Energy Fdn

attacked in vitter bill rept:

The Billionaire’s Club has also perfected the craft of assembling and funding fake

grassroots movements to assist in ballot measures and other state initiatives. The efforts in New

York and Colorado to ban fracking are prime examples. The report explains how these faux

grassroots efforts are actually funded by foundations outside the states they seek to influence.

All these groups are similarly utilizing their platform to attack jobs, economic development, and

infrastructure projects across the country.

The Energy Foundation is a quintessential example of a pass through frequently

employed by the Billionaire’s Club. Energy Foundation receives money from several key

foundations and redirects it to activists. In doing so, they are providing two services: distance

between the donor and the activist, and enhancing the clout of the donors as their individual

influence is maximized by pooling resources. One of the major funders of the Energy

Foundation is Sea Change, which has gone to great lengths to hide the source of its money. This

is especially concerning in light of recent revelations that environmental activists do not appear

to be morally conflicted over where their money comes from – so long as it supports their goals.

The Billionaire’s Club is also adept at converting charitable donations into political

outcomes by taking advantage of loopholes in the tax code. Numerous examples raise questions

as to whether the charitable donations are indirectly supporting political activity. For example,

in many cases they fund a 501(c)(3), like the Energy Foundation or the League of Conservation

Voters, which then transfers large sums to an affiliated 501(c)(4), which can engage in political

activity. The affiliated groups often share office space, staff, and even board members. In the

case of the 501(c)(4) Green Tech Action Fund, which received donations from the Energy

Foundation, and in turn, donated funds to 501(c)(4) far-left environmental activist organizations.

The evidence provided in this report highlights the lengths the far-left environmental

movement goes to hide sources of funding and to disguise their actions – bought and paid for by

millionaires and billionaires – as charitable acts in service of their fellow man. This report

outlines a sampling of the individuals, foundations, and practices that are active in our political

system today, shedding light on just a fraction of the activities of the far-left environmental

machine that undermines American free enterprise and resource security....

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<a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=204952986">https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=204952986</a>

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