Soros Donated $140 million to Advocacy Organizations and Ballot Initiatives in 2021

George Soros, a billionaire financier, quietly donated $140 Million to advocacy organizations and ballot initiatives in 2021. He also gave $60 million to similar charities.

Soros, who personally donated $170 million during the 2022 midterms to Democratic candidates and campaigns on top of that, spread the additional largess through the Open Society Policy Center — a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that falls under the Soros-funded Open Society Foundations network, according to a copy of its 2021 tax filing, which was obtained by CNBC and is the most recent data available. In 2020, $138 million was also distributed by the Open Society Policy Center to advocacy groups and causes. The tax filings show that two of Soros’ children are on the board.

The donations bring Soros’ contributions to political campaigns and causes since January 2020 to roughly half a billion dollars — at the least — most of it steered through dark money nonprofit groups and going largely toward political causes aligned with Democratic Party.

Soros’s donations to non-profit organizations don’t always go directly for political causes. Sometimes, the funds flow from one nonprofit to another before being used for advertising, organizing, and social media campaigns that reach voters directly.

According to the foundation website, not all of 2021 Open Society Policy Center donations were intended to support midterm elections.  Tom Watson, Open Society Foundations editorial director, said in an email that he had conceded to CNBC. “there are definitely some OSPC grants that went to organizations working to combat voter suppression, support voter registration and expand civic participation.” These are the core Democratic principles.

The foundation network also includes affiliated 501 (c)(4) groups. This type of nonprofit is allowed to engage in both political activities and more traditional 501 (c)(3) charitable organisations. Its website and tax filing show provide additional information.

All nonprofits are part of Soros’ Open Society Foundations network that spans the globe. It describes itself as “the world’s largest private funder of independent groups working for justice, democratic governance, and human rights,” There are many locations in the U.S. and Europe as well as Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Additionally, it runs the Open Society University Network which includes more then two dozen colleges worldwide. The Democracy Institute sponsors research projects and has other initiatives. The complex network that Soros funds with research funding, charities and other nonprofits is legal, but it obscures the original source of the donations.

According to its website, Soros donated more than $32 Billion through the network in the past years. It claims it gives “thousands of grants every year toward building inclusive and vibrant democracies,” With active projects in over 120 countries.

“Wealthy special interests and individuals try to hide their influence in elections, including by funding politically active nonprofits, because they know that the messenger matters,” Aaron McKean is an attorney at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. “Voters have a right to know who is trying to influence elections so that they can make informed choices when filling out their ballot.”

Officials at the foundation stated that the Open Society Policy Center’s budget for 2021 was funded by one $196 million donation made by the Open Society Foundation network. Open Society Institute, a 501(c),(3) charity group affiliated to the Foundation to Promote Open Society received a $1.78 million donation in QECL share from the Foundation. founded and is funded by the billionaire businessman.

According to OpenSecrets data, the Open Society Policy Center in the U.S. donated $4.5 million to Reproductive Freedom For All in September, according to OpenSecrets. The campaign was backed Michigan’s successful Proposition 3 is a referendum initiative. enshrined abortion rights In the constitution of the state.

In 2020, the group donated $1 million to a campaign supporting an Oklahoma prison sentencing initiative called Yes on 805. It would have abolished repeat sentences for nonviolent crimes in the state. failed to pass During the 2020 election.

According to filings by the Federal Election Commission, the vast majority of Soros’ personal donations in 2022 went to two super PACs: Democracy PAC II and Democracy PAC PAC II. Alexander Soros, the billionaire’s younger son, is the leader of both these groups. He also serves as a board member of Open Society Institute and Open Society Policy Center. Politico reported These PACs were created to support Democratic candidates and groups in 2022 and future elections.

The records show that Democracy PACs, which are allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money by law, gave millions of dollars in midterms to organizations that helped Democrats run for office. This included support for the Senate Majority PAC as well as the House Majority PAC.

Other donations to The Open Society Policy Center are listed on their 2021990:

• America Votes: $16.9million
  A group that educates voters on how to vote via mail.
• For justice: $.4.5 Million
  A liberal judicial advocacy group. According to a tax return, it raised just $6 million recently. acquired Politico For Justice announced This year, a $1,000,000 ad buy was made to support Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
• Equis Labs $6.48 Million
  An organization dedicated to increasing Latino vote.
• Future Forward USA Action: $5.5 million
  This 501(c),(4) group donated more than $60 million to Future Forward USA during the 2020 election, which spent millions supporting Biden’s campaign. According to the Open Policy Center, its 2021 donations were partly meant for: “support policy advocacy on the Build Back Together legislative package and a global vaccine campaign.” A reduced version of the bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, was passed and signed into law in August.
• Sixteen Thirty fund: $23.9 Million
  The group acts as a “dark” Money fund “progressive changemakers” These are groups and individuals that often align with the Democratic Party. It offers operational support to progressive candidates, including HR and legal resources. It raised $189 million and awarded $107 million.

Emerson Morrow, spokesperson for America Votes, told CNBC that funding came from the Open Society Policy Center “has provided critical support for America Votes’ mission.” The group claims that it took on “voter suppression and engaged new and hard-to-reach voters” In 2021, we will focus on increasing voting rights in the key states of Nevada and Michigan. Open Society Policy Center’s website lists one donation of $23.9 Million to the group in 2021. “support nonpartisan voter engagement in multiple states,” According to its website.

America Votes, a nonprofit 501(c),(4) raised more than $245 million and distributed over $170 million of grants between July 2020 and June 2021 according to its most recent tax disclosure. According to OpenSecrets, its top contributions included a $14,000,000 donation to Family Friendly Action PAC. This super PAC spent $7.2 million supporting Democratic candidates for Congress in the 2022 election cycle. It also donated $9.7 Million to Black PAC. This super PAC spent $9.5million during the recent midterms in support of Democrats.

Amy Kurtz is the president of Sixteen Thirty Fund. She pointed to the Open Society Foundations site for more information about the fund’s donations from Soros-backed organizations. According to their latest 990 disclosure, The Sixteen Thirty Fund raised $189 Million in 2021.

“At a time when the extreme right wing is better funded than ever and threatening our rights and democratic institutions like never before, Sixteen Thirty Fund is meeting these threats head on,” Kurtz made the comment in an email. “As a fiscal sponsor, Sixteen Thirty Fund empowers advocates and philanthropists to quickly and efficiently launch campaigns to tackle today’s toughest challenges. The administrative, legal, and HR support we offer is critical so public-interest efforts can focus on working to improve the lives of all Americans.”

All other organizations mentioned in this article that received funding from Open Society Policy Center didn’t respond to our request for comment.

Correction: The headline of the story and the two references were changed to reflect the correct year. They were made in 2021.