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Americans for Prosperity
| Americans for Prosperity | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Arlington, Virginia |
| Type: | 501(c)(4) |
| Top official: | Emily Seidel, President and CEO |
| Year founded: | 2004 |
| Website: | Official website |
Americans For Prosperity (AFP), founded in 2004 by David Koch, is a 501(c)(4) political advocacy group based in Arlington, Virginia. AFP has described itself as "an organization of grassroots leaders who engage citizens in the name of limited government and free markets on the local, state, and federal levels."[1][2]
Background
Americans for Prosperity was founded in 2004 by David Koch.[3] As of August 2025, their LinkedIn says their mission is "to transform America by inspiring people to embrace and promote principles and policies of economic freedom and liberty."[4]
Leadership
As of August 2025, the following were listed as members of the board of directors:[5]
- Emily Seidel, board chair
- James Davis, board director
- Kim Penner, board director
- Brent Gardner, board director
- Gretchen Reiter, board director
Work and activities
As of August 2025, Americans for Prosperity's website said the following:[5]
| “ |
How we achieve policy reforms at local, state and federal levels: 01.— Provide Policy solutions based on proven principles 02. — Organize communities to bring people together 03. — Educate, train and mobilize concerned citizens to take action 04. — Advocate for policy reforms 05. — Hold public officials accountable[6] |
” |
Political activity
Elections
2014 elections
Endorsed candidates
In the 2014 election cycle, Americans for Prosperity supported the following candidates:[7]
West Virginia
Americans for Prosperity launched a $30,000 radio ad attacking incumbent Nick Rahall on February 10, 2014.[8]
Florida
Americans for Prosperity released several ads in 2013, including one thanking Steve Southerland for opposing the Affordable Care Act, that highlighted the glitches on the new health-care exchanges Web site.[9] The ads were part of a multi-wave campaign totaling more than $2 million.[9]
The group released a second ad in February 2014, "Steve Southerland Didn't Fall for the Lie of the Year," which cast Southerland as a steadfast opponent of Obamacare. It ran for three weeks in the district and cost an estimated $160,000.[10][11]
The group released another ad on April 1, 2014, that again thanked Southerland for his opposition to Obamacare.[12] The ad asserted the law was not working, but did not mention repeal.[12]
2013 elections
South Carolina
Former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford raised $334,397 over January and February 2013 in his bid for the South Carolina House seat.[13] David Koch, who launched the conservative outside group Americans for Prosperity, gave $2,500 to Sanford’s House campaign.
2012 elections
According to OpenSecrets.org, Americans for Prosperity spent $11,291 in the 2012 election cycle.[7]
Endorsed candidates
In the 2012 election cycle, the Americans for Prosperity supported the following candidates:[7]
Ballot measure activity
2010
- Arizona Sales Tax Increase, Proposition 100 (May 2010)
- Opposed California Proposition 21, Vehicle License Fee Increase for State Parks Initiative (2010)
2009
In 2009 in Oregon, the state AFP chapter organized opposition to Ted Kulongoski's $733 million tax hike by supporting efforts to qualify the Oregon Tax Increase Vote, Ballot Measures 66 and 67 (2010) for the ballot.[14]
Defending the Dream summit
AFP hosted an event in Washington, D.C., entitled, "Defending the American Dream Summit" on October 5, 2007. The topic of the debate was government spending and taxation. Presidential candidates attending included Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Ron Paul, Sam Brownback, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson. Other speakers included John Stossel, Dinesh D'Souza, Art Laffer, John Fund, Steve Moore, Herman Cain, Dr. Barry Poulson, and AFP founder David H. Koch.
Notable endorsements
This section displays endorsements this organization made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.
Finances
The following is a breakdown of Americans for Prosperity's revenues and expenses from 2015 to 2023. The information comes from ProPublica
| Year | Revenue | Expenses |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | $44,382,585 | $45,727,933 |
| 2016 | $64,022,276 | $58,306,180 |
| 2017 | $57,578,959 | $51,688,505 |
| 2018 | $96,544,184 | $89,615,828 |
| 2019 | $54,497,443 | $56,999,314 |
| 2020 | $64,546,338 | $78,329,056 |
| 2021 | $113,776,550 | $97,304,690 |
| 2022 | $112,498,519 | $136,103,095 |
| 2023 | $186,359,205 | $168,040,159 |
Noteworthy events
John Doe investigations
Two John Doe investigations, beginning in 2010 and ending in 2015, were launched by Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm (D) into the activities of staff and associates of Gov. Scott Walker (R).[15] Americans for Prosperity was one of 29 conservative organizations that were targeted during the course of the second investigation.[16][17]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for "Americans + for + Prosperity"
- All stories may not be relevant to this organization due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
External links
- Social media:
- Endorsements and ratings:
- Fact-checking:
- Financial:
- Media appearances:
- Media coverage:
Footnotes
- ↑ FactCheck.org, "Americans for Prosperity," February 7, 2014
- ↑ Americans for Prosperity, "About AFP," archived November 20, 2013
- ↑ The New Yorker, "Covert Operations," August 23, 2010
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Americans for Prosperity," accessed August 4, 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Americans for Prosperity, "Meet Our Leadership," accessed August 4, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Open Secrets, "Americans for Prosperity," accessed December 16, 2013
- ↑ Politico, "Obama commits to at least 18 Democratic fundraisers—Jindal warns of ‘modern left’ at Reagan Library—FL-13 polls show Sink in the lead—Friday standings—Beyer gets a new endorsement in VA-08," accessed February 11, 2014
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Washington Post, "Conservative group launches House ads hitting Obamacare Web site glitches," accessed October 24, 2013
- ↑ Politico, "AFP boosts vulnerable Steve Southerland," accessed February 10, 2014
- ↑ The Hill, "http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/197430-koch-backed-group-buys-150k-in-southerland-district," accessed February 10, 2014
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Tampa Bay Times, "Americans for Prosperity launches ad thanking Southerland for Obamacare opposition," accessed April 2, 2014
- ↑ Washington Post, "Koch brother donates to Mark Sanford" accessed March 11, 2013
- ↑ The recession session is over
- ↑ United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Milwaukee Division, "Eric O’Keefe, and Wisconsin Club for Growth, Inc.," accessed February 23, 2015
- ↑ Wisconsin Watchdog, "Wall Street Journal: GAB targeted conservative justices in John Doe defense," September 17, 2015
- ↑ Eric O'Keefe v. Francis Schmitz, et al., "Complaint," accessed September 16, 2015
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