The American Conservative Union (ACU) – which hosts the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) – took a six-figure donation from a leading left-wing fund for the purposes of “civil rights, social action, advocacy,” according to the fund’s financial records. The story was first reported by The National Pulse.
The ACU, which is chaired by Matt Schlapp , received a cash grant of $183,250 from the “New Venture Fund” in 2020. The group’s mission statement is littered with leftist buzzwords and ideology. “As changemakers building the most effective charitable projects, we know that advancing race equity, equity, diversity and inclusion (REDI) is essential to solving our world’s most pressing problems,” reads the mission statement. The New Venture fund also vows to “unapologetically integrate” its “diversity, equity and inclusion” initiatives into its work culture.
The fund’s President, Lee Bodner, is a former managing director of Arabella Advisors, which even the Atlantic has referred to as a “massive progressive dark money group.” The group has targeted Donald Trump, his administration officials and has donated over $1 billion to leftist causes, reports The National Pulse.
In 2019, the Capital Research Fund revealed that the group classifies its work as “philanthropy” but is housed by the for-profit Arabella Advisors LLC. Arabella manages three additional nonprofit funds and has links with George Soros. “Arabella’s network often plays host to highly influential groups on the Left. For example, the Democracy Alliance, a network of donors co-founded by billionaire George Soros, has used the New Venture Fund and Sixteen Thirty Fund to host at least eight projects that don’t disclose their original funders,” wrote Hayden Ludwig of the Capital Research fund.
The National Pulse’s report comes just days after ACU chairman Matt Schlapp praised the University of Pennsylvania’s transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. Thomas — a biological male — has smashed numerous collegiate women’s swimming records and is now angling to compete for the U.S. Olympic team in 2024.
“No matter what one thinks of Lia’s ability to swim with women her story deserves our compassion. It will be interesting to hear Lia’s pov in 30 years” Schlapp wrote in a tweet.
No matter what one thinks of Lia’s ability to swim with women her story deserves our compassion. It will be interesting to hear Lia’s pov in 30 years. https://t.co/NLY9f6TO6I
— Matt Schlapp (@mschlapp) March 6, 2022