Trending Up is a left-of-center advocacy group formed to engage social media influencers and train them to promote left-of-center policy priorities on topics including abortion, environmentalism, and immigration. The group was previously a registered trade name of the North Fund, a 501(c)(4) lobbying and electoral advocacy nonprofit within the Arabella Advisors “dark money” network, and later was restructured as a standalone entity. Trending Up is positioned as a platform aimed at “creator innovation” and civic engagement, targeting content creators and influencers to engage them in left-of-center policy advocacy. As of 2025, the group’s tax-exempt status, structure, and funding are unclear. ^{1 2}

Background and Fiscal Sponsorship

Trending Up was previously a registered trade name of the North Fund, a left-of-center nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., and part of the billion-dollar nonprofit network created and administered by Arabella Advisors. Like other Arabella-managed nonprofits, the North Fund operates as an umbrella group for various left-of-center advocacy organizations and has spent millions to promote causes including expanding the number of seats on the U.S. Supreme Court (known as “packing the court”), abolishing the Electoral College, legalizing recreational marijuana, opposing a 22-week abortion ban, expanding Medicaid, and making Washington, D.C. a state. The North Fund has been characterized as a leading “dark money” nonprofit for its significant ballot-measure funding, which totaled $34 million in the 2020 election. ^{3 4 5}

According to the District of Columbia Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, Trending Up’s status as a registered trade name of the North Fund was canceled prior to its expiration in 2026, and it has been a registered trade name under Trending Up Network LLC, since April 2025. ^{6 7}

A 2024 event page for Trending Up indicated that the Trending Up event was sponsored by the Hub Project, a project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund. ⁸

Activity

Trending Up promotes a program described as a Creator Innovation Fund, which “supports creators amplifying informed civic dialogue” through grants or capacity-building opportunities. The group has an application link on its website for content creators to submit project ideas with subtle political messaging, stating that the initiative “will fund an array of creative digital projects about non-political issues such as pop culture, sports, lifestyle, documentary, etc. with subtle issue education components woven in to inspire social awareness in the long-term.” ⁹

The group also operates the Trending Up Conference, first held in 2024, which is marketed as a multi-day event for digital creators, influencers, and media personalities interested in “civic innovation.” The event emphasized the role of creators in shaping online political dialogue and featured sessions focused on digital organizing, monetization, and narrative control within civic discourse. Policy issues discussed at the conference included abortion, environmentalism, immigration, education, and state and local advocacy. ¹⁰

The conference agenda included workshops such as “Mastering the Media: Engaging with Reporters and Traditional Media,” “Securing the Bag: Making Advocacy Work For You” and “Legal Playbook: Understanding the Rules of the Game,” all geared toward engaging content creators to engage in subtle left-of-center issue advocacy. Other sessions centered on how to build “sustainable creator businesses” aligned with social advocacy, and how to counter misinformation in digital spaces. ¹⁰

1. “Trade Names of the Arabella Advisors Network.” Americans for Public Trust. Accessed June 24, 2025. https://americansforpublictrust.org/document/trade-names-of-the-arabella-advisors-network/
2. “Home.” Trending Up. Accessed June 28, 2025. https://www.trendingup.org/
3. Parker Thayer, Hayden Ludwig. “Breaking: Arabella’s Left-wing Activist Network Raked in $1.7 Billion in 2020—a ‘Dark Money’ Blowout.” Capital Research Center. Nov. 22, 2021. Accessed Jan. 7, 2022. https://capitalresearch.org/article/breaking-arabellas-left-wing-activist-network-raked-in-1-7-billion-in-2020-a-dark-money-blowout/
4. Kelly, Matthew. “Dark Money Accounts for Roughly a Quarter of pro-Medicaid Expansion Committee’s Funds,” July 13, 2020. https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article244192572.html.
5. Hayden Ludwig. “What’s the North Fund and How Did It Muck Up the 2020 Election?” Capital Research Center. Dec. 17, 2021. Accessed Jan. 7, 2022. https://capitalresearch.org/article/whats-the-north-fund-and-how-did-it-muck-up-the-2020-election/
6. “Entity Search: Trending Up.” D.C. Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs. Accessed June 28, 2025. https://corponline.dcra.dc.gov/BizEntity.aspx/ViewEntityData?entityId=4377407
7. “Entity Search: The North Fund.” D.C. Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs. Accessed June 28, 2025. https://corponline.dcra.dc.gov/BizEntity.aspx/ViewEntityData?entityId=4231080
8. “Trending Up Participation Agreement.” The Hub Project. Accessed June 28, 2025. https://thehubproject.org/trending-up-participation-agreement/
9. “Creator Innovation Fund.” Trending Up. Accessed June 28, 2025. https://www.trendingup.org/creator-innovation-fund/
10. “Schedule.” Trending Up. Accessed June 28, 2025. https://www.trendingup.org/schedule/