FWD.us (also styled Forward US) is a liberal expansionist immigration and criminal justice policy advocacy group based in the United States. It lobbies and advocates for left-of-center expansionist immigration policy, legal status for illegal immigrants in the United States, left-of-center changes to the criminal justice system, and changes to the U.S. education system for science and technology education. FWD.us was launched in 2013 with help from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan. ¹

According to the group’s tax returns with the IRS, FWD.us is a directly controlled entity of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. ² In 2021, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative announced it was donating $100 million to FWD.us “to super-charge their work over the next three years.” ¹

In 2021, FWD.us made a $2,000,000 grant to the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which is operated by Arabella Advisors. ³

Background

FWD.us was founded in 2013 ⁴ and received tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 2021. ⁵ According to an archived version of FWD.us’s website from 2020, FWD.us’s founders and funders included Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, billionaire and General Partner of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers John Doerr, and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman. ⁶ As of May 2024, the “founders and funders” section of the website has been replaced with a page that lists current staff and board members. ⁷

Leadership

Zoe Towns is the executive director of FWD.us. In 2017, she launched FWD.us’s criminal justice portfolio. Prior to joining FWD.us, she worked at the left-of-center Pew Charitable Trusts. She has also worked at the Bronx Freedom Fund and is on the board of One Justice, Recidiviz, Center for Journalism, and the Civil Rights Corps. ⁸

Todd Schulte is the president of FWD.us. and the affiliated FWD.us Education Fund. Schulte has worked with FWD.us since its founding in 2013. In 2023, Schulte claimed that illegal immigrants in the United States getting work permits would “reduce inflation.” Previously, he was the chief of staff at liberal super PAC Priorities USA Action, which supported President Barack Obama’s re-election; chief of staff for former U.S. Representative Scott Murphy (D-NY); and held several roles at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). ⁹

FWD.us’s deputy director of government relations Maria Praeli was brought to the United States illegally as a child. ^{10 11}

FWD.us shares several board members with its associated 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, FWD.us Education Fund. These board members include Democratic Party strategist and Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative president of policy David Plouffe, Community Change and Community Change Action president Lorella Praeli, Andrew Pincus, and Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative chief of staff Jordan Fox. ¹²

Major funders listed on the website archive snapshot include motion picture executive and funder of private foundation Diller Foundation Barry Diller, co-CEO of Netflix Reed Hastings, and former Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt. ⁶

Activities and Funding

FWD.us is a left-of-center immigration and criminal justice advocacy organization. The group runs an immigration fellows program to support individuals advocating for left-of-center immigration policies and immigration expansionism. ¹³ According to the Center for Responsive Politics, FWD.us spent more than $1 million dollars on lobbying efforts in 2021, 2022, and 2023, and is on track to spend more than $1 million on similar efforts in 2024. ¹⁴

According to tax filings, FWD.us directly controls the Council for American Job Growth and Americans for Conservative Direction. ¹⁵

Immigration Policy Activism

FWD.us claims that increased mass immigration can improve quality of life, “breathe new life” into rural America, and reverse rural population decline. ¹⁶ The group seeks to create a far-left “equitable immigration ecosystem” and claims to support African American, Native American, LGBT, and other communities through its National Dignity for Families Fund. ¹⁷

FWD.us has claimed that shielding illegal immigrants from deportation could reduce inflation in the United States, ¹⁸ provides a guide for supporting illegal immigrant employees, produces a guide for how to support illegal immigrant employees, ¹⁹ and has celebrated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which shields illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children from deportation. ²⁰

In May 2024, FWD.us held a press conference with U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Edward J. Markey (D-MA); U.S. Representatives Nanette Barragán (D-CA) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA); and American Families United, UnidosUS (formerly National Council of La Raza), and CASA. At this press conference, activists called for President Joe Biden to protect illegal immigrants in the United States by streamlining immigration processes for illegal immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens, caregivers, and other long-term residents. The activists also called for the Biden administration to shield illegal immigrants from deportation and expand pathways to permanent residency for millions of illegal immigrants in the United States. ²¹

