Resource Impact is a fiscal sponsorship nonprofit that provides incubation services for other left-of-center organizations. Resource Impact contracts services from and shares staffing with the Raben Group, a for-profit public affairs firm servicing left-leaning clients such as the Center for American Progress and the League of Conservation Voters. The radical anti-2^nd Amendment Guns Down America is one example of a left-leaning policy advocacy project that was incubated by Resource Impact. ^{1 2 3}

The president of Resource Impact is Robert Raben, also the founder and president of the Raben Group. Raben is a former U.S. Assistant District Attorney who worked in the administration of President Bill Clinton, and a former staffer for U.S. Representative Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts). ^{4 5 6}

Background

Resource Impact is a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsorship nonprofit that provides incubation services for other left-of-center organizations. These services include personnel management, financial management, risk management, organizational development, technical support, grants management, human resources, and board leadership consultation. Resource Impact contracts services from and shares staffing with the Raben Group, a for-profit public affairs firm servicing left-leaning clients such as the Center for American Progress and the League of Conservation Voters. ^{7 8}

The radical anti-2^nd Amendment Guns Down America (formerly Guns Down) is one example of a left-leaning policy advocacy project that was incubated by Resource Impact. Guns Down pressures major corporations such as FedEx to discriminate against gun owners and manufacturers. ^{9 10}

Leadership

Robert Raben

The president of Resource Impact is Robert Raben, also the founder and president of the Raben Group. Raben is a former U.S. Assistant District Attorney who worked in the administration of President Bill Clinton, and a former staffer for U.S. Representative Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts). ^{11 12 13}

Joanne Irby

Joanne Irby is on the board of Resource Impact,¹⁴ and the chief operating officer at the Raben Group. ¹⁵ Prior to joining Raben, Joanne served as the chief operating officer for the left-of-center Prosperity Now, (formerly the Corporation for Enterprise Development). ¹⁶

Irby is currently on the boards of the Inspired Teaching Demonstration School,¹⁷ the National Employment Lawyers Association Institute,¹⁸ the Employee Rights Advocacy Institute for Law & Policy,,¹⁹ and the left-of-center Green Diversity Initiative/Green 2.0. ²⁰ Green 2.0 is an organization seeking added representation for people of color in the environmental movement. ²¹

Clarence Patton

Clarence Patton is a board member at Resource Impact. ²² Patton is also executive director of the Pipeline Project, a project of the left-leaning LGBT group Astraea that seeks to increase the number of LGBT people of color employed by left-leaning groups. ^{23 24 25}

Robin Rooks McQueen

Robin Rooks McQueen is on the board of Resource Impact. ²⁶ She is a fundraising specialist for left-of-center causes and a founding partner at the A Team, a consulting practice serving left-of-center organizations. ²⁷ McQueen was once recognized for being a top fundraiser for the left-of-center Center for American Progress,²⁸ and has also worked with the left-leaning Women’s Voices. Women Vote. ²⁹

Alexandria Walden

Alexandria Walden is on the board of Resource Impact and an employee at Google. She has also worked at the left-of-center Center for American Progress, for the National Organization of Women’s Legal Defense and Education Fund, and as a director at the Raben Group where she specialized in criminal justice reform, women’s rights, and civil rights. ^{30 31 32}

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3. Beckett, Lois. “’Guns Are the Problem’: Activists Get Tough on Gun Control after Vegas.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, October 5, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/05/we-need-fewer-guns-the-activists-who-are-rejecting-half-measures-on-firearms.
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22. “Form 990 Resource Impact.” Form 990 Resource Impact, 2018. https://pp-990.s3.amazonaws.com/02_2019_prefixes_77-81/812266962_201712_990_2019021416096679.pdf?response-content-disposition=inline&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA266MJEJYTM5WAG5Y/20200428/us-east-1/s3/aws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20200428T150435Z&X-Amz-Expires=1800&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=f7ca247d3a756d7c86670554a3c95bf671878e9e5df0d13ceaced293075ace62.
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24. Hagen, Jamie J., and Creatrix Tiara. “Astraea, A Lesbian Foundation for Justice: The Autostraddle Interview.” Autostraddle, December 6, 2018. https://www.autostraddle.com/astraea-a-lesbian-foundation-for-justice-the-autostraddle-interview-152395/.
25. “Form 990 Astrea.” Form 990 Astrea. Accessed April 28, 2020. https://s3.amazonaws.com/astraea.production/app/asset/uploads/2017/12/990-FINAL-for-FY16-For-Distribution.pdf.
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