The Leadership Conference Education Fund is the affiliated education arm of the left-of-center advocacy group Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. The organization advocates for left-wing views on voting rights, civil rights, and other issues.

The organization receives large amounts of donations from left-of-center foundations including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Tides Foundation among many other organizations. The fund’s board of directors consists of numerous players in the professional left, most notably Gara LaMarche of the Democracy Alliance. ¹

Overview

The Leadership Conference Education Fund is the education arm of the left-wing Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. The LCCHR is a network of more than 200 left-wing organizations that promotes left-wing views on issues such as voting access, civil rights, LGBT interests, education policy, and other issues. ²

The LCEF was founded in 1969 as the education arm for the LCCHR. The organization works with the LCCHR’s member organizations to promote its viewpoints to state, local, and federal governments. The LCEF serves as the focal point of a coalition to promote its views and expand civil rights. ²

Priorities

Leadership Conference Education Fund has three major issue priorities: democracy, justice, and inclusion and opportunity:

Democracy

Under its democracy priority, the LCEF campaigned to get as many people counted as possible under the 2020 Census. It established the Census Counts Campaign to coordinate LCCHR member organizations to count as many people as possible. The LCEF is involved in campaigns to put left-wing judges on the federal courts. The LCEF is also working on voting rights issues and undermining voter fraud protections such as voter identification. ³

Justice

Under its justice priority, the LCEF works on immigration-related issues. The organization is opposed to most enforcement of immigration laws. The organization is also working on criminal justice policies, championing putting fewer people in jail and prison. The LCEF is also working on police reform. It has created the “New Era of Public Safety” initiative which is an outline of reducing police presence. ⁴

Inclusion and Opportunity

Under its inclusion and opportunity priority, the organization fights for expanding the government’s role in the economy. It also works to change the education policy and to increase government spending on education. The LCEF is also increasing its initiative to combat hate crimes and encourage local law enforcement agencies to report hate crimes to the FBI. It created the Communities Against Hate initiative with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. The LCEF works to create communications and internet policies that promote equity. It also works to expand demographic diversity in media and access to broadband internet. ⁵

Leadership

Maya Wiley is the President and CEO of the Leadership Conference Education Fund. Before joining the Fund, Wiley served with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. as well as the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. ⁶

Dorian Warren is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Leadership Conference Education Fund. He also serves as President of Community Change Action. ⁷

Among other members of the board directors are Michael D. Calhoun of the Center for Responsible Lending, Gara LaMarche of the Democracy Alliance, James Rucker, and Judith L. Lichtman. ¹

Financials

According to the 2018 Form 990, LCEF received $27.1 million and spent $17.7 million. ⁸ The largest single expenditure was for a voting rights campaign called All Voting Is Local. The group spent $2.2 million on that campaign. ⁸ The LCEF received $2.3 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. ⁹

According to their 2021 990 form, their reported revenue was $35,594,976, their expenses were $24,253,142, and total assets reported at $66,570,896. ¹⁰

1. “Board Of Directors – The Leadership Conference Education Fund”. 2020. The Leadership Conference Education Fund. Accessed October 8. https://civilrights.org/edfund/board-of-directors/.
2.             “Who We Are – The Leadership Conference Education Fund”. 2020. The Leadership Conference Education Fund. Accessed October 8. https://civilrights.org/edfund/about-us/who-we-are/.
3. “Our Work – The Leadership Conference Education Fund”. 2020. The Leadership Conference Education Fund. Accessed October 8. https://civilrights.org/edfund/our-work/#row-democracy.
4. “Our Work – The Leadership Conference Education Fund”. 2020. The Leadership Conference Education Fund. Accessed October 8. https://civilrights.org/edfund/our-work/#row-justice.
5.    “Our Work – The Leadership Conference Education Fund”. 2020. The Leadership Conference Education Fund. Accessed October 8. https://civilrights.org/edfund/our-work/#row-inclusion-opportunity.
6. “Maya Wiley.” Leadership Conference Education Fund, Accessed November 29, 2023. https://civilrights.org/about/our-staff/maya-wiley/
7. “Board of Directors.” Leadership Conference Education Fund, Accessed November 29, 2023. https://civilrights.org/edfund/board-of-directors/
8. Form 990. 2018. Ebook. Guidestar. https://pdf.guidestar.org/PDF_Images/2018/237/026/2018-237026895-11559088-9.pdf?_ga=2.75758037.1351712487.1602130366-1729401998.1573449492.
9.       “Grant”. 2020. Gates Foundation. Accessed October 8. https://www.gatesfoundation.org/How-We-Work/Quick-Links/Grants-Database/Grants/2016/08/OPP1154041.
10. Leadership Conference Education Fund, Inc, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax, 2021. Part I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/237026895/202232989349301798/full