North Carolina for a Better Future was a registered trade name from 2020 to 2022 of the New Venture Fund, a left-of-center 501(c)(3) funding and fiscal sponsorship nonprofit managed by Arabella Advisors, a Washington, D.C.-based philanthropic consulting firm. Like other nonprofits in the Arabella network, including the Sixteen Thirty Fund and the Hopewell Fund,  the New Venture Fund operate under several trade names that often give the appearance of a distinct organization. Aside from its registration as a trade name of the New Venture Fund, no information exists around the project’s activity, if any was conducted, though given the timeframe during which it was actively registered, it was likely intended for use during the 2020 or 2022 election cycles. ^{1 2 3 4}

New Venture Fund

North Carolina for a Better Future was a registered trade name of the New Venture Fund from 2020 to 2022. The New Venture Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit managed by the Arabella Advisors network. The New Venture Fund serves as a fiscal sponsor for multiple progressive policy campaigns, advocacy groups, and public education initiatives, mostly conducting educational activities surrounding political and policy issues in line with the fund’s 501(c)(3) status. As of 2025, the right-of-center Americans for Public Trust had identified 14 active and over 30 inactive trade names of the New Venture Fund. ¹

The New Venture Fund focuses primarily on social and environmental change, issuing grants for a variety of projects that include conservation, global health, disaster recovery, education, and the arts. It is the largest 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the network of five nonprofits created and managed by Arabella Advisors, a Washington, D.C.-based philanthropy consulting company that caters to major foundations and organizations on the political Left. A January 2020 profile of Arabella Advisors’ network by Inside Philanthropy noted that the company “handles over $400 million in philanthropic investments and advises on several billion dollars in overall resources.” ^{2 3}

The New Venture Fund often operates alongside its lobbying and advocacy “sister” nonprofit Sixteen Thirty Fund, which provides similar funding and fiscal sponsorship services to center-left organizations. The New Venture Fund is a 501(c)(3) educational organization, a tax-exempt designation that has limits on lobbying and political activity, while the Sixteen Thirty Fund is a 501(c)(4) lobbying and advocacy group. ²

Activities

North Carolina for a Better Future was a registered trade name of the New Venture Fund from May 2020 until its registration expired in September 2022. The timeframe of the project’s registration makes it likely that it was registered with the intent of directing advertising for “educational” purposes on policy issues during the 2020 election cycle, during which North Carolina was a politically competitive state in the Presidential election and an election for U.S. Senate. The lack of other information about the project online makes it unclear whether any New Venture Fund activity under that name ever took place. ⁴

North Carolina was a top target of the Arabella Advisors network’s political spending in 2020, which saw the Sixteen Thirty Fund spend $410 million nationally. The fund spent $9.5 million in North Carolina during the 2020 election, 85 percent of the amount through Fair Future NC and Piedmont Rising. ⁵

1. “Trade Names of the Arabella Advisors Network.” Americans for Public Trust. Accessed June 24, 2025. https://americansforpublictrust.org/document/trade-names-of-the-arabella-advisors-network/
2.  Markay, Lachan. “Over 100 Left-Wing Groups Sourced to DC Dark Money Outfit.” Washington Free Beacon. October 22, 2015. Accessed February 18, 2017. http://freebeacon.com/issues/over-100-left-wing-groups-sourced-to-d-c-dark-money-outfit/
3. Philip Rojc. “Big Builds: A Look Inside Arabella Advisors.” Inside Philanthropy. January 14, 2020. Accessed January 15, 2020. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2019/1/14/big-builds-a-look-inside-arabella-advisors
4. “DCRA Corporate Registry: New Venture Fund.” District of Columbia DCRA Corporate Registry. Accessed June 30, 2025. https://corponline.dcra.dc.gov/BizEntity.aspx/ViewEntityData?entityId=2689437
5. Ludwig, Hayden. “Arabella’s “Dark Money” Blowout Targeted 29 States in 2020 . . . and Fell Flat.” Capital Research Center. February 11, 2022. Accessed July 1, 2025. https://capitalresearch.org/article/arabellas-dark-money-blowout-targeted-29-states-in-2020-and-fell-flat/