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Freedom Partners
| Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Arlington, Va. |
| Type: | 501(c)(6) |
| Year founded: | 2011 |
| Website: | Official website |
Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce was a 501(c)(6) chamber of commerce that was founded in 2011 as a membership organization promoting conservative and free market principles. The group dissolved in 2019 amid a restructuring of groups founded by Charles and David Koch.[1]
Background
Freedom Partners was founded in November 2011 as a conservative donor organization. The group's first president, Marc Short, said that donors to the group were "committed to trying to restore what they view are free markets in a free society in America." The organization was driven by members paying at least $100,000 in annual dues. Members were drawn from the semi-annual conferences run by David and Charles Koch.[2] The group dissolved in 2019 amid a restructuring of groups founded by Charles and David Koch.[3] As of the organization's 2015 tax returns filed with the IRS, the mission statement for Freedom Partners was:[4]
| “ | Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce advances its members' common business interests by promoting economic freedom and improving business conditions in the United States, thereby increasing opportunity, innovation, and prosperity for all Americans. The organizational mission is to advance its members' common business interests by advancing the principles of free markets and a free society. The organization works to educate the public and policymakers about the business and economic impacts of a broad range of policy issues, including over-regulation, government spending, cronyism and special interest handouts. The organization believes that by uniting and amplifying the diverse entrepreneurial and innovative perspectives of its members, it will improve business conditions for its members and expand economic opportunity for all Americans.[5] | ” |
Leadership
In January 2019, the website for Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce listed the following individuals as members of the organization's board of directors:[6]
- Mark Holden, Chairman
- Kelly Bulloch
- Kevin Gentry
- Dale Gibbens
- Randy Lair
- Nestor Weigand Jr.
- Brian Hooks
- Cy Nobles
- Nancy Pfotenhauer
Work
As a 501(c)(6) trade organization, Freedom Partners solicited donations and membership dues and used those donations to advance the group's business interests. Freedom Partners donated to conservative advocacy organizations with its donations. In 2013, Politico reported that Freedom Partners had given over $1 million to each of the following organizations:[2]
- Center to Protect Patient Rights
- Americans for Prosperity
- 60 Plus Association
- American Future Fund
- Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee
- Themis Trust
- Public Notice
- Generation Opportunity
- LIBRE Initiative
- National Rifle Association
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- American Energy Alliance
Lobbying
In July 2017, Freedom Partners registered its first lobbyist, vice president of policy Nathan Nascimento. According to Politico, the organization aimed to lobby members of Congress on issues related to healthcare, taxes, and a potential repeal of the Dodd-Frank Act.[7]
Affiliations
Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce was affiliated with but run separately from Freedom Partners Action Fund, a super PAC that could raise and spend unlimited sums of money. The super PAC could not contribute directly to a politician or political party, but could spend independently to campaign for or against political figures.[8] Additionally, Freedom Partners Institute was an educational organization that could not engage in political communications and focused on policy research.[9]
Notable endorsements
This section displays endorsements this organization made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.
Finances
The following is a breakdown of Freedom Partners' revenues and expenses from 2011 to 2017. They could be found on archived versions of the website.
| Year | Revenue | Expense |
|---|---|---|
| 2011[10] | $255,674,218 | $237,708,837 |
| 2012[11] | $57,496,468 | $50,315,876 |
| 2013[12] | $35,852,043 | $22,309,767 |
| 2014[13] | $126,378,889 | $129,393,468 |
| 2015[4] | $139,344,951 | |$98,526,193 |
| 2016[14] | $146,752,091 | 125,598,893. |
| 2017[14] | $127,366,674 | $115,26 263,716 |
Tax status
Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce was a 501(c)(6) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. This status applies to nonprofit business leagues and related membership organizations including real estate boards, chambers of commerce, boards of trade and professional football leagues. Section 501(c) of the U.S. tax code has 29 sections that list specific conditions particular organizations must meet in order to be considered tax-exempt under the section.[15] Since politics and legislation may directly impact business activities, 501(c)(6) organizations can engage in germane lobbying and campaign activities as a means of advancing common business interests. Political expenses are only tax deductible if they are used in certain capacities to lobby pertinent legislation before local-level governing authorities, such as city councils. A 501(c)(6) organization may also participate in political campaign activities as long as political campaigning is not the organization's primary purpose.[16][17]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Freedom Partners'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Washington Post, "The Daily 202: The Koch network is reorganizing under a new name and with new priorities," May 20, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Politico, "The Koch brothers' secret bank," September 13, 2013
- ↑ The Washington Post, "The Daily 202: The Koch network is reorganizing under a new name and with new priorities," May 20, 2019
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Freedom Partners, "Freedom Partners IRS Form 990 (2015)," accessed May 19, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Freedom Partners, "About," accessed July 22, 2025
- ↑ Politico, "Khanna starts PAC-free caucus," July 12, 2017
- ↑ Roll Call, "Koch Lobbying Nears $10 Million, Donation Transparency Increases," October 24, 2014
- ↑ Citizens for Ethics, "Introducing the newest Koch network group: Freedom Partners Institute, Inc.," January 21, 2016
- ↑ Freedom Partners, "Freedom Partners IRS Form 990 (2011)," accessed May 19, 2017
- ↑ Freedom Partners, "Freedom Partners IRS Form 990 (2012)," accessed May 19, 2017
- ↑ Freedom Partners, "Freedom Partners IRS Form 990 (2013)," accessed May 19, 2017
- ↑ Freedom Partners, "Freedom Partners IRS Form 990 (2014)," accessed May 19, 2017
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Freedom Partners, "Freedom Partners IRS Form 990 (2017)," accessed July 22, 2025
- ↑ Internal Revenue Service, "IRC 501(c)(6) organizations," accessed December 21, 2015
- ↑ Internal Revenue Service, "Publication 557," accessed December 21, 2015
- ↑ Internal Revenue Service, "Political campaign and lobbying activities of IRC 501(c)(4), (c)(5), and (c)(6) organizations," accessed December 21, 2015
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