VOCAL-NY Action Fund Inc. (VAF)

Background

Federal tax law prohibits charitable organizations such as VOCAL-NY from opposing or supporting candidates for elected office. To pursue such goals, the organization must establish an affiliated lobbying and advocacy arm which, under current law, has greater discretion to operate in the arena of electoral politics but whose primary purpose, defined by percentage of budget, is not considered partisan political activity. ^{2 3}

According to its website, VOCAL-NY Action Fund is “an advocacy organization allied with Voices of Community Activists and Leaders (VOCAL), and acts as the policy and political voice of the most marginalized and vulnerable New Yorkers.” ⁴ Its stated mission is identical to that of VOCAL-NY: ending AIDS, homelessness, mass incarceration, and the Drug War. ⁴ The organizations share an executive director. Three out of five of VAF’s Board members also sit on the VOCAL-NY Board. ^{5 6}

VOCAL-NY Action Fund has previously received grants from the Open Society Policy Center (OSPC), a lobbying group associated with the Open Society Foundations founded by billionaire George Soros. In 2020, it received a $200,000 grant from OSPC for the purpose of supporting, “policy advocacy on housing, health and criminal justice reform.” ⁷ In 2022, OSPC provided an additional $450,000 grant for the purpose of supporting, ” advocacy for housing and health services.”⁷

Activities

VOCAL-NY Action Fund endorses candidates for public office who are dedicated to advancing VOCAL-NY‘s policy goals. ⁸ The majority of the 15 New York State Senate and 20 New York State Assembly candidates it has endorsed are supported by the Working Families Party (WFP), a third party which hopes to become “the leading political home for US progressives” and cross-endorses left-wing Democrats under New York’s fusion voting system. ⁹

The VAF political platform envisions ending homelessness through rental assistance to illegal aliens and felons, decriminalization of drug possession and licensing community-based organizations to operate centers where addicts can consume drugs under the supervision of professionals, equitable access to housing and services for people living with HIV/AIDS, and ending qualified immunity for public officials. ¹⁰

A VAF Facebook post invited readers to get out the vote with an endorsed candidate declaring, “Whether they’re in NYC, Albany, or Rochester, these candidates recognize the political power of the most marginalized.” The page has 40 followers. ¹⁰

In a press release, VAF accuses the Republican Party “and a growing number of Democrats” of “wanting to incite fear and amplify chaos in our streets — and then ticket, arrest, or shoot people” through supporting policies which VOCAL-NY opposes such as enforcing vagrancy laws. The wording of the press release equates vagrancy law enforcement with murder. ¹¹

VAF recently rolled out the Vocal Voter Bloc, an initiative dedicated to addressing “voter suppression.” It consists of the leadership, membership, and “allies” of VOCAL NY deployed by VAF’s “ambassadors” and “field captains.” ¹²

Leadership

Alyssa Aguilera, VOCAL-NY Action Fund’s Executive Director, is co-director of VOCAL-NY. She previously occupied positions at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Justice for Janitors campaign before joining VOCAL-NY in 2013. She has a bachelor’s degree in government and Latin American Studies from Harvard. ¹³