In 2023, FWD.us published immigration policy recommendations for the Biden administration. These policy recommendations included replication of the Biden administration’s plans to resettle tens of thousands of Afghans across the United States to reduce burdens for individuals seeking asylum and major metro centers. ²² Additional recommendations included emergency resettlement for possibly millions of Venezuelans, expansion of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One App, which would allow quicker entry for individuals seeking asylum and coordination of migrant travel within the U.S. The organization also supports the expansion of temporary protected status (TPS) that shields certain illegal immigrants from deportation, work privileges for illegal migrants in the United States, expansion of migration operations in the United States, and expedited refugee processing throughout the Western Hemisphere. ²³

In 2018, FWD.us spent millions of dollars to reunify families of illegal immigrants separated at the U.S.-Mexico border within the United States. ²⁴

Criminal Justice Policy Activism

In March 2024, FWD.us published a survey claiming that nearly two-thirds of Americans support a reduction of jail and prison populations. The same survey also claimed that 60 percent of likely voters favored the statement that “mass incarceration makes communities less safe.” ²⁵

FWD.us runs the People First campaign, which argues for American media to drop so-called “harmful labels” for convicts such as “felon,” “offender,” and “inmate” from their reporting because FWD.us claims these terms perpetuate “false and dangerous stereotypes, artificially inflates support for mass incarceration, and dampens the impact of much-needed critiques of the criminal justice system.” ^{26 27}

Grantmaking

In 2022, FWD.us made $3,028,750 of grants. These grants included $462,500 to Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs, $321,000 to American Conservative Union, $200,000 to Coalition for the American Dream, $160,000 to New Hour for Women and Children, $150,000 to Tides Advocacy, $140,000 to Voices of Community Activists and Leaders (VOCAL), $108,000 to New York Communities for Change, $100,000 to Democratic-aligned Majority Forward, and $75,000 to both Bipartisan Policy Center Action and VoteVets. ²⁸

In 2021, FWD.us made $7,554,894 of grants. ²⁹ These grants included $2,000,000 to the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which is operated by Arabella Advisors, $450,000 to America is Better, $375,000 to American Conservative Union, $300,000 to VOCAL-NY, $250,000 to Empower Mississippi, $250,000 to New Venture Fund, $235,5000 to Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs, $200,000 to America’s Voice,  $200,000 to PAC for Justice, $175,000 to State Business Executives, $125,000 to Niskanen Center for Public Policy, $115,000 to New York Communities for Change, $100,000 to the NAACP, $60,000 to NEO Philanthropy, and $50,000 to the International Rescue Committee. ³

Funding

FWD.us receives its funding from individual contributions and grants. In 2022, FWD.us reported revenue of $2,418,786 and expenses of $21,766,267. This is a large decrease from 2021, when FWD.us reported revenue of $65,150,482 and expenses of $36,502,920. ³⁰

FWD.us and its affiliated FWD.us Educational Fund are primarily funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Advocacy, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Donor Advised fund. From 2018 through 2021, the funders associated with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative awarded grants totaling more than $227.8 million to the pair of FWD.us nonprofits. This includes $135 million in funding since 2020. ²⁶

