The Local Jobs and Economic Development Fund (LJEDF) is a left-of-center environmental policy advocacy group. The Delaware-based policy and lobbying organization funded out-of-state local elections in locations including Illinois and Florida, prompting some media outlets to label the group as a “dark money” organization. ^{1 2}

The Fund pays Down Ballot Climate Partners LLC for management fees. ³ Down Ballot Climate Partners LLC, co-founded by the LJEDF board members Eric Heitz and Matthew Ewing, is a California-based left-of-center consulting firm that helps “organizations and donors invest in local elections with outsized climate and environmental justice impacts.” ^{4 5 6 7}

Background

The Local Jobs and Economic Development Fund is a policy and lobbying group that funds local elections and political organizations in multiple states including Illinois and Florida. ^{1 8 2} The Fund states its focus is on the economic development of rural communities. ⁹ Due to the out-of-state contributions to local elections and lack of transparency from where the group’s funds originated, some outlets have labeled the group a “dark money” organization. ^{1 2}

The Delaware-based LJEDF listed five board members and no full-time employees or volunteers on its IRS form in 2022. ¹⁰ Matthew Ewing and Eric Heitz, the only two board members who reported working more than an average of one hour per week for the organization in 2022, are both located in California according to LinkedIn. ^{7 5 6} Ewing and Heitz are co-founders of Down Ballot Climate Partners LLC, a California-based consulting firm contracted for management services by the LJEDF. ^{5 6 3 4} In 2022, more than half of the Fund’s expenses were for consulting services paid to the organization. ^{11 12}

The group’s listed address in tax documents appears to belong to a registered agent services company. ² While some grants to the group list the same address as the group lists on IRS tax forms, other grants to the group, including a $200,000 grant from the Energy Action Fund which was co-founded by Heitz, lists the Corporation Trust Center at 1209 Orange Street Wilmington, Delaware, as the address for the group; an address that is notable for being the on-paper home of over 300,000 businesses.  ^{13 14 15 6 16}

Activities

In 2024, the Local Jobs and Economic Development Fund supported Illinois local elections including donations “to candidates and to the Democratic central committee in Whiteside, Sangamon, McLean, Will and Dekalb counties,” according to The Center Square. ¹ In 2022, the Fund gave $17,500 to the Illinois-based Will County Victory Fund, according to its tax returns. ¹⁷

In 2024, the LJEDF gave $75,000 to the One Tallahassee PAC, a Florida-based PAC supporting Tallahassee city commissioner’s elections; donations to the PAC are run through ActBlue, a Democratic-aligned payment processor. ^{2 18} One Tallahassee also received donations from Climate Cabinet Action, a California-based environmental policy advocacy group. Eric Heitz, the board chair and president of the LJEDF, is an advisor to Climate Cabinet Action. ^{8 6}

In 2022, the LJEDF gave $15,898 to the Voter Participation Center, a left-of-center voter registration group. ¹⁷

In 2022, the LJEDF gave $85,000 to the Western Organization of Resource Councils, a left-of-center Montana-based lobbying and advocacy coalition that opposes coal, oil, and gas energy development. ^{17 19}

In 2022, the LJEDF gave $6,000 to the Lower Shore Progressive Caucus, also known as Shore Progress, a Maryland-based group that advocates for abortion rights, works to “recruit and elect Progressive candidates,” and runs donations through ActBlue.  ^{17 20 21 22}

Funding

The Local Jobs and Economic Development Fund received $200,000 in 2022 from the Energy Action Fund, an environmental advocacy group co-founded by Eric Heitz, the president and board chair of the LJEDF. ^{15 6 7} The Energy Action Fund was initially founded as the lobbying and advocacy arm of the Energy Foundation, an environmental pass-through grant maker. ^{23 6}

In 2023, the LJEDF received $500,000 from the Global Impact Social Welfare Fund, a left-of-center policy advocacy group. ²⁴

In 2022, the LJEDF received $1,040,000 from the Tides Foundation, a major left-of-center pass-through funder and grantmaker. The Fund also received $75,000 in 2022 from Tides Advocacy, an advocacy group aligned with the Tides Foundation. ^{25 26 27}

Down Ballot Climate Partners LLC

In 2022, the Local Jobs and Economic Development Fund paid $391,000 in consulting fees to Down Ballot Climate Partners LLC, a California-based left-of-center consulting firm and for-profit political advocacy organization that helps “organizations and donors invest in local elections with outsized climate and environmental justice impacts.” ⁴  The $391,000 paid comprises more than half of the total $611,806 expenses incurred by the LJEDF in 2022. ^{11 12}

