The Voter Registration Project Education Fund is the education wing of the Voter Registration Project, a left-of-center voter mobilization group which targets African-American, Hispanic, low-income, and other individuals considered likely to support left-progressive politics and the Democratic Party.
The Education Fund gives grants to other left-of-center nonprofit voter mobilization and advocacy groups across the country.
Leadership
The Voter Registration Project Education Fund is led by individuals with histories of working for left-of-center nonprofit advocacy groups. [1]
John Yang
Current president, John C. Yang, is also president of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and was formerly a trade adviser to the Commerce Secretary, Penny Pritzker, during the Obama administration. [2]
Evan Bacalao
Treasurer Evan Bacalao has worked for the Democratic Party and associated nonprofits since 2004. He is a program officer for the Open Society Foundations, the George Soros-backed network of more than 20 nonprofits dedicated to supporting left-of-center causes. For nine years, Bacalao worked for the NALEO Education Fund, a Hispanic-interest advocacy group, in a variety of roles, including as senior director of civic engagement. From 2004-2006, Bacalao worked for the California Democratic Party as a finance deputy. [3]
Bacalao also sits on the board of Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees[4] and on the advisory board of the Funders Committee for Civic Participation. [5]
Ilona Prucha
Secretary Ilona Prucha has worked for over ten years at the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, [6] a secretive left-of-center grantmaking foundation created by three hedge fund billionaires: Andrew Shechtel, David Gelbaum and C. Frederick Taylor. [7] Presently, she is a senior program officer of Wellspring’s Civil Society Program. [8]
Prucha is also a partner at the left-leaning Truman National Security Project,[9] and sits on the advisory board of the Funders Committee for Civic Participation. [10]
Dave Montez
Former board member Dave Montez is the Vice President of Democracy Alliance,[11] a highly secretive coalition of left-of-center political advocacy groups organized by Democratic political consultant Rob Stein. Montez is also the director of the Latino Engagement Fund and the Latino Action Engagement Fund,[12] two affiliated Hispanic voter mobilization groups which both operate under Democracy Alliance.
Before joining Democracy Alliance, Montez worked for numerous LGBT-interest groups. He worked as the executive director of One Colorado, as the acting president of Gays and Lesbians Against Defamation (GLAAD), as a senior program officer of the Gill Foundation, and he founded the Latino Initiative. [13]
Grant Recipients
The Education Fund gives grants to left-of-center organizations seeking to mobilize voters to support left-of-center candidates and causes. In 2018:[14]
Voter Participation Center, a voter mobilization group with ties to MoveOn.org, received $2,451,827. [15] Inspire U.S., a student-based voter mobilization group,[16] received $170,000. [17]
League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, the 501(c)(3) arm of the League of Conservation Voters, a national environmentalist advocacy group, received $932,220. [18]
One Arizona, a voter mobilization group that targets ethnic and racial minorities,[19] received $537,293. [20] Ohio Organizing Collaborative, an advocacy group supporting increased government welfare provision,[21] received $500,975. [22] ProGeorgia State Table, a member of the State Voices Network, a left-of-center community activism organization for progressive causes, received $200,414. [23] Colorado Civic Engagement Roundtable, a statewide association of left-of-center nonprofit advocacy groups, received $169,951. [24] Pennsylvania Voice, a statewide network of 35 voter mobilization organizations,[25] received $50,000. [26]
For a complete list of the Voter Registration Project Education Fund’s grantees, see the table below:
Recipient Name | Amount | Year |
---|---|---|
New Virginia Majority Education Fund | $1,500,000.00 | 2016 |
Ohio Organizing Collaborative | $600,000.00 | 2016 |
New Georgia Project | $380,000.00 | 2016 |
ProGeorgia | $200,000.00 | 2016 |
Voter Participation Center | $1,211,646.00 | 2017 |
ACRONYM | $246,625.00 | 2017 |
Ohio Organizing Collaborative | $220,685.00 | 2017 |
UnidosUS | $41,273.00 | 2017 |
Voter Participation Center | $2,451,827.00 | 2018 |
Inspire Us | $170,000.00 | 2018 |
Ohio Organizing Collaborative | $500,975.00 | 2018 |
ProGeorgia | $200,414.00 | 2018 |
Colorado Civic Engagement Table | $168,951.00 | 2018 |
Pennsylvania Voice | $50,000.00 | 2018 |
One Arizona | $537,293.00 | 2018 |
League of Conservation Voters Education Fund | $932,220.00 | 2018 |
9 to 5 National Association of Working Women | $11,600.00 | 2019 |
Asian Community Development Council | $12,267.00 | 2019 |
Blueprint NC | $118,394.00 | 2019 |
Colorado Civic Engagement Table | $107,411.00 | 2019 |
REW Ministries | $23,000.00 | 2019 |
Florida Immigrant Coalition | $14,550.00 | 2019 |
Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda | $24,840.00 | 2019 |
Georgia Stand Up | $12,420.00 | 2019 |
Mi Familia Vota Education Fund | $33,445.00 | 2019 |
NC A. Phillip Randolph Institute | $46,000.00 | 2019 |
New Era Colorado | $13,800.00 | 2019 |
New Florida Majority Education Fund | $14,250.00 | 2019 |
North Carolina Asian Americans Together | $12,420.00 | 2019 |
Ohio Voice | $89,114.00 | 2019 |
One Arizona | $4,600.00 | 2019 |
Organize Florida Education Fund | $28,050.00 | 2019 |
ProGeorgia | $92,677.00 | 2019 |
State Voices | $195,026.00 | 2019 |
The First Coast Leadership Foundation | $13,800.00 | 2019 |
Voter Participation Center | $1,106,226.00 | 2019 |
Unifour One | $8,000.00 | 2019 |
Collective Education Fund | $1,795,000.00 | 2020 |
Mi Familia Vota Education Fund | $50,000.00 | 2020 |
Minnesota Voice | $741,425.00 | 2020 |
Pennsylvania Voice | $390,992.00 | 2020 |
Progeorgia | $711,932.00 | 2020 |
State Voices | $317,050.00 | 2020 |
The Voter Participation Center | $5,692,671.00 | 2020 |
Voto Latino | $50,000.00 | 2020 |
When We All Vote | $425,000.00 | 2020 |
Wisconsin Voices | $131,988.00 | 2020 |
Total | $21,699,857.00 | 2016-2020 |