Moxie Action Fund
The Moxie Action Fund is a left-of-center funding collective that operates as a registered trade name of the Sixteen Thirty Fund as part of the network of left-of-center funding organizations managed by Arabella Advisors. The Moxie Action Fund is affiliated with the Moxie Fund, a funding collective operated by the New Venture Fund, another organization managed by Arabella. The Moxie Fund was previously known as the Trusted Elections Fund, which was formed in 2020 to provide support to organizations in order to address “election crises.” While the Moxie Fund has somewhat of a public-facing presence online, the Moxie Action Fund has little to no online footprint and likely serves as a vehicle to provide funding to lobbying and political action organizations as part of the Moxie Fund’s broader initiatives. 1 “DCRA Corporate Registry: Sixteen Thirty Fund.” District of Columbia DCRA Corporate Registry. Accessed June 30, 2025. https://corponline.dcra.dc.gov/BizEntity.aspx/ViewEntityData?entityId=2696217 [ /note] 1 “Homepage.” Moxie Fund. Accessed June 30, 2025. https://www.moxiefund.org/ [ /note] 1 Moxie Fund. “Trusted Elections Fund Is Now the Moxie Fund.” LinkedIn, May 2024. Accessed June 30, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/moxie-fund_trusted-elections-fund-is-now-the-moxie-fund-activity-7318349343323787264-iyhB [ /note] 1 Trusted Elections Fund. 2020. Ebook. https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2020/04/Trusted-Elections-Fund-Two-Pager.-04.15.20.pdf. [ /note] 1 “DCRA Corporate Registry: New Venture Fund.” District of Columbia DCRA Corporate Registry. Accessed June 30, 2025. https://corponline.dcra.dc.gov/BizEntity.aspx/ViewEntityData?entityId=2689437 [ /note]
Background
The Moxie Action Fund was registered as a trade name of the Sixteen Thirty Fund in 2024. The Sixteen Thirty Fund is a 501(c)(4) lobbying and advocacy organization managed by Arabella Advisors that provides funding and fiscal sponsorship to hundreds of left-of-center advocacy groups. The Sixteen Thirty Fund often operates alongside its charitable “sister” nonprofit New Venture Fund, which provides similar funding and fiscal sponsorship services to left-of-center charitable organizations. The New Venture Fund is the fiscal sponsor of the Moxie Fund, previously known as the Trusted Elections Fund. The New Venture Fund is a 501(c)(3) educational organization, a tax-exempt designation that has limits on lobbying and political activity, while the Sixteen Thirty Fund is a 501(c)(4) lobbying and advocacy group. 2
The Moxie Fund has been a registered trade name of the New Venture Fund since 2024 and the Moxie Action Fund was registered as a trade name of the Sixteen Thirty Fund in 2024 as well. The Moxie Fund was previously the Trusted Elections Fund, an election funding collaborative formed by the New Venture Fund in 2020, which was folded into the Moxie Fund in 2025. The fund describes itself as a “non-partisan pooled fund that is pursuing a holistic approach to defending US democracy” that was started as a partner fund of the Trusted Elections Fund in 2024. 1 Moxie Fund. “Trusted Elections Fund Is Now the Moxie Fund.” LinkedIn, May 2024. Accessed June 30, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/moxie-fund_trusted-elections-fund-is-now-the-moxie-fund-activity-7318349343323787264-iyhB [ /note] 1 “DCRA Corporate Registry: New Venture Fund.” District of Columbia DCRA Corporate Registry. Accessed June 30, 2025. https://corponline.dcra.dc.gov/BizEntity.aspx/ViewEntityData?entityId=2689437 [ /note]
The Trusted Elections Fund, an election funding collaborative formed by the New Venture Fund in 2020, was folded into the Moxie Fund in 2025. The fund describes itself as a “non-partisan pooled fund that is pursuing a holistic approach to defending US democracy” that was started as a partner fund of the Trusted Election Fund in 2024 and “now combines the programs of both entities under one umbrella, taking on what we see as the three fundamental areas of crisis to U.S. democracy right now: protection of our elections, defense of civil society, and nonpartisan accountability for assaults on rule of law.” 1 Moxie Fund. “Trusted Elections Fund Is Now the Moxie Fund.” LinkedIn, May 2024. Accessed June 30, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/moxie-fund_trusted-elections-fund-is-now-the-moxie-fund-activity-7318349343323787264-iyhB [ /note] 1 “DCRA Corporate Registry: Sixteen Thirty Fund.” District of Columbia DCRA Corporate Registry. Accessed June 30, 2025. https://corponline.dcra.dc.gov/BizEntity.aspx/ViewEntityData?entityId=2696217 [ /note]
The Moxie Fund has partnered with left-of-center funders and organizations, including the Funders Committee on Civic Participation and the Democracy Fund. The Trusted Elections Fund at one point had a steering committee consisting of the Democracy Fund, the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, and the Spitzer Charitable Trust. Aside from some social media activity, specific activity conducted by the fund is not publicly available. 1 “Homepage.” Moxie Fund. Accessed June 30, 2025. https://www.moxiefund.org/ [ /note] 1 Trusted Elections Fund. 2020. Ebook. https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2020/04/Trusted-Elections-Fund-Two-Pager.-04.15.20.pdf. [ /note]
According to a two-page prospectus, the Trusted Elections Fund was directed by Jennifer Flanagan, a former deputy secretary of state of Colorado and a former vice president of the left-wing voter advocacy group Common Cause. 1 “Trusted Elections Fund Two Pager.” Accessed April 15, 2020.
Original link to Trusted Elections Fund two-pager (see very bottom): https://tpw.force.com/s/covid-19-funding-opportunities Original URL of two-pager: https://tpwwest.app.box.com/s/hni429kpgto1caacpdgbpkk49546zd0e.
Two-pager archived: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2020/04/Trusted-Elections-Fund-Two-Pager.-04.15.20.pdf Note that the two-pager is undated and was retrieved in April 2020 from a philanthropic Coronavirus relief website, possibly dating the document to early 2020. [ /note]
Gabriel Lerner’s April 2025 Democracy Notes newsletter noted that the Moxie Fund was likely the central funding vehicle for what the writer characterized as a “new $20M campaign to raise money for the democracy space! (In particular from foundations not yet investing in democracy).” 1 Lerner, Gabriel. “This Week’s Democracy Notes: E20.” Democracy Notes. Accessed June 30, 2025. https://democracynotes.substack.com/p/this-weeks-democracy-notes-e20 [ /note]
Funding information for the Moxie Action Fund is unclear, however the Moxie Fund received a $1 million grant from the Ford Foundation in 2025. 1 “New Venture Fund.” Ford Foundation. Accessed June 30, 2025. https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/new-venture-fund-152811/ [ /note]