The Campaign for Our Shared Future is a project of the New Venture Fund, a 501(c)(3) group that is managed by left-of-center philanthropic consultancy Arabella Advisors. The project opposes laws that seek to prohibit and opposes advocacy efforts to limit the spread of critical race theory in K-12 public school curriculum. ¹

Background

Campaign for Our Shared Future professes it is combatting the culture war in schools and school boards and state legislatures regarding anti-CRT actions, a reference to critical race theory. ²

The Campaign for Our Shared Future says it is an 18-month campaign that began in May 2022. ³

The group claims its aims are “reframing the debate in favor of inclusion, representation, equity and truth.” The campaign asserts the anti-CRT debate distracts public school teachers and school administrators from important issues. ⁴

The organization claims to be fighting “attacks on equitable student learning” that undermine schools and local control, and chilling “important teacher-led classroom conversations.” ⁵

The Campaign for Our Shared Future says it is also committed to people of color, LGBT individuals, and individuals with disabilities. ⁶

The organization contends politicians “are using parents’ concerns to create chaos,” and that “radicals are doing things that we don’t usually see in this country,” and accuses some parents of “looting libraries” and “literally burning books.” ⁷

The campaign further says it wants to “stop the spread of disinformation and change the conversation” and “remove politics from our classrooms.” ⁸

Arabella Ties

The Campaign for Our Shared Future is a project of New Venture Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization managed by Arabella Advisors. ⁹  Arabella Advisors and the nonprofit groups it manages are often referred to as a “dark money” network. ¹⁰

The affiliated Campaign for Our Shared Future Action Fund is a project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund, the 501(c)(4) advocacy arm of the Arabella Advisors network. ¹¹

A job posting from Campaign for Our Shared Future claimed that as of June 2022 the group had raised $6.6 million from private individuals and institutions and it attempting to raise $6.5 million more in private contributions. ¹²

Although tied to a major left-leaning funder, the campaign claims that it wants to “bring unlikely allies to the table” that are “across the ideological spectrum.” ¹³

Leadership

Elyza Byard is a co-founder and CEO for the Campaign for Our Shared Future. From 2008 to 2021, Byard was the executive director of GLSEN, an LGBT-interest advocacy group. ¹⁴ She has previously been an advisor with CDC-DASH, the World Bank, the U.S. Department of Education, the National Park Service, UNESCO, Target, and Sodexo. ¹⁵

Ernie Grigg is the communications and research director for the Campaign for Our Shared Future. ¹⁶

Ruthanne Buck is a senior adviser to the Campaign for Our Shared Future. ¹⁷

1. Schoffstall, Joe. “Liberal dark money group forms to push back against anti-CRT efforts in schools across the country.” Fox News. June 21, 2022. Accessed https://www.foxnews.com/politics/liberal-dark-money-group-forms-push-crt-efforts-schools-country
2. “Campaign for Our Shared Future.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 29, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/company/cosf/about/
3. Schoffstall, Joe. “Liberal dark money group forms to push back against anti-CRT efforts in schools across the country.” Fox News. June 21, 2022. Accessed https://www.foxnews.com/politics/liberal-dark-money-group-forms-push-crt-efforts-schools-country
4. “Campaign for Our Shared Future.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 29, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/company/cosf/about/
5. “Campaign for Our Shared Future.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 29, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/company/cosf/about/
6. “Campaign for Our Shared Future.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 29, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/company/cosf/about/
7. “The Threat to Our Children.” Campaign for Our Shared Future.” Accessed June 30, 2022. https://www.campaignsharedfuture.org/fight
8. “The Threat to Our Children.” Campaign for Our Shared Future.” Accessed June 30, 2022. https://www.campaignsharedfuture.org/fight
9. “Campaign for Our Shared Future.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 29, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/company/cosf/about/
10. Vogel, Kenneth P. “Swiss Billionaire Quietly Becomes Influential Force Among Democrats.” New York Times. May 3, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/us/politics/hansjorg-wyss-money-democrats.html
11. Schoffstall, Joe. “Liberal dark money group forms to push back against anti-CRT efforts in schools across the country.” Fox News. June 21, 2022. Accessed https://www.foxnews.com/politics/liberal-dark-money-group-forms-push-crt-efforts-schools-country
12. Schoffstall, Joe. “Liberal dark money group forms to push back against anti-CRT efforts in schools across the country.” Fox News. June 21, 2022. Accessed https://www.foxnews.com/politics/liberal-dark-money-group-forms-push-crt-efforts-schools-country
13. Schoffstall, Joe. “Liberal dark money group forms to push back against anti-CRT efforts in schools across the country.” Fox News. June 21, 2022. Accessed https://www.foxnews.com/politics/liberal-dark-money-group-forms-push-crt-efforts-schools-country
14. Schoffstall, Joe. “Liberal dark money group forms to push back against anti-CRT efforts in schools across the country.” Fox News. June 21, 2022. Accessed https://www.foxnews.com/politics/liberal-dark-money-group-forms-push-crt-efforts-schools-country
15. “Eliza Byard.” Coqual. Accessed June 30, 2022. https://coqual.org/team/eliza-byard-2/
16. Schoffstall, Joe. “Liberal dark money group forms to push back against anti-CRT efforts in schools across the country.” Fox News. June 21, 2022. Accessed https://www.foxnews.com/politics/liberal-dark-money-group-forms-push-crt-efforts-schools-country
17. Brownstein, Ronald. “Republicans Are Trying to Suppress More Than Votes.” The Atlantic. January 28, 2022. Accessed June 30, 2022. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2022/01/critical-race-theory-voting-rights-gop/621383/