American Conservative Union
| American Conservative Union | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Alexandria, Virginia |
| Type: | 501(c)(4) |
| Affiliation: | Conservative |
| Year founded: | 1964 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Budget | |
| 2013: | $8,050,271 |
| 2012: | $10,277,123 |
| 2011: | $4,772,554 |
| Connections | |
| •American Conservative Union Foundation •Carly Fiorina •Amy Noone Frederick •Matthew Schlapp •CPAC | |
The American Conservative Union (ACU) is a conservative 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. Founded in 1964, the organization is responsible for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
Background
The ACU was founded shortly after the 1964 presidential election. In the wake of Sen. Barry Goldwater's (R) defeat to Lyndon Johnson (D), some conservatives gathered to assess the future of conservatism. In order to address broader issues that some within the movement felt were being ignored, the gathered conservatives decided to create an organization with broad appeal. Thus, in December 1964, the ACU met for the first time; in attendance were Frank S. Meyer, John Chamberlain, Jameson Campaigne Sr., John Ashbrook, Katharine St. George, William F. Buckley Jr., L. Brent Bozell and Robert E. Bauman.[1]
According to an archive of the American Conservative Union's website from 2021, the organization has the following mission:[2]
| “ |
Founded in 1964, ACU is the nation’s oldest conservative grassroots organization and seeks to preserve and protect the values of life, liberty, and property for every American.[3] |
” |
Leadership
The Board of Directors of the American Conservative Union included the following individuals, as of March 2024:[4]
- Matthew Schlapp, chairman
- Bill Walton, first vice chairman
- Muriel Coleman, board member
- Allan Gottlieb, board member
- Jackie Arends, board member
- Christos Marafatsos, board member
- Priscilla O'Shaughnessy, board member
- Erik Prince, board member
- Ron Robinson, board member
- Les Zellan, board member
- David Bernhardt, board member
- Mark Kahrs, board member
- Matt Smith, board member
- Jerry Daniels, board member
- Matt Whitake, board member
- Kimberly Bellissimo, board member
- Ric Grenell, board member
- Jim Mclaughlin, board member
Work and activities
CPAC and CPAC 365
- See also: Conservative Political Action Conference
The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) began in 1974 and was born out of the pre-existing Conservative Awards Dinners. In 1995, it was decided that CPACs would be held in various locations around the country. In 2011, the first regional CPAC was held in Orlando, Florida.[5]
The conference is four days long. It begins with the Activism Boot Camp, a program that brings together conservative organizations involved in activism training and campaign management. The other three days of the conference bring together political leaders of the conservative movement with the people who make up the movement.[6]
Legislative ratings
Since 1971, the ACU has published ratings for each session of the U.S. Congress. The organization's Ratings of Congress scores members on how conservatively they vote on various fiscal, social, and foreign policy issues.
ACU expanded its ratings coverage in 2011 to include five state legislatures. As of 2025, it covered all 50 state legislatures in the country.[7]
Notable endorsements
This section displays endorsements this organization made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.
Affiliations
The American Conservative Union Foundation
- See also: American Conservative Union Foundation
The American Conservative Union Foundation (ACUF) is the 501(c)(3) branch of the ACU. It is classified as an educational foundation. It was founded in 1973. According to the ACUF website, the foundation's mission is "to reach out and educate, influence and convert those who may not know they are conservatives as well as informing, inspiring and motivating those who know they are conservatives," and to "educate voters, office-holders and opinion leaders as to why conservative principles work better to solve problems, as well as to equip them to become better conservatives and effective problem-solvers."[8]
Finances
The following is a breakdown of the American Conservative Union's revenues and expenses from 2003 to 2024. The information comes from Internal Revenue Service reports.
| Year | Revenue | Expenses |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | $3,416,256 | $3,716,625 |
| 2004 | $3,810,745 | $3,834,821 |
| 2005 | $1,387,098 | $1,769,559 |
| 2006 | $1,573,434 | $1,219,673 |
| 2008 | $1,165,365 | $1,190,998 |
| 2009 | $4,092,873 | $4,107,300 |
| 2010 | $3,877,587 | $3,875,732 |
| 2011 | $4,755,800 | $4,191,267 |
| 2012 | $6,478,581 | $6,858,227 |
| 2013 | $8,050,271 | $7,985,208 |
| 2014 | $6,423,057 | $6,055,518 |
| 2015 | $9,130,446 | $9,075,427 |
| 2016 | $8,067,626 | $6,955,602 |
| 2017 | $9,256,639 | $9,640,633 |
| 2018 | $3,359,168 | $2,368,393 |
| 2019 | $16,702,315 | $31,798,084 |
| 2020 | $19,887,494 | $18,640,526 |
| 2021 | $8,116,706 | $8,501,833 |
| 2022 | $15,442,633 | $14,320,322 |
| 2023 | $10,922,984 | $10,976,991 |
| 2024 | $12,391,797 | $10,105,796 |
See also
- What is an influencer?
- American Conservative Union Foundation
- CPAC
- Carly Fiorina
- Amy Noone Frederick
- Matthew Schlapp
- 501(c)(4)
- Nonprofit organization
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ ACU, "History," accessed July 28, 2025
- ↑ American Conservative Union, "About Us," accessed July 28, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ ProPublica, "American Conservative Union," accessed July 28, 2025
- ↑ ACU, "History," accessed July 28, 2025
- ↑ CPAC, "About," accessed July 28, 2025
- ↑ ACU, "ACU Ratings," accessed June 12, 2015
- ↑ ACUF, "Our Mission," accessed June 10, 2015
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