Youth Progressive Action Catalyst
Youth Progressive Action Catalyst is a left-of-center hybrid Political Action Committee (hybrid PAC). The organization labels itself as a “youth-led” organization that, as a hybrid PAC, can both engage in general election-related speech activity and also make financial contributions to the campaigns of left-of-center politicians. Blue Future, a Democratic Party-aligned incubator that trains left-leaning “community organizers,” is a project funded by the Youth Progressive Action Catalyst. 1
Contents
Background
Nick Guthman and Morgan Stahr co-founded the Youth Progressive Action Catalyst in 2017. 2
Guthman has stated that he drew inspiration to become involved in left-of-center politics from his time participating in Organizing for Action (OFA), a now-defunct left-of-center incubation center for community organizing that was founded by members of the President Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. 3 OFA’s stated purpose was to advance the agenda of Obama campaign. 4 The organization re-surfaced again to oppose the Trump administration, 4 but was eventually folded into the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC). 5
Finances
In the 2021-2022 spending cycle, Youth Progressive Action Catalyst received $783,772 in contributions, 6 made $837,106 in expenditures, 6 and held $76,775 in net asset. 6
Political Contributions
In the 2021-2022 spending cycle the Youth Progressive Action Catalyst received contributions from Democracy PAC II ($250,000), 7 Grassroots Democrats HQ ($13,050), 7 More Blue PAC ($5,000), 7 and the Brady PAC ($1,500). 7
During the 2020 presidential campaign, Youth Progressive Action Catalyst contributed to the Working Arizona PAC ($8,500), made numerous contributions to individual “community organizers” engaging in electioneering, 8 and made processing fee and consulting service payments to ActBlue LLC ($2,151) and Summit Campaign Strategies ($11,000). 9
Leadership
Nick Guthman and Morgan Stahr are the co-founders and co-presidents of Youth Progressive Action Catalyst and Blue Future. 10
Prior to founding the organization, Guthman was a deputy field director for Americans For Tax Fairness, 11 a project of the left-of-center New Venture Fund that has advocated for higher taxes on individuals and businesses; 12 claimed to have played a major role in the repeal of George W. Bush administration tax cuts; 13 and opposed the Trump administration tax cuts. 14
Morgan Stahr was an intern for the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation prior to co-founding the organization. 15 In addition to Youth Progressive Action Catalyst, Stahr is the president of Progressive Leadership Initiative Education Fund (PLIEF), a leadership and coaching program for left-leaning activists. 16