Down Ballot Climate Partners LLC “is serving as the management company, through a consulting agreement” for the LJEDF, according to IRS filings. ³

Staff

Eric Heitz is the president and chair of the board of the Local Jobs and Economic Development Fund. ⁷ Heitz is a co-founder and president of Down Ballot Climate Partners LLC. ⁶

Heitz was co-founder and a previous chief executive officer of the Energy Foundation, an environmental pass-through grantmaking organization, until 2019, and launched the lobbying and advocacy group the Energy Action Fund, formerly a related organization with the Energy Foundation as reported in IRS filings. ²³ As of 2019, Heitz was a board member of the Energy Action Fund; as of 2020, he was an advisor to Climate Cabinet Action. ⁶

Mathew Ewing is a board member of the LJEDF; he reported working an average of 30 hours a week for the organization in 2022. ⁷ Ewing is a co-founder of Down Ballot Climate Partners LLC along with Heitz; Ewing is the CEO of the organization. ⁵

Previously, Ewing worked as a field director for MoveOn.org, field organizer for Green Corp, a senior fellow for the New Organizing Institute, and founding director of New Media Ventures. ⁵ Ewing has worked as an advisor for Rewiring America; Swing Left, where he worked as managing director from 2018 to 2020; Vote Forward; and Climate Changemakers. As of 2024, Ewing was on the board of MoveOn.org and board chair of TechEquity Collaborative; previously, Ewing was on the board of Green Corps and the International Center for Journalists. ⁵

Besides Ewing and Heitz, the other members of the board in 2022 were Cathrine Bracey, Jon Carson, and Amy Fuerstenau; all three were on the board as of September 1, 2022. ⁷

1. Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor. “Delaware-Based Group Spends Thousands on Candidates across Illinois.” The Center Square, October 29, 2024. https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_fcb186f2-95fb-11ef-9989-4753379c0530.html?a.
2. Stewart, Steve. “Matlow PAC Receives $75,000 Donation from Delaware Dark Money Group.” Tallahassee Reports, October 21, 2024. https://tallahasseereports.com/2024/10/21/matlow-pac-receives-75000-donation-from-delaware-dark-money-group/.
3. “Local Jobs and Economic Development Fund,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2022. Schedule O.
4. “Elections Analyst.” Progressive Data Jobs. Accessed November 8, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20221126220748/https://www.progressivedatajobs.org/job-posting/elections-analyst/.
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7. “Local Jobs and Economic Development Fund,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2022. Page 7 Part VII.
8. Staff. “Matlow’s California Donors Seek Control of Tallahassee’s Electric Utility.” Tallahassee Reports, November 3, 2024. https://tallahasseereports.com/2024/11/03/california-electric-matlows-california-donors-seek-control-of-tallahassees-electric-utility/.
9. Local Jobs & Economic Development Fund. Accessed November 9, 2024. https://localjobs.fund/
10. “Local Jobs and Economic Development Fund,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2022. Page 1 Part I.
11.  “Local Jobs and Economic Development Fund,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2022. Schedule L.
12. “Local Jobs and Economic Development Fund,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2022. Page 1 Part I Line 18.
13. “Local Jobs and Economic Development Fund,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) Page 1 Box C.
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16. Weaver, Darren. “This Tiny Building in Wilmington, Delaware Is Home to 300,000 Businesses.” Business Insider. Accessed November 8, 2024. https://www.businessinsider.com/building-wilmington-delaware-largest-companies-ct-corporation-2017-4.
17. “Local Jobs and Economic Development Fund,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). Schedule I.
18. “I Just Gave to One Tallahassee!” ActBlue. Accessed November 8, 2024. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/onetallahassee.
19. Erickson, Camille. “Despite Climate Concerns, Wyoming Public Land Opened to Coal Leasing.” Casper Star-Tribune, November 26, 2019. https://trib.com/business/energy/despite-climate-concerns-wyoming-public-land-opened-to-coal-leasing/article_cfdc826c-c860-5ed3-9737-0f1e1ecefc19.html
20. “I Just Bought a Ticket to the LSPC Summer Social!” ActBlue. Accessed November 10, 2024. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/lspcsummersocial2024.
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23. “Energy Action Fund,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2019. Schedule R.
24.  “Global Impact Social Welfare Fund,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2023. Schedule I.
25. “Tides Foundation,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2022. Schedule I.
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