The Enough Project is a left-of-center advocacy and foreign policy watchdog group associated with the Center for American Progress and focuses on violence and war crimes that occur in Africa. It is a project of the New Venture Fund,¹ a nonprofit managed by the for-profit consulting firm Arabella Advisors. Arabella Advisors is a consulting firm that operates a major left-leaning “dark money” network through entities such as the Sixteen Thirty Fund and is ran by Eric Kessler, a left-leaning former Clinton administration staffer.

Campaigns

Conflict-Free Campus Initiative

The Conflict-Free Campus Initiative pressures leaders in academia to invest responsibly in African mineral regions, specifically the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The campaign further pressures technology firms to ensure their products are manufactured with “conflict-free” materials. ^{2 3}

The Sentry

The Sentry is an investigative initiative to identify alleged genocide financers. Co-founded in 2015 by Enough Project’s founding director John Prendergast and actor George Clooney, the project was intended to use modern defense strategies to identify financiers of genocide and mass violence and use the findings to highlight the need for reform. ⁴

Raise Hope for Congo

Raise Hope for Congo was a 2010 initiative to raise awareness about armed rebels spreading across the Democratic Republic of Congo. ⁵ The initiative caught media attention with Green Bay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rogers’ endorsement. ⁶

Leadership

John Prendergast is the founding director of the Enough Project. Prendergast is a center-left activist working on humanitarian relief efforts in Africa. He has also worked extensively with democratic politicians including the Clinton administration, former Obama administration National Security Advisor Susan Rice, and numerous members of congress. His government capacities were similar to his NGO activism in Africa. ^{7 8}

In March of 2012, Prendergast was arrested outside of the Embassy of Sudan in Washington, D.C. on charges of trespassing after he and others protested alleged crimes against humanity by the Sudanese government. Among those protesting were George Clooney, U.S. Reps. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Al Green (D-TX), and former U.S. Reps. Jim Moran (D-VA) and John Olver (D-MA). ⁹

Prendergast and Clooney have partnered on multiple occasions including the co-founding of the Satellite Sentinel Project which aimed to use satellite imagery to expose mass violence. ^{10 11}

Criticism

Alan Boswell, a senior analyst with the center-left International Crisis Group, accused the Enough Project of pursuing their personal political agendas under the guise of humanitarian relief. Boswell said the group has fallen into “morally charged and culturally hip do-goodism.” He noted the celebrity presence of Enough Project, referring to the faces of George Clooney and John Prendergast, and how the media gives them a pass for not effectively establishing the Sudan policy for which they advocate. ¹²

Enough Project’s former communications director Jonathan Hutson rebutted the allegations saying that Boswell “is entitled to his opinion, but not his own facts.” Hutson’s rebuttal begins by arguing that Boswell failed to provide supporting facts for his claims. Hutson then systematically addressed the allegations in Boswell’s article. He uses success stories by the Enough Project such as their satellites that exposed mass graves and captured imagery of the Sudanese government’s abuse on its people. ¹³

While the feud between Boswell and Hutson is long past, a later statement by Enough Project’s Deputy Director of Policy, Brian Adeba, acknowledges that indeed policies and cease-fire agreements are sometimes facilitated to benefit the elite while not serving their intended purpose of helping the oppressed. ¹⁴

Political Leanings

George Clooney is a longtime liberal activist and critic of the Trump administration, often times saturating his criticism with foul language. Clooney endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential campaign and fundraised with her at Shervin Pishevar’s mansion where tickets were sold at $353,000 to sit with Clinton and the Clooneys. He also held a fundraiser at his own home where tickets were sold for $33,400. ¹⁵ Clooney has said that while he doesn’t intend to endorse any 2020 candidate in the primaries, he is willing to fundraise for any candidate who can oust Trump. ¹⁶

Prendergast, whose past is peppered with Democratic alliances, has been more reserved in his criticism of the Trump administration. In 2019 Prendergast called Trump’s enthusiastic use of the Global Magnitsky Act a game-changer in reference to holding foreign corrupt leaders accountable. ¹⁷ This round-about compliment came months after Prendergast and Clooney co-authored an article urging Trump and Congress to utilize the Global Magnitsky Act for the very purpose that Prendergast later acknowledged Trump was using it. ¹⁸

Funding

The Enough Project is a fiscally sponsored project of the New Venture Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit managed by the for-profit consultancy Arabella Advisors; as such, it does not file Form 990 filings with the IRS and donations to the project are collected by the New Venture Fund.

