Community Change Voters (CCV) is a left-of-center Super PAC affiliated with the Center for Community Change (CCC) and the Center for Community Change Action (CCCA). Formed in 2016, the PAC has spent over $7 million in federal elections to support Democratic candidates and oppose Republicans. ¹ This includes over $3.4 million in support of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 Presidential campaign and over $950,000 in support of President-elect Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign. ^{2 3}

CCV has received funding from major left-of-center institutions, including Priorities USA Action, Win Justice, and the United Auto Workers Education Fund. ⁴ The PAC has also received donations from Democratic mega-donors, including George Soros, James Simons, Liz Simons, and Penny Pritzker. ⁵

Lobbying and Electoral Activity

CCV has been active since 2016, though during the 2015 and 2016 election cycle, it operated under the name “Immigrant Voters Win PAC,” which changed to CCV in 2017. ⁶

During the 2016 election cycle, CCV spent over $5.8 million exclusively in support of Democratic candidates and in opposition to Republican candidates. ⁷ The majority of the group’s 2016 expenditures ($3.4 million) went to supporting the failed 2016 Presidential campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. ⁸ Aside from donations in support of the Clinton campaign, CCV made expenditures in support of Democratic candidates in Colorado, Nevada, and Florida. These included nearly $700,000 in contributions to U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), $500,217 to U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), and $689,731 to then-U.S. Representative Patrick Murphy (D-FL)’s failed U.S. Senate campaign. ⁹

CCV spent an additional $180,581 during the 2018 midterm elections, all of which went to support Democratic candidates and oppose Republicans. ¹⁰ Of these expenditures, $106,115 went to support former U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL)’s failed reelection campaign. ¹¹ CCV spent an additional $14,339 on the same race to oppose Sen. Nelson’s opponent, now-U.S. Senator Rick Scott. ¹² CCV also made expenditures on behalf of U.S. Representative Jason Crow (D-CO) and U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV). ¹³ Aside from direct expenditures, CCV gave over $1.5 million to various other left-of-center political action committees, including the Michigan People’s Campaign, CCV Florida, and New Florida Majority. ¹⁴

During the 2020 election cycle, CCV spent nearly $1.2 million exclusively in support of Democratic candidates. ¹⁵ CCV and entities affiliated with CCV made expenditures on behalf of just three candidates. These included $954,674 on behalf of President-elect Joe Biden, $152,500 on behalf of unsuccessful U.S. Senate candidate Jaime Harrison from South Carolina, and $69,999 on behalf of U.S. Senate candidate Raphael Warnock of Georgia. ¹⁶

Funding

CCV has received most of its funding from a small number of powerful left-of-center organizations. In 2016, CCV raised over $10 million and received its largest-ever donation, amounting to $4 million, from Priorities USA Action, a left-of-center political advocacy organization. ¹⁷ That year, CCV also received $3 million from George Soros, billionaire financier and liberal philanthropist; $1.5 million from the Civic Participation Action Fund; $50,000 from the United Auto Workers Education Fund, an advocacy organization associated with the left-of-center labor union; $550,000 from the CCCA; and $500,000 from Democratic megadonor James Simons. ¹⁸

In 2018, donations dropped significantly, with $899,000 of CCV’s total $3.1 million in contributions coming from CCCA. CCV also received over $160,000 in contributions from Win Justice, a PAC created by Planned Parenthood Votes, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Color of Change, and CCC. ¹⁹ In 2020, CCCA donated over $521,000 to CCV. Other large donations came from individual donors, including $1.1 million from Democratic megadonor Liz Simons, $250,000 from Democracy Alliance affiliate Quinn Delaney, and $75,000 from Obama administration Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. ²⁰

Leadership

CCV is affiliated with the Center for Community Change (CCC) and the Center for Community Change Action (CCCA), left-of-center nonprofit advocacy organizations. CCV shares an office with CCC and CCCA. ^{21 22} CCV does not list any of its staff or officers, except for treasurer Jeff Berman. ²³ Berman sits on the board of directors for CCA and works as a partner at Clifford Change, an international law firm. ²⁴

1. “Community Change Voters: Committee Overview.” FEC.gov. Federal Elections Commission . Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00612820/?tab=spending.
2. “Community Change Voters Recipients, 2016.” OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/recips.php?cmte=C00612820&cycle=2016.
3. “Community Change Voters Recipients, 2020.” OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/recips.php?cmte=C00612820.
4. “Browse Individual Contributions: To Community Change Voters, 2015-2016.” FEC.gov. Federal Elections Commission. Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?committee_id=C00612820.
5. “Browse Individual Contributions: To Community Change Voters, 2020.” FEC.gov. Federal Elections Commission. Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?committee_id=C00612820&two_year_transaction_period=2020&min_amount=2%2C000.00
6. “Community Change Voters: Committee Overview.” FEC.gov. Federal Elections Commission . Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00612820/?tab=spending.
7. “Community Change Voters Recipients, 2016.” OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed December 18, 2020.  https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cycle=2016&cmte=C00612820
8. “Community Change Voters Recipients, 2016.” OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/recips.php?cmte=C00612820&cycle=2016.
9. “Community Change Voters Recipients, 2016.” OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/recips.php?cmte=C00612820&cycle=2016.
10. “Community Change Voters Recipients, 2018.” OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cmte=C00612820&cycle=2018 
11. “Community Change Voters Recipients, 2018.” OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cmte=C00612820&cycle=2018
12. “Community Change Voters Recipients, 2018.” OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cmte=C00612820&cycle=2018
13. “Community Change Voters Recipients, 2018.” OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cmte=C00612820&cycle=2018
14. “Community Change Voters Recipients, 2018.” OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cmte=C00612820&cycle=2018
15. “Community Change Voters Outside Spending Summary, 2020.” OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cmte=C00612820&cycle=2020
16. “Community Change Voters Recipients, 2020.” OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/recips.php?cmte=C00612820&cycle=2020.
17. “Browse Individual Contributions: To Community Change Voters, 2015-2016.” FEC.gov. Federal Elections Commission. Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?committee_id=C00612820.
18. “Browse Individual Contributions: To Community Change Voters, 2015-2016.” FEC.gov. Federal Elections Commission. Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?committee_id=C00612820.
19. “Browse Individual Contributions: To Community Change Voters, 2018.” FEC.gov. Federal Elections Commission. Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?committee_id=C00612820&two_year_transaction_period=2018&min_amount=2%2C000.00
20. “Browse Individual Contributions: To Community Change Voters, 2020.” FEC.gov. Federal Elections Commission. Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?committee_id=C00612820&two_year_transaction_period=2020&min_amount=2%2C000.00
21. “Black Voters. Associated Press.” Center for Community Change. Accessed December 18, 2020. https://communitychange.org/may-newsletter-listen-and-organize/black-voters-associated-press/.
22. “Community Change Voters: Committee Overview.” FEC.gov. Federal Elections Commission . Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00612820/?tab=about-committee.
23. “Community Change Voters: Committee Overview.” FEC.gov. Federal Elections Commission . Accessed December 18, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00612820/?tab=about-committee.
24. “Board of Directors.” Community Change Action. Accessed December 18, 2020. https://communitychangeaction.org/board-of-directors/.