Groundwork Action is the advocacy affiliate of the Groundwork Collaborative, a left-of-center economic policy think tank. While the group has no public website, it advocates for left-of-center policies based on the Groundwork Collaborative’s research. ¹

Groundwork Action is funded by the left-of-center Sixteen Thirty Fund. ² Both the New Venture Fund, which sponsors the Groundwork Collaborative, and the Sixteen Thirty Fund are fiscal sponsorship nonprofits that are managed by the for-profit consultancy Arabella Advisors. ³

Founding and History

Groundwork Action was ostensibly founded alongside the Groundwork Collaborative, which claims to have been created in 2018 under the leadership of executive director Michael Linden. ⁴ However, the first post on the Groundwork Collaborative’s website comes from November 2019, and its first media mention came months later in April 2020. ⁵

Similarly, a page run by Groundwork Action has a privacy policy dated to March 2019, but its Facebook page appeared in July 2020. ⁶ Its first public press release, made not by Groundwork Action itself but by the left-of-center polling firm and policy think tank Data for Progress, is dated to February 2021. ⁷

Present Activities

Groundwork Action appears to operate underground, with no public website and an inactive Facebook page. Groundwork Action’s Facebook page only has two posts on it and appears to have been inactive since July 2020. ⁸ The group does not have website of its own, but it has published a website called ”nocutstoui.org,” which advocates for increases to unemployment insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic. ⁹ Groundwork Action has updated the website as recently as June 2021. ¹⁰

Groundwork Action frequently collaborates with the left-progressive think tank Data for Progress. The two groups have published reports in support of expanding the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and unemployment insurance by increases taxes on Americans making over $400,000 per year and increasing the corporate tax rate. ¹¹

In June 2021, Groundwork Action signed onto a statement written by the far-left Progressive Caucus Action Fund, calling for an increase in President Joe Biden’s proposed infrastructure spending budget to a minimum of $6 trillion. ¹² The statement also demands an expansion of the Child Tax Credit, Medicare, and paid family leave, as well as over a trillion dollars of investments in environmentalist energy projects.

Finances

Because Groundwork Action is fiscally sponsored by the Sixteen Thirty Fund, there is no publicly available financial information on the organization. The Sixteen Thirty Fund has been accused by critics of being a dark money “behemoth,” as it has given out hundreds of millions to left-of-center and Democratic causes while keeping the identity of most of its donors anonymous. ¹³

1. “No Cuts to UI.” No Cuts to UI. Accessed August 1, 2021. https://nocutstoui.org/.
2. “Privacy Policy .” Privacy policy. Accessed August 1, 2021. https://nocutstoui.org/privacy.html.
3. Bland, Scott. “Liberal DARK-MONEY BEHEMOTH Raised Nearly $140M Last Year.” POLITICO. POLITICO, November 20, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/20/liberal-dark-money-fundraising-438667.
4. “Groundwork Collaborative Names Lindsay Owens, Phd, New Executive Director.” Groundwork Collaborative, June 10, 2021. https://groundworkcollaborative.org/news/groundwork-collaborative-names-lindsay-owens-phd-new-executive-director/.
5. “New IRS Inflation Adjustments Unfair for Low Income Americans, Should Be Recalculated.” Groundwork Collaborative, May 24, 2021. https://groundworkcollaborative.org/news/new-irs-inflation-adjustments-unfair-for-low-income-americans-should-be-recalculated/. ; Miller, Claire Cain. “Could the PANDEMIC Wind up Fixing What’s Broken about Work in America?” The New York Times. The New York Times, April 10, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/upshot/coronavirus-future-work-america.html.
6. “Privacy Policy .” Privacy policy. Accessed August 1, 2021. https://nocutstoui.org/privacy.html. ; “Groundwork Action .” Facebook. Accessed August 1, 2021. https://www.facebook.com/GroundworkAction/.
7. “Groundwork Action and Data for Progress Memo.” Files for Progress , February 25, 2021. https://www.filesforprogress.org/memos/pdfs/groundwork-ctc-eitc-memo.pdf.
8. “Groundwork Action .” Facebook. Accessed August 1, 2021. https://www.facebook.com/GroundworkAction/.
9. “No Cuts to UI.” No Cuts to UI. Accessed August 1, 2021. https://nocutstoui.org/.
10. Beyer , Don. “Local Economies Stand to Lose More than $12 Billion Due to Early Cancellation of Enhanced Unemployment Benefits.” Joint Economic Committee, June 2, 2021. https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/1f9672bb-2ce0-40ff-acde-aede9b99867f/fpuc-and-gop-govs-06.02.2021.pdf.
11. “Groundwork Action and Data for Progress Memo.” Files for Progress , February 25, 2021. https://www.filesforprogress.org/memos/pdfs/groundwork-ctc-eitc-memo.pdf. ; Kanfer, Billie. “Memo: Voters Strongly Oppose Cutting the Income of Millions of Americans.” Data For Progress. Data For Progress, June 29, 2021. https://www.dataforprogress.org/memos/voters-support-extending-ui. ; “CTC Presser 5/6/21.” Economic Security Project , May 6, 2021. https://www.economicsecurityproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/210506-CTC-Press-Conference.pdf.
12. Scruggs, Jessica Juarez. “250+ Organizations & Think Tanks: “$6 Trillion Infrastructure Package Is the Floor, Not the Ceiling.’” Progressive Caucus Action Fund. Progressive Caucus Action Fund, July 2, 2021. https://progressivecaucusactionfund.org/news/2021/6/29/200-organizations-amp-think-tanks-6-trillion-infrastructure-package-is-the-floor-not-the-ceiling.
13. Bland, Scott. “Liberal DARK-MONEY BEHEMOTH Raised Nearly $140M Last Year.” POLITICO. POLITICO, November 20, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/20/liberal-dark-money-fundraising-438667.