In 2017, the Tides Foundation granted $60,000 to the New Venture Fund in support of The Enough Project. ¹⁹

1. Enough Project. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Schedule O. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/205806345/201843169349302864/IRS990ScheduleO
2. McCorry, Margaret. “Kean University Goes Conflict-Free.” Kean University, June 14, 2017. https://www.kean.edu/news/kean-university-goes-conflict-free.
3. Kuo, Lily. “Apple and Other US Companies Haven’t Done Enough to Keep Conflict Minerals out of Their Products.” Quartz. Quartz, April 24, 2015. https://qz.com/390726/apple-and-other-us-companies-havent-done-enough-to-keep-conflict-minerals-out-of-their-products/.
4. Peters, Adele. “The Sentry Will Expose Who’s Illegally Profiting From Africa’s Deadly Wars.” Fast Company. Fast Company, July 29, 2015. https://www.fastcompany.com/3048951/the-sentry-will-expose-whos-illegally-profiting-from-africas-deadly-wars.
5. Stauss, Karen. Take Action on Congo Crisis: Ask Obama to Promote Peace ” Free the Slaves. Accessed February 7, 2020. https://www.freetheslaves.net/take-action-on-congo-crisis-ask-obama-to-promote-peace/.
6. Stier, Jd. “Rodgers Raises Hope for Congo.” POLITICO, November 12, 2013. https://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/aaron-rodgers-raises-hope-for-congo-099740.
7. “John Prendergast.” Global Philanthropy Forum. Accessed February 6, 2020. https://philanthropyforum.org/people/john-prendergast/.
8. McKay, Hollie. “Horrors Continue in South Sudan, despite Efforts by George Clooney, Well-Meaning Activists.” Fox News. FOX News Network, February 22, 2019. https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/horrors-continue-in-south-sudan-despite-efforts-by-george-clooney-well-meaning-activists.
9. “George Clooney & Members of Congress Arrested Calling for Human Rights in Sudan.” Amnesty International USA, March 16, 2012. https://www.amnestyusa.org/george-clooney-members-of-congress-arrested-calling-for-human-rights-in-sudan/.
10. Harris, Paul. “George Clooney’s Satellite Spies Reveal Secrets of Sudan’s Bloody Army.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, March 24, 2012. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/24/george-clooney-spies-secrets-sudan.
11. “Satellite Sentinel Project Press Release – Corroboration of Reported SAF Air Attacks in South Sudan – Sudan.” ReliefWeb. Accessed February 6, 2020. https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/satellite-sentinel-project-press-release-corroboration-reported-saf-air-attacks-south.
12. Boswell, Alan. “The Failed State Lobby.” Foreign Policy, July 9, 2012. https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/07/09/the-failed-state-lobby/.
13. Hutson, Jonathan. “Alan Boswell’s White Whale.” Foreign Policy. Foreign Policy, July 25, 2012. https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/07/25/alan-boswells-white-whale/.
14. Specia, Megan. “A Peace Deal for South Sudan Is Signed. Will It Last?” The New York Times. The New York Times, June 27, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/27/world/africa/south-sudan-peace-deal.html.
15. Karni, Annie, Kenneth P. Vogel, and Nick Gass. “Clinton Asks for $353K to Sit with the Clooneys.” POLITICO, March 24, 2016. https://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/hillary-clinton-george-clooney-fundraiser-221207.
16. Concha, Joe. “George Clooney Won’t Endorse in Democratic Primary but Thinks Trump Will Lose in 2020.” TheHill, May 8, 2019. https://thehill.com/homenews/media/442783-george-clooney-wont-endorse-in-democratic-primary-but-thinks-trump-will-lose.
17. “Donald Trump Has Shown a Surprising Enthusiasm for Sanctions.” The Economist. The Economist Newspaper. Accessed February 7, 2020. https://www.economist.com/united-states/2019/11/28/donald-trump-has-shown-a-surprising-enthusiasm-for-sanctions.
18. Clooney, George, John Prendergast, Juleanna Glover, Jeff Greenfield, and Alexandra Glorioso. “George Clooney: How Congress Can Help Stop the Killing in Sudan.” POLITICO Magazine, June 11, 2019. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/06/11/george-clooney-congress-save-sudan-227102.
19. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Tides Foundation. 2017. Schedule I.