Logo for InfluenceWatch InfluenceWatch

Donate
Other Group

Reclaim Philadelphia

Parent Organization:

PA Stands Up
Website:

https://www.reclaimphiladelphia.org/

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

Reclaim Philadelphia is a fiscally sponsored project of Pennsylvania Stands Up and focuses on left-of-center criminal justice and prison administration. Reclaim Philadelphia advocates for a society with “no need” for police and prisons. 1 The organization was founded by supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) after he suspended his 2016 presidential campaign. 2 The organization specifically recognizes that it donates to “Democratic candidates and policies.” 3

Background and Policy Positions

Reclaim Philadelphia by several Philadelphia-based activists disappointed with Sen. Bernie Sanders’s loss in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries decided to form an activist group in order to continue to advocate for his proposed policies. 4

The organization claims that the “criminal legal system has perpetuated conditions of class domination, racism, gender oppression, and poverty.” 5

Reclaim Philadelphia has advocated against additional funding for the Philadelphia Police Department and called for higher taxes. 6 The group has criticized Philadelphia’s mayor for failing to “re-imagine other ways we can keep our community safe beyond police.” 7 Reclaim Philadelphia claims that Philadelphia should work toward cutting “the police budget to reinvest in under-funded community programs and services.” 8 It has also spoken against the Philadelphia mayor’s planned tax cuts to business income and the city’s wage tax. 9 The nonprofit also directs a “Mass Liberation Taskforce” with the goal of abolishing police and prisons. 10

The group states that its vision includes “universal automatic voter registration,” “reparations to ethnic communities,” and “housing guaranteed to all as a right.” Reclaim Philadelphia offers positions in various “subcommittees” that aim to elect left-wing candidates to political office in Philadelphia. 11

The organization gives to “Democratic candidates and policies,” specifically ones that “ensure everyone’s right to quality education, health care, a livable environment, housing, safety and justice, regardless of economic background, immigration status, gender or ethnicity.” 12

The group runs a “H.E.A.R.T. Series” that serves as “digital storytelling” to advance the group’s goals of the abolition of police and prison. 13  The nonprofit’s lead organizer, Kelly Morton, helped lead a campaign in Philadelphia promoting divestment from Wells Fargo Bank. 14

Parent Group

Reclaim Philadelphia’s parent group is a nonprofit called Pennsylvania Stands Up, which advocates for many left-of-center criminal justice policies. The group collected petition signatures to force a vote on a ballot measure that abolishes solitary confinement in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. 15 The group trains “community leaders” to become local Democratic Party Precinct Committee Persons (PCPs). The PCPs that PA Stands Up trains are tasked with “registering, educating and mobilizing Democratic voters.” 16

The group blames “racially-discriminatory housing policies,” and “a deepening climate crisis” for Pennsylvania’s housing problems. 18

In 2020, the group fought for a “People’s Bailout” and organized rallies and marches for the Black Lives Matter movement. 19

Pennsylvania Stands Up received $2,000 from the Pennsylvania Stands Up PAC from 2019-2020. The PA Stands Up PAC also gave Scale to Win $57,726 from 2019-2020, 20 and Scale to Win gave PA Stands Up $57,726 in the 2020 cycle. Donations made to Pennsylvania Stands Up pass through the left-of-center ActBlue Civics group. 21

References

  1. “Mass Liberation.” Reclaim Philadelphia. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20220810070333/https://www.reclaimphiladelphia.org/mass-liberation.
  2. Otterbein, Holly. “‘A political revolution’: Meet the left-wing group that’s slaying Democratic giants in Philly.” July 23, 2018. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/politics/reclaim-philadelphia-elizabeth-fiedler-larry-krasner-democratic-socialists-20180723.html.
  3. “Member Information.” Reclaim Philadelphia. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://www.reclaimphiladelphia.org/memberinformartion.
  4. Otterbein, Holly. “‘A political revolution’: Meet the left-wing group that’s slaying Democratic giants in Philly.” July 23, 2018. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/politics/reclaim-philadelphia-elizabeth-fiedler-larry-krasner-democratic-socialists-20180723.html.
  5. “Mass Liberation.” Reclaim Philadelphia. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20220810070333/https://www.reclaimphiladelphia.org/mass-liberation.
  6. [1] “Mass Liberation.” Reclaim Philadelphia. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20220810070333/https://www.reclaimphiladelphia.org/mass-liberation.
  7. “Mass Liberation.” Reclaim Philadelphia. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20220810070333/https://www.reclaimphiladelphia.org/mass-liberation.
  8. “Mass Liberation.” Reclaim Philadelphia. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20220810070333/https://www.reclaimphiladelphia.org/mass-liberation.
  9. “Mass Liberation.” Reclaim Philadelphia. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20220810070333/https://www.reclaimphiladelphia.org/mass-liberation.
  10. “Mass Liberation.” Reclaim Philadelphia. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20220810070333/https://www.reclaimphiladelphia.org/mass-liberation.
  11. “Join a Subcommittee for Electoral Strategy!” The Action Network. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://actionnetwork.org/forms/join-a-subcommittee-of-our-electoral-strategy-taskforce?source=direct_link&.
  12. “Member Information.” Reclaim Philadelphia. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://www.reclaimphiladelphia.org/memberinformartion.
  13. “Heal, Empower, Atone, Restore, Transform.” Reclaim Philadelphia. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://www.reclaimphiladelphia.org/heart.
  14.  “Organizers.” Reclaim Philadelphia. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://www.reclaimphiladelphia.org/mentor-team
  15. “Up to Us.” Pennsylvania Stands Up. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://pastandsup.org/up-to-us/.
  16. PA Stands Up. Twitter Post. August 4, 2022, 11:30 am. Accessed April 14, 2023.  https://twitter.com/pastandsup/status/1422942906415976448?lang=en.
  18. “Statement of Organization.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed April 14, 2023.  https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/579/202207209522440579/202207209522440579.pdf#navpanes=0[//note] PA Stands Up seeks a fund that would authorize $50,000 grants to homeowners and give loans to “small landlords.” 17 “Pennsylvania Stands Up PAC to PAC/Party.” OpenSecrets. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/pennsylvania-stands-up/C00743021/pac-to-pac/2022.
  19. “Get Organized BK PAC Expenditures.” OpenSecrets. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/get-organized-bk/C00678078/expenditures/2022.
  20. “Pennsylvania Stands Up PAC Expenditures.” OpenSecrets. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/pennsylvania-stands-up/C00743021/expenditures/2020.
  21. “Donate today so we can keep winning in Pennsylvania.” ActBlue Civics. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/winpa2022.
  See an error? Let us know!