The Family Friendly Action Fund is a left-leaning political advocacy and lobbying organization headquartered in Concord, New Hampshire. The organization was founded by Deborah Butler, a Democratic donor in New Hampshire who is the Chief Financial Officer of a private family office affiliated with the 1911 Trust Company. The organization has created state-level chapters that it runs such as Family Friendly Michigan and Family Friendly Wisconsin. The organization is also affiliated with the Family Friendly Action PAC, which spent over $15 million supporting Democratic candidates in 2020. ^{1 2 3}

The organization drew scrutiny from mainstream media as a result of a Politico report of left-of-center “dark money” group the Sixteen Thirty Fund spending $410 million during the 2020 elections. Tax records from the Sixteen Thirty Fund revealed that it gave $1.1 million to the Family Friendly Action Fund in 2020. ^{4 5}

Background

The Family Friendly Action Fund was created in 2018 and until the 2020 election cycle raised modest amounts of annual funds, bringing in approximately $300,000 and $450,000 in annual revenue in 2018 and 2019 respectively. ⁶

The organization’s website outlines its core public policy focuses as supporting key Democratic and left-leaning policy priorities such as paid family and medical leave mandates, universal government-funded child care, paid sick leave mandates, and a higher minimum wage. ⁷

People

The Family Friendly Action Fund is chaired by Deborah Butler, who founded the organization. Butler is a Democratic campaign donor who maxed out to Hillary Clinton’s primary campaign in 2016 and works as the CFO of the 1911 Office LLC, a private family office affiliated with the 1911 Trust Company, which holds several hundred million dollars in various trusts for the descendants of 19th century industrialist Fredrick Ayer. ^{8 9}

Other board members include Monica Ciofli, the director of government affairs for the Fedcap Group who is also a board member for NARAL Pro-Choice New Hampshire and former advisor to U.S. Rep Ann Kuster (D-NH); Esther Dickinson, a staff attorney for statewide teachers’ union NEA New Hampshire; and Mary Schuh, a professor at the University of New Hampshire. ^{10 11 12 13}

Affiliated Groups

Family Friendly Action Fund operates several state-level chapters under its umbrella that mostly consist of one-page websites, these include Family Friendly Wisconsin and Family Friendly Michigan. The organization is also affiliated with the Family Friendly Action PAC, a large funder of Democratic campaigns in 2020 and 2021. ^{14 15}

Family Friendly Action PAC

Family Friendly Action Fund is also affiliated with the Family Friendly Action PAC, a left-leaning super PAC headquartered in Washington D.C. that financially supports Democratic campaigns for federal offices, particularly key U.S. Senate races and the Presidential election. The PAC was formed ahead of the 2020 election and funded independent expenditures for President Joe Biden’s campaign as well as supporting Democratic candidates in Iowa, Montana, Maine, and Michigan. The PAC also spent heavily in the Georgia runoff elections for U.S. Senate in 2021. Some of the top vendors of the Family Friendly Action PAC are the same as those of the Family Friendly Action Fund, and the two organization’s websites share an identical format. ^{16 17}

1. “Home.” Family Friendly Action Fund. Accessed November 21, 2021. https://www.familyfriendlyactionfund.org/
2. “IRS Form 990.” Family Friendly Action Fund. 2018. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/831806898/01_2020_prefixes_82-84%2F831806898_201812_990O_2020012717072199
3. “Deborah Butler.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed November 21, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah-butler-ab997a67
4. Bland, Scott. “Liberal ‘dark-money’ behemoth funneled more than $400M in 2020.” Politico. November 17, 2021. Accessed November 21, 2021.  https://www.politico.com/news/2021/11/17/dark-money-sixteen-thirty-fund-522781
5. “Sixteen Thirty Fund IRS Form 990.” Politico. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000017d-2e2b-df97-a9ff-be7fdd190000
6. “IRS Form 990.” Family Friendly Action Fund. 2018. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/831806898/01_2020_prefixes_82-84%2F831806898_201812_990O_2020012717072199
7. “Home.” Family Friendly Action Fund. Accessed November 21, 2021. https://www.familyfriendlyactionfund.org/
8. Schinella, Tony. “Who Gave the Most Presidential Campaign Cash in Concord?” Patch. February 27, 2016. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://patch.com/new-hampshire/concord-nh/who-gave-most-presidential-campaign-cash-concord
9. “Home.” 1911 Trust. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://www.1911trust.com/
10. “IRS Form 990.” Family Friendly Action Fund. 2018. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/831806898/01_2020_prefixes_82-84%2F831806898_201812_990O_2020012717072199
11. “Monica Ciofli.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed November 21, 2021.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/monica-ciolfi-15052111
12. “Esther Dickinson.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed November 21, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/esther-dickinson-63aa396
13. “Mary Schuh.” University of New Hampshire. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://iod.unh.edu/person/schuh/mary
14. “Home.” Family Friendly Wisconsin. Accessed November 21, 2021.  https://familyfriendlywisconsin.org/
15. “Home.” Family Friendly Michigan. Accessed November 21, 2021.  https://familyfriendlymichigan.org/
16. “Family Friendly Action PAC.” Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cmte=C00744920&cycle=2020
17. “Family Friendly Action PAC.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00744920/?tab=filings