Action Fund generates its funding from contributions and grants. ¹⁹

In 2022, the organization reported revenue of $500,000 and expenses of $306,137. In 2021, the organization reported revenue of $500,000 and expenses of $260,864. ¹⁴

The Employ America Action Fund received $1,000,000 from the Open Philanthropy Project in 2021. ³ In 2020, Employ America Action Fund also received $800,000 from the Open Philanthropy Project. ⁴