Non-profit

Progress Unity Fund

Website:

www.progressunity.org/

Location:

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

Tax ID:

94-3382208

Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2020):

Revenue: $126,049
Expenses: $157,697
Assets: $2,004,982

Formation:

2001

Type:

Radical-left fiscal sponsor

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The Progress Unity Fund (PUF) is a radical-left group that fiscally sponsors activist organizations, including the ANSWER Coalition, Women Organized to Resist and Defend (WORD), the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five, and Pivot to Peace.

PUF is closely connected to the Workers World Party (WWP) and its break-away group, the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), both of which are revolutionary Marxist-Leninist parties. The fiscally sponsored organizations and the socialist parties often participate together in events, such as International Women’s Day protests. The leaderships of all groups often overlap. 1 2

PUF also funds the Liberation Alliance for Economic and Social Change, and the Liberation Fund LA. In 2020, the left-wing activism groups received over $21,000 and over $7,000 from PUF respectively. 3

ANSWER Coalition

The Progress Unity Fund fiscally sponsors Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, commonly known as the ANSWER Coalition, a radical-left group that opposes American foreign policy and Israel. ANSWER has been described as “an outgrowth” 4 and a “front” for the communist Workers World Party. Several of ANSWER’s leaders, including spokesperson Brian Becker were WWP members. 5 ANSWER also has overlapping membership with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, including its former presidential candidate Peta Lindsay. 6

ANSWER and PUF share a headquarters in San Francisco. 7

ANSWER has also been fiscally sponsored by the Alliance for Global Justice, an outgrowth of the Nicaragua Network that supported the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua. 8 9

WORD

The Progress Unity Fund fiscally sponsors Women Organized to Resist and Defend (WORD), a radical-feminist group which supports abortion access, welfare for women, and closing the gender pay gap. 10 11 PUF was formed by the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), 12 and has overlapping members. 13 Former PSL presidential candidate Peta Lindsay is Word’s co-founder. 14

National Committee to Free the Cuban Five

The Progress Unity Fund fiscally sponsored the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five (FFF), a group founded in 2001 to advocate for the release of five Cuban intelligence officers deployed to spy on the Cuban exile population in Miami. The five were arrested in 1998 for espionage and conspiracy to commit murder. 15 16

Rosa Penate, former director of PUF, is a member of FFF and chaired numerous rallies. 17

Pivot to Peace

The Progress Unity Fund fiscally sponsors Pivot to Peace (PTP), a group which advocates for peaceful relations between the United States and China. According to PTP, the rise of the Chinese economy has caused a “dangerous reorientation” in the Pentagon’s stance toward China, resulting in “a palpable feeling of fear, animosity and even hatred… toward the People’s Republic of China… Chinese people in general, Chinese-American citizens and other Asian peoples in the United States.” 18 19

Signers of PTP’s mission statement include members of the anti-Taiwanese independence Committee to Promote Reunification of China, Chinese for Affirmative Action, Popular Resistance, the ANSWER Coalition, as well as former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein. 20

Leadership

The Progress Unity Fund does not reveal its leadership or members on its website. 21 As of the organization’s last tax disclosure in 2020, PUF is led by Susan Muysenberg, 22 who has written for the Peace and Freedom Party, a feminist socialist group, 23 and Liberation News. 24

PUF was formerly run by co-directors Keith Pavlik, Rosa Penate, and Brenda Sandburg. Pavlik’s home formerly and possibly currently served as the headquarters of PUF. Pavlik has written extensively for socialist publications; in one article, he claimed that humanity used to exist in classless matriarchal societies where all wealth was shared, but as economies developed, the “ruling class” implemented family structures and private property to hoard wealth, leading to global systemic oppression. 25

In 2001, all three of PUF’s directors had written articles for the Workers World Party’s magazine, Workers World. 26

Funding

Progress Unity Fund’s annual revenues varied from $81,000 to $240,000 between 2011 and 2018. In 2019, PUF’s revenue jumped to just under $2 million. 27

In 2016, after a protest against President Donald Trump by the ANSWER Coalition, the Daily Caller asked the PUF to reveal its funding sources. PUF did not respond. 28

