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Campaign for America's Future (CAF) is an American nonprofit
progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy pa ...
political advocacy organization. Founded in 1996, the organization bills itself as "the strategy center for the progressive movement." Within the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa * Botswana Democratic Party * Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *De ...
, it often serves as a counterweight to the
Democratic Leadership Council The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) was founded in 1985 and closed in 2011. Founded and directed by Al From, prominent members include Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton (who was elected president in 1992 and 1996), Delaware Senator Joe Biden (e ...
(DLC). CAF argues that the Democratic Party should draw sharp contrasts with the Republicans and advance a progressive agenda, while the DLC argues that the party should pursue a
centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the l ...
policy. CAF is a
501(c)(4) A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)) and is one of over 29 types of nonprofit organizations exempt from some federal income taxes. ...
non-profit organization. It has a sister organization called the Institute for America's Future, which is a
501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental o ...
"devoted to shaping a compelling progressive agenda and message." ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper th ...
'' editor
Katrina vanden Heuvel Katrina vanden Heuvel (; born October 7, 1959) is an American editor and publisher. She is the publisher, part-owner, and former editor of the progressive magazine ''The Nation''. She was the magazine's editor from 1995 to 2019, when she was su ...
, former AFL-CIO president John Sweeney, and former
Los Angeles Mayor The mayor of the City of Los Angeles is the official head and chief executive officer of Los Angeles. The officeholder is elected for a four-year term and is limited to serving no more than two terms. (Under the Constitution of California, all j ...
Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa (; né Villar Jr.; born January 23, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Villaraigosa was a national co-chairman of Hillary ...
serve on its
board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
.


Organizational overview

The founder and current president of Campaign for America's Future, Robert Borosage, first registered the organization in 1990. The organization did not reach non-profit status until 1994 and formally launched in 1996. At its launch, the Campaign for America's Future listed 130 co-founders representing a variety of liberal and progressive organizations. The Campaign for America's Future does not disclose its donors. In the past, it has denied requests for a list of top donors and a spokesman said the group "discloses exactly what is required." In 2016, Campaign for America's Future combined their operations with
People's Action People's Action is a national progressive advocacy and political organization in the United States made up of 40 organizations in 30 states. The group's stated goal is to "build the power of poor and working people, in rural, suburban, and urban ...
but continues to operate as its own organization.


Activities


"Take Back America" conference

CAF holds an annual "Take Back America" conference, bringing together progressive
activists Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
,
elected official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their s ...
s, bloggers, left-leaning media outlets, and others. At the 2006 conference, Senator
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senat ...
was booed for her stance on the
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...
. In 2007, she was similarly booed, but not as loudly, as she had ostensibly "modified" her position on the war. ''
The Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and inter ...
'' sponsored a
straw poll A straw poll, straw vote, or straw ballot is an ad hoc or unofficial vote. It is used to show the popular opinion on a certain matter, and can be used to help politicians know the majority opinion and help them decide what to say in order to gai ...
which Senator
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
won with 29 percent of the vote. The 2007 conference honored "progressive bloggers" with the Paul Wellstone Award. The once anonymous blogger Digby accepted the award, and in doing so, revealed her true identity as woman named Heather Parton from
Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
. CAF is supportive of the
Occupy Wall Street Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a protest Social movement, movement against economic inequality and the Campaign finance, influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Financial District, Manhattan, Wall S ...
movement and has assisted in organizing protests.Coverage of CAF
cbsnews.com; accessed October 4, 2015.


Apollo Alliance

The Institute for America's Future and the
Center on Wisconsin Strategy The Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) is a progressive policy institute housed on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It was founded in 1991 by UW Professor Joel Rogers. The organization says that its core values are democracy, ...
sponsor a joint project called the Apollo Alliance, a coalition of
environmentalists An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...
and
labor unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...
, which seeks to commit the United States to energy independence while providing opportunity for new green-collar jobs in the energy sector. It is named after John F. Kennedy's Apollo program.About the Alliance
, June 20, 2007; retrieved June 23, 2007.


References


External links


Campaign for America's FutureCampaign for America's Future at OpenSecrets.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campaign For America's Future Political advocacy groups in the United States 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations Progressive organizations in the United States