A liberal nonprofit that claims to fund "voter rights" initiatives in order to "restor[e] ... and activat[e] all voices in the United States" appears to be behind a deceptive anti-Trump ad campaign that tried to discourage Republican voters from taking advantage of mail-in voting.
Global Impact Social Welfare Fund, a little-known dark money group, gave $50,000 to PA Values on June 14, according to Federal Election Commission records. Two days after the donation, PA Values paid $48,000 for an ad that urges "MAGA PATRIOTS" to "stand strong WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP" against mail-in voting. Trump was skeptical of mail-in and absentee voting in the 2020 election, but has since encouraged supporters to vote by those methods in order to "beat the Democrats."
The ad has stoked blowback, as well as speculation about the origin of the cash behind it. PA Values received contributions several years ago from labor unions and the law firm of Sen. Bob Casey’s (D., Pa.) brother. But it entered this election cycle with an empty bank account, up until the donation from Global Impact Social Welfare Fund. The Trump campaign accused PA Values of election interference over the advertisement, and called for law enforcement to investigate the matter. A liberal election law professor writing at Slate called the ad "borderline criminal" and castigated PA Values for its "trickery and voter suppression."
The Global Impact Social Welfare Fund’s involvement could stoke further outrage from the left, given the group’s lofty mission statement to "empower social impact" in areas such as the environment, justice reform, racial and gender equity, and "voter rights." The organization is a subsidiary of Global Impact, a "philanthropy adviser" that operates the website Charity.org.
The Pennsylvania ad is the latest shady tactic Democrats and their supporters have deployed in attempts to trick Republican voters. In 2017, Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman funded "Project Birmingham," which created fake social media personas in order to dissuade Republicans from voting in the Alabama special election that year. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) faced scrutiny from some Democrats for funding right-wing Republican candidates over mainstream contenders in various primaries, with the aim of running against candidates they perceive to be easier to beat in general elections. The latest example came in the Montana Senate primary, where a Schumer-backed group quietly backed Rep. Matt Rosendale over combat veteran Tim Sheehy, seen as a more competitive candidate versus Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.
Global Impact Social Welfare Fund operates as a dark money group, meaning it masks the identity of its donors. Global Impact, its parent organization, gave the only traceable contribution: $8.9 million in 2023 out of a total of $22.4 million in donations that year. The Global Impact Social Welfare Fund spent $3.3 million to support "voter rights and education programs," according to its most recent tax filing.
The financial shell game means the donor whose money went into the Pennsylvania ad may have enjoyed a tax break. That’s because contributions to Global Impact, a 501(c)(3), are tax deductible while contributions to Global Impact Social Welfare Fund, a 501(c)(4), are not.
Global Impact Social Welfare Fund is most likely aware of how its contribution was used by PA Values. The group says in its tax filings that it requires grantees to sign an agreement "that outlines the amount, purpose, and type of support" for each grant. A spokesman for Global Impact Social Welfare Fund said the organization "boosts the philanthropic sector’s power to play its part in addressing today’s humanitarian crises." The spokesman declined to identify its donor for the PA Values ad.
Global Impact Social Welfare Fund donated to numerous progressive advocacy groups in its first year of operations, including some that have engaged in dubious electioneering operations. It gave $100,000 in April 2023 to Open Democracy PAC, which counts controversial Democratic super lawyer Marc Elias as an advisory board member.
Elias is best known for commissioning the infamous Steele dossier on behalf of the Clinton campaign in 2016. The document falsely claimed the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to influence the election. In 2021, Elias’s law firm represented a Virginia-based group, Virginia Accountability PAC, that aired misleading ads about then-Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin’s (R.) stance on guns. The ads portrayed Youngkin as soft on the Second Amendment, as part of an appeal to conservative voters in hopes they’d sit out the race.
Global Impact Social Welfare Fund donated $250,000 in September 2023 to Forward Majority Action, a Democrat-aligned group that counts Democratic Senate candidates Ruben Gallego (Ariz.) and Collin Allred (Texas) as honorary co-chairmen.
Global Impact Social Welfare Fund gave $150,000 last year to Resolute Republic, which faced scrutiny in Pennsylvania after it backed several conservative Republicans in state House primaries. The group sent out mailers on behalf of conservative candidates, often without the candidates’ knowledge.
It gave $200,000 to Road to Michigan’s Future, dark money super PAC that supports Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The Democrat faced allegations of hypocrisy because of her public opposition to dark money in politics.