In 2019, the PUF received $9,000 from the Lef Foundation. 29

References

  1. [1] Freedlander, David. “Bernie Sanders Isn’t Socialist Enough for Many Socialists.” October 13, 2015. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:jsRfaDzHRk8J:https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-13/bernie-sanders-isn-t-socialist-enough-for-many-socialists&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us.
  2. “Reports from International Women’s Day.” Defend Women’s Rights. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://www.defendwomensrights.org/statements?page=12.
  3.  “Humanitarian Organization for Multicultural Experiences Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed February 23, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/161425108/03_2021_prefixes_11-16%2F161425108_201912_990_2021033117843724.
  4. [1] “Yes, There is such a thing as professional left-wing protesters.” Washington Examiner. February 27, 2017. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/red-alert-politics/yes-thing-professional-left-wing-protesters.
  5. Corn, David. “Behind the Placards.” LA Weekly. November 7, 2002. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20081103052350/http:/www.laweekly.com/2002-11-07/news/behind-the-placards.
  6. Schilke, JoEllen. “WMNF interview with Party for Socialism and Liberation presidential candidate Peta Lindsay.” WMNF. October 26, 2012. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://www.wmnf.org/wmnf-interview-with-party-for-socialism-and-liberation-presidential-candidate-peta-lindsay/.
  7. Rhodes, Kathleen. “Legality of Leftist Funding of Anti-War Protests Questioned.” CNS News. July 7, 2008. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/legality-leftist-funding-anti-war-protests-questioned.
  8. Rhodes, Kathleen. “Legality of Leftist Funding of Anti-War Protests Questioned.” CNS News. July 7, 2008. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/legality-leftist-funding-anti-war-protests-questioned.
  9. Hogberg, David. “Communists Funding the Resistance: The Alliance for Global Justice.” Capital Research Center. August 29, 2017. Accessed October 22, 2022. https://capitalresearch.org/article/communists-funding-the-resistance-the-alliance-for-global-justice/.
  10. “About WORD.” WORD. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://www.defendwomensrights.org/about-word.
  11. “Donate.” WORD. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://www.defendwomensrights.org/donate.
  12. Cornish, Megan. “A political critique of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.” Freedom Socialist Party. February 2013. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://socialism.com/fs-article/a-political-critique-of-the-party-for-socialism-and-liberation/.
  13. Flanagan, Sharyn. “Donna Goodman to speak about the need for a new “militant” women’s movement.” Hudson Valley One. September 3, 2018. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://hudsonvalleyone.com/2018/09/03/donna-goodman-to-speak-about-the-need-for-a-new-militant-womens-movement/.
  14. Schilke, JoEllen. “WMNF interview with Party for Socialism and Liberation presidential candidate Peta Lindsay.” WMNF. October 26, 2012. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://www.wmnf.org/wmnf-interview-with-party-for-socialism-and-liberation-presidential-candidate-peta-lindsay/.
  15. [1]“About the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five.” FFF. Accessed October 19, 2022. http://www.freethefive.org/aboutus.htm.
  16. “Donations.” FFF. Accessed October 19, 2022. http://www.freethefive.org/donations.htm.
  17. “Rose Penate.” Discover the Networks. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individuals/rosa-penate.
  18. Support Pivot to Peace.” Pivot to Peace. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://peacepivot.org/campaigns/support-pivot-to-peace/.
  19. “Mission.” Pivot to Peace. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://peacepivot.org/mission/.
  20. “Mission.” Pivot to Peace. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://peacepivot.org/mission/.
  21. “About.” Progress Unity Fund. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://www.progressunity.org/.
  22. “Progress Unity Fund Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/943382208/202131339349301343/full.
  23. “Susan Muysenberg.” Peace and Freedom Party. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://www.peaceandfreedom.us/component/tags/tag/susan-muysenberg.
  24. “Susan Muysenberg.” Liberation News. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://www.liberationnews.org/author/susan_muysenber/.
  25. “Keith Pavlik.” Discover the Networks. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individuals/keith-pavlik.
  26. “Deductions for Destruction – How leftist groups’ phony philanthropy finances yheir mass protests.” Free Republic. August 6, 2003. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/959052/posts.
  27. “Progress Unity Fund.” ProPublica. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/943382208.
  28. Hasson, Peter. “Anti-Trump Protesters Funded By Left-Wing ‘Charity’.” Daily Caller. November 11, 2016. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://dailycaller.com/2016/11/11/anti-trump-protests-funded-by-left-wing-charity/.
  29. “Lef Foundation.” Grant Makers. Accessed October 19, 2022. https://www.grantmakers.io/profiles/v0/680070194-lef-foundation/
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: March 1, 2001

  • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2020 Dec Form 990 $126,049 $157,697 $2,004,982 $667 N $97,103 $0 $12,637 $0 PDF
    2019 Dec Form 990 $1,966,662 $158,174 $2,036,230 $267 N $1,940,441 $0 $26,221 $0 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990EZ $94,986 $124,886 $227,850 $375 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990EZ $170,313 $168,604 $259,423 $2,048 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990EZ $111,306 $117,236 $257,658 $1,992 $0 $0 $0 $0
    2015 Dec Form 990EZ $80,645 $135,176 $263,298 $1,702 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $265,515 $163,212 $322,079 $4,152 N $265,179 $0 $336 $0 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990EZ $144,276 $181,024 $218,478 $2,854 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990EZ $161,122 $212,226 $254,474 $2,102 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990 $241,458 $243,796 $304,974 $1,438 N $239,451 $0 $2,007 $5,000 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Progress Unity Fund

    167 ANDERSON ST
    SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110-5602