Organizing for Action
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| Organizing for Action | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Chicago, Ill. |
| Type: | 501(c)(4) |
| Affiliation: | Barack Obama |
| Year founded: | 2013 |
| Website: | Official website |
Organizing for Action (OFA) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that was founded to support President Barack Obama's (D) policy agenda.[1]
Mission
The tax returns filed by OFA to the IRS contain the following description of the organization's mission:[2]
| “ | OFA is a non-partisan issue advocacy organization committed to growing the grassroots movement by training, educating, and activating civically engaged community members across the country. As a grassroots driven organization OFA is dedicated to empowering action takers with the skills and tools needed to tip the scales of power back to the American people and away from the special interests in Washington, D.C. In carrying out its work, OFA will operate as a 'social welfare' organization within the meaning of section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code.[3] | ” |
Background
- Also on Ballotpedia: What can politicians do with unused campaign funds?
Organizing for Action was formed in January 2013, following President Barack Obama's re-election.[4] At that time, the remaining campaign apparatus from Obama's re-election became the nonprofit organization; it worked to support Obama's legislative agenda and mobilize support for the president in his second term. Speaking of the group's formation in 2013, Obama said: "Together, we’ve made our communities stronger, we’ve fought for historic legislation, and we’ve brought more people than ever before into the political process. Organizing for Action will be a permanent commitment to this mission."[5]
Work
Organizing and training
OFA aims to train community organizers in techniques for building grassroots support and in issue advocacy. According to OFA's website, the group runs a program for new organizers—called the OFA Alumni Training Corps. They describe their approach as:[6]
| “ | The OFA style of organizing is defined by two traits. One is the snowflake model of organizing, in which the responsibilities of a given movement are taken out of the hands of a few select staff and put into the hands of community members who take ownership of the program's goals. The second trait is a philosophy of respecting, empowering, and including anyone who wants to be involved in a given movement.[3] | ” |
The organization also sponsors the Community Organizing Institute, a program based in Chicago that puts organizers in contact with one another.[7]
Advocacy
As of August 2017, the website for OFA listed the following issues on which the organization focused its advocacy work:[8]
- Climate
- Healthcare
- Immigration
- LGBT Equality
- Stand with women
- Jobs and the economy
Action August
In August of 2013, OFA launched their "Action August" month. According to then-executive director Jon Carson, "August is a rare month where constituents can change the conversation in their communities while knowing that their representative is home in their district. It is an organizing opportunity that OFA will be leading." Activities included petition circulations, letters to the editor, advocacy events and visits to congressional members in their home offices.[9]
Barack Obama Twitter account, 2013-2017
After Obama's re-election in 2012, OFA took over all official social media outlets and the official website for Obama, including his Twitter account. According to The Atlantic, the arrangement began in February 2013.[10] The organization handed control of the accounts back to Obama after Trump was inaugurated in January 2017.[11]
Opposition to the Trump administration
- See also: Opposition to the Trump administration
In August 2017, Politico reported that OFA had taken on a role in opposition to the Trump administration and in opposition to congressional attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Operating with a "state- and district-focused strategy," OFA worked to protest repeal attempts while also training other activist organizations opposing Trump's policy agenda. According to Politico, the group had worked with Indivisible—an organization founded to oppose Trump—and Swing Left—a group supportive of progressive candidates in 2018 House races. OFA also worked with Democratic lawmakers to help organize events.[11]
Redistricting
In October 2017, OFA announced that it would partner with the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, an organization chaired by former Attorney General Eric Holder and supported by Obama. In an email to supporters, Obama wrote, "OFA volunteers and supporters will provide the grassroots organizing capacity and mobilization that we’ll need to win state-level elections and move other initiatives forward ahead of the 2021 redistricting process, making sure that states are in the best position possible to draw fair maps." Politico reported that OFA would initially work to educate community members on the major issues surrounding redistricting and what the process for redistricting looked like in each state.[12]
Leadership
As of August 2017, Katie Hogan was the executive director of OFA.[13]
Finances
The following is a breakdown of OFA's revenues and expenses as submitted to the IRS for the 2013 to 2015 fiscal years:
| Annual revenue and expenses for OFA, 2013–2015 | ||
| Tax Year | Total Revenue | Total Expenses |
| 2015[2] | $9,509,251 | $8,483,224 |
| 2014[14] | $14,422,408 | $17,820,479 |
| 2013[15] | $26,021,841 | $20,645,523 |
Tax status
OFA is a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Its 501(c) status refers to a section of the U.S. federal income tax code concerning social welfare organizations.[16] Organizations that have been granted 501(c)(4) status by the Internal Revenue Service are exempt from federal income tax.[17] Section 501(c) of the U.S. tax code has 29 sections listing specific conditions particular organizations must meet in order to be considered tax-exempt under the section. Unlike 501(c)(3) organizations, however, donations to 501(c)(4) organizations are not tax-deductible for the individual or corporation making the contribution. 501(c)(4) organizations may engage in political lobbying and political campaign activities. This includes donations to political committees that support or oppose ballot measures, bond issues, recalls, or referenda.
- See also: 501(c)(4) organizations on Ballotpedia
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Organizing for Action'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ CNN, "'Obama for America' to morph into 'Organizing for Action'," January 18, 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Guidestar, "Organizing for Action IRS Form 990 (2015)," accessed August 7, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Obama campaign to become nonprofit, Organizing for Action," January 18, 2013
- ↑ Politico, "Obama unveils 'Organizing for Action,'" January 17, 2013
- ↑ Organizing for Action, "Our Alumni," accessed August 7, 2017
- ↑ Organizing for Action, "Community Organizing Institute," accessed August 7, 2017
- ↑ Organizing for Action, "About," archived August 7, 2017
- ↑ Politico, "OFA launches centralized Action August website," accessed July 31, 2013
- ↑ The Atlantic, "You're Not Really Following @BarackObama on Twitter," April 8, 2013
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Politico, "Obama's army takes on Trump," August 6, 2017
- ↑ Politico, "Obama’s army enlists in redistricting fight," October 23, 2017
- ↑ Chicago Sun-Times, "Katie Hogan new chief of Chicago-based Organizing for Action," April 18, 2017
- ↑ Guidestar, "Organizing for Action IRS Form 990 (2014)," accessed August 7, 2017
- ↑ Guidestar, "Organizing for Action IRS Form 990 (2013)," accessed August 7, 2017
- ↑ Internal Revenue Service, "IRC 501(c)(4) Organizations," accessed July 10, 2014
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