1. “Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Announces $450 Million to Accelerate Criminal Justice & Immigration Reform.” Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. January 27, 20-21. Accessed May 11, 2024. https://chanzuckerberg.com/newsroom/chan-zuckerberg-initiative-announces-450-million-to-accelerate-criminal-justice-immigration-reform/.
2. “FWDUS Education Fund.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022. Schedule R. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/820962378/202323199349307092/full.
3. “FWDUS Inc.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2021. Schedule I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/462223015/202223199349330262/full.
4. “About.” FWD.us. Accessed May 11, 2024. https://www.fwd.us/about/.
5. “Notice of Determination.” Department of Treasury Internal Revenue Service. March 4, 2021. Accessed May 11, 2024. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/dl/FinalLetter_46-2223015_FWDUSINC_05232020_00.tif.
6. “Meet Our Founders and Funders.” FWD.us. June 12, 2020. Accessed via Web Archive May 11, 2024. https://archive.is/G5rNg.
7. “Meet Our Staff.” FWD.us. Accessed May 11, 2024. https://www.fwd.us/staff-board/.
8. “Zoe Towns.” FWD.us. Accessed May 11, 2024. https://www.fwd.us/team/executive/zoe-towns/
9. “Todd Schulte.” FWD.us. Accessed May 11, 2024. https://www.fwd.us/team/executive/todd-schulte/.
10. “CHC Chair Barragan, Padilla, Lujan, Cortez Masto, members, Advocates Call for Executive Action to Protect American Families.” Congressional Hispanic Caucus. May 8, 2024. https://chc.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/chc-chair-barragan-padilla-lujan-cortez-masto-members-advocates-call.
11. “Maria P. Manager of Government Relations.” FWD.us Dreamer Story. Accessed May 12, 2024. https://www.fwd.us/stories/maria-p/.
12. “Staff.” FWD.us. Accessed May 11, 2024. https://www.fwd.us/staff-board/.
13. “Meet our Immigration Fellows.” FWD.us. Accessed May 11, 2024. https://www.fwd.us/immigration-fellows/.
14. “Client Profile: FWD.us.” Open Secrets Lobbying Analysis. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/clients/summary?cycle=2021&id=D000067575.
15. “FWDUS Inc.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022. Schedule R. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/462223015/202343199349308579/full.
16.  “Immigration Can Reverse Rural Population Decline.” FWD.us. August 22, 2023. Accessed May 12, 2024. https://www.fwd.us/news/rural-decline/.
17. “National Dignity for Families Fund.” FWD.us. Accessed May 12, 2024. https://www.fwd.us/news/dignity-for-families-fund/.
18. “UPDATED- New Analysis from FWD.us Finds Immigration Relief in Build Back Better Act Can Help Curb Inflation.” FWD.us. December 3, 2021. Accessed May 12, 2024. https://www.fwd.us/news/new-analysis-from-fwd-us-finds-immigration-relief-in-build-back-better-act-can-help-curb-inflation/.
19. “Supporting DACA Team Members: A Guide for Employers.” FWD.us. January 7, 2024. Accessed May 12, 2024. https://www.fwd.us/news/daca-employer-guide/.
20. “FWD.us Statement on DACA’s 11^th Anniversary.” FWD.us. June 15, 2023. Accessed May 11, 2024. https://www.fwd.us/news/fwd-us-statement-on-dacas-11th-anniversary/.
21. Press Release E-mail Sent from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. May 8, 2024.
22. “FWD.us Publishes New Policy recommendations for the Biden Administration to Reduce Pressure at the Border and Support Receiving Communities.” FWD.us Press Release. October 19, 2023. Accessed May 11, 2024. https://www.fwd.us/news/fwd-us-publishes-new-policy-recommendations-for-the-biden-administration-to-reduce-pressure-at-the-border-and-support-receiving-communities/.
23. “Addressing the Challenges of Forced Migration at the Border and in our Communities.” FWD.us. October 18, 2023. Accessed May 11, 2024. https://www.fwd.us/news/addressing-the-challenges-of-forced-migration-at-the-border-and-in-our-communities/#posts.
24.  “Multi-million dollar funding commitment to pay for flights for migrant family reunifications.” FWD.us. July 24, 2018. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.fwd.us/news/multi-million-dollar-funding-commitment-to-pay-for-flights-for-migrant-family-reunifications/.
25. “New Polling Demonstrates Ongoing Support for Criminal Justice Reform and Policies to Reduce Incarceration.” FWD.us. March 6, 2024. Accessed May 11, 2024. https://www.fwd.us/news/new-2024-polling-demonstrates-ongoing-support-for-criminal-justice-reform/.
26. Braun, Ken. “Soft Eyes for Criminal Justice Solutions: Big Winners.” Capital Research Center. June 1, 2023. Accessed May 11, 2024. https://capitalresearch.org/article/soft-eyes-for-criminal-justice-solutions-part-5/.
27. “People First: Drop the Harmful Labels From Criminal Justice Reporting.” People First. Accessed May 11, 2024. https://www.fwd.us/criminal-justice/people-first/.
28. “FWDUS Inc.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022. Schedule I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/462223015/202343199349308579/full.
29. “FWDUS Inc.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2021. Part I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/462223015/202223199349330262/full.
30. “FWDUS Inc.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022. Part I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/462223015/202343199349308579/full.