The PowerPAC Foundation is the 501(c)(3) affiliate of PowerPAC, a left-of-center lobbying organization based in San Francisco that specializes in voter mobilization founded by Steve Phillips. Phillips, a left-progressive political operative and the chairman of the Foundation’s board of trustees, has argued that the Democratic Party should stop trying to win back working-class voters and instead focus on building a coalition of African Americans, Hispanic voters, youth, and left-progressive white voters. ¹

The PowerPAC Foundation conducts research, provides data, and awards grants to help promote voter participation among minority and low-income Americans. ²³ The Foundation has received funding from several influential, left-of-center foundations, including the Open Society Foundations, the Ford Foundation, and the Rosenberg Foundation. ³

Background

The PowerPAC Foundation supports civic engagement and voter participation by minorities, low-income citizens, and other groups that it describes as “historically underrepresented.” ² The organization also studies voter engagement across demographics. ²

In 2017, the organization researched minority concerns and voter trends in California. The Foundation also researched African-American voters in southern states, particularly Georgia and North Carolina. ²

The PowerPAC Foundation has given grants to other left-of-center organizations, including California Calls, Alliance San Diego, the New Georgia Project, and the Southern Education Foundation,. ³

Funding

The PowerPAC Foundation’s donors include a number of influential left-of-center foundations, such as the Ford Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, and the Rosenberg Foundation. ³ The James Irvine Foundation gave the organization $250,000 in 2018. ² In 2020, the environmentalist Park Foundation gave $200,000 to the PowerPAC Foundation. ⁴

In 2014, the PowerPAC Foundation was among the recipients of a $1.9 million grant from the Open Society Foundations in California to assist in the integration of immigrants affected by the criminal justice system. The grant was part of the Open Places Initiative, which directed organizations receiving funding to combat “workers’ rights abuses” and to help immigrants impacted by the criminal justice system to reach middle-class economic status. ⁵

In 2009, the PowerPAC Foundation provided research and data to a coalition of left-leaning California groups that received $500,000 from the Open Society Foundations to push for left-of-center plans for the allocation of the state’s portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Other members of the coalition included the California Alliance, Equality California, and Mobilize the Vote. ⁶

Leadership

Steve Phillips founded PowerPAC, a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization, in 2002. Phillips sits as chairman of the board of trustees for the PowerPAC Foundation. The son-in-law of billionaire Herb Sandler, a former major donor to the Democratic Party, Phillips is a lawyer and veteran social activist in California. Phillips also founded Vote Hope, a 527 political organization, to support former President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign. ⁷ Phillips is a former San Francisco school board member. ⁸

Phillips and his wife, left-wing political activist Susan Sandler, have called for Democrats to stop trying to win back working-class voters and instead rally a coalition of minorities, young voters, and white progressives. ⁸ Phillips made this point in his book, Brown is the New White. ¹

Andrew Wong is the executive director of the PowerPAC Foundation. He has had a career in social activism and was an English as a second language (ESL) teacher in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Wong has led the PowerPAC Foundation for 12 years. Previously, Wong ran a get-out-the-vote operation throughout California and was a campaign consultant for LGBT candidates and candidates of color. Wong also led an 18-state effort to increase minority voting. He previously worked for the California Civic Participation Funders group. Wong also sits on the boards of PowerPAC and Center for Community Change Action. ³

Edil Mari De Los Reyes is the program director for the PowerPAC Foundation. Reyes previously worked as the political director and deputy political director of PowerPAC.org. Before that, Reyes was the new media organizer for One Nation Working Together campaign and a field organizer for the California Democratic Party. ³

1. Bazelon, Emily. “Are Get-Out-the-Vote Efforts Targeting Latinos Working?” The New York Times. November 4, 2016. Accessed April 24, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/04/magazine/are-get-out-the-vote-efforts-targeting-latinos-working.html
2. PowerPAC Foundation. CauseIQ. Accessed April 24, 2021. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/powerpac-foundation,262215714/
3. “Our Team.” PowerPAC Foundation. Accessed April 24, 2021. http://www.powerpacfoundation.org/#mission
4. 2020 Grants Awarded. Park Foundation. February 2021. Accessed April 24, 2021. https://parkfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Grants-Awarded-2020.doc.pdf
5. Press Release. “San Diego Receives $1.9 Million Investment to Empower Residents.” ACLU of San Diego. January 16, 2014. https://www.aclusandiego.org/en/news/san-diego-receives-19-million-investment-empower-residents
6. Press Release. “California Groups Press for Transparency and Equity in Stimulus Spending.” Open Society Foundations. November 11, 2009. Accessed April 24, 2021. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/newsroom/california-groups-press-transparency-and-equity-stimulus-spending
7. Wayne, Leslie. “Outside Groups Aid Obama, Their Vocal Critic.” The New York Times. January 30, 2008. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/30/us/politics/30donate.html
8. Garofili, Joe. “These Bay Area Activists Helped Stacey Abrams Win Georgia’s Democratic Primary.” San Francisco Chronicle. May 23, 2018. Accessed April 24, 2021. https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/These-Bay-Area-activists-helped-Stacey-Abrams-win-12938715.php