Action Now Initiative

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Action Now Initiative
Action Now Initiative.png
Basic facts
Location:Houston, Texas
Type:501(c)(4)
Founder(s):John and Laura Arnold
Website:Official website

The Action Now Initiative is a 501(c)(4) organization based in Houston, Texas. John Arnold and Laura Arnold founded Action Now Initiative in 2011. The organization has supported various political causes, including changes to pension, criminal justice, and education policies; ranked-choice voting; and independent redistricting commissions.

  • In 2020, Action Now Initiative supported ranked-choice voting ballot measures in Alaska and Massachusetts.

    • Background

    John and Laura Arnold

    John Arnold was a hedge fund manager at his own firm, Centaurus Advisors. He began the firm in 2002, after his former employer, Enron, went bankrupt. Arnold retired in 2012 at the age of 38.[1] Laura Arnold was a lawyer before working on philanthropic activities full time. She said, "Having achieved financial success early in our lives, we had the enormous privilege of making this mission our full-time job." According to Forbes, John and Laura Arnold had a net worth of $3.3 billion in 2019.[2] John and Laura Arnold founded Action Now Initiative in 2011.

    Efforts

    Action Now Initiative has funded research and campaigns related to public pensions, nutrition, soda taxes, redistricting policies, ranked-choice voting, education, healthcare, and criminal justice.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

    Political activity

    Ballot measure activity

    Overview of ballot measure support and opposition

    The following table details the Action Now Initiative’s ballot measure stances available on Ballotpedia:

    Ballot measure support and opposition for the Action Now Initiative
    Ballot measure Year Position Status
    Alaska Top-Four Ranked-Choice Voting and Campaign Finance Laws Initiative 2020 Supported[10]  Approveda Approved
    California Proposition 25: Replace Cash Bail with Risk Assessments Referendum 2020 Supported[11]  Defeatedd Defeated
    Massachusetts Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative 2020 Supported[12]  Defeatedd Defeated
    Missouri Amendment 3: Redistricting Process and Criteria, Lobbying, and Campaign Finance Amendment 2020 Opposed[13]  Approveda Approved
    New York City Question 1: Ranked-Choice Voting and Elections Charter 2019 Supported[14]  Approveda Approved
    Colorado Amendment Y: Independent Commission for Congressional Redistricting 2018 Supported[15]  Approveda Approved
    Colorado Amendment Z: Independent Commission for State Legislative Redistricting 2018 Supported[15]  Approveda Approved
    Florida Amendment 11: Repeal Obsolete Constitutional Provisions 2018 Supported[16]  Approveda Approved
    Maine Question 1: Overturn Ranked-Choice Voting Delayed Enactment and Repeal Law 2018 Supported[17]  Approveda Approved
    Michigan Proposal 2: Independent Redistricting Commission 2018 Supported[18]  Approveda Approved
    Missouri Amendment 1: Lobbying, Campaign Finance, and Redistricting Initiative 2018 Supported[19]  Approveda Approved
    Oregon Measure 103: Ban Tax on Groceries 2018 Opposed[20]  Defeatedd Defeated
    Utah Proposition 4: Independent Advisory Commission on Redistricting 2018 Supported[21]  Approveda Approved
    Washington Initiative 1631: Carbon Emissions Fee 2018 Supported[22]  Defeatedd Defeated
    Arizona Proposition 124: Public Retirement Benefits 2016 Supported[23]  Approveda Approved
    Georgia Amendment 1: State Government to Intervene in Failing Schools 2016 Supported[24]  Defeatedd Defeated
    Maine Question 5: Ranked Choice Voting 2016 Supported[25]  Approveda Approved
    San Francisco Proposition V: Soda Tax 2016 Supported[26]  Approveda Approved

    Finances

    The following is a breakdown of Action Now Initiative's revenues and expenses as submitted to the IRS for the 2012 to 2017 fiscal years:

    Annual revenue and expenses for Action Now Initiative, 2012–2017
    Tax YearTotal RevenueTotal Expenses
    2017[27]$5,650,000$5,589,049
    2016[28]$13,700,000$13,638,064
    2015[29]$9,975,000$9,582,646
    2014[29]$9,425,000$9,472,406
    2013[30]$2,940,081$5,028,979
    2012[31]$4,463,654$2,260,750

    Tax status

    The Action Now Initiative 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.[32] Organizations that have been granted 501(c)(4) status by the Internal Revenue Service are exempt from federal income tax.[33] 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 'Action Now Initiative'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

    Action Now Initiative - Google News

    See also

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Fortune, "When a billionaire trader loses his edge," May 4, 2012
    2. ↑ Business Insider, "Meet Laura Arnold, the billionaire philanthropist taking on the parole system with Jay-Z and Meek Mill," August 18, 2019
    3. ↑ Wall Street Journal, "Nonprofits Caught in Pension Crossfire Between Foundation, Unions," April 14, 2014
    4. ↑ Philanthropy Roundtable, "Solving the $2 Trillion Problem," accessed November 25, 2019
    5. ↑ Politico, "War over soda taxes coming to a polling place near you," November 29, 2015
    6. ↑ Politico, "The money behind the fight over healthy eating," October 7, 2015
    7. ↑ Philadelphia Magazine, "The Beverage Lobby Spent $10.6 Million to Kill the Soda Tax — and Failed," August 2, 2016
    8. ↑ The Atlantic, "Zuckerberg, Soros, and Steyer Spend Millions on Out-of-State Ballot Initiatives," October 18, 2018
    9. ↑ Stat News, "How a billionaire couple greased the skids for Nancy Pelosi’s drug pricing bill," November 26, 2019
    10. ↑ Alaska Public Offices Commission, "Alaskans for Better Elections Third Quartly Report 2019," October 10, 2019
    11. ↑ Cal-Access, "End Predatory & Unfair Money Bail Late Contribution Report," January 15, 2020
    12. ↑ Cal-Access, "Ranked Choice Voting 2020 Committee," accessed July 16, 2020
    13. ↑ Missouri Ethics Commission, "Clean Missouri," accessed July 16, 2020
    14. ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "Committee for Ranked Choice Voting NYC, Inc.," accessed October 8, 2019
    15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Colorado TRACER, "Action Now Initiative," accessed November 25, 2019
    16. ↑ Florida Department of Elections, "Yes on 11," accessed November 25, 2019
    17. ↑ Maine Commission on Government Ethics and Election Practices, "Ballot Questions," accessed January 18, 2018
    18. ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "Voters Not Politicians Ballot Committee BQC," accessed December 13, 2017
    19. ↑ Missouri Ethics Commission, "Action Now Initiative," accessed November 25, 2019
    20. ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Action Now Initiative," accessed November 25, 2019
    21. ↑ Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office, "Utahns for Responsive Government," accessed January 10, 2019
    22. ↑ Washington Public Disclosure Committee, "Clean Air Clean Energy WA, 2018," accessed November 25, 2019
    23. ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "Action Now Initiative," accessed November 25, 2019
    24. ↑ Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, "Action Now Initiative," accessed November 25, 2019
    25. ↑ Maine Commission on Government Ethics and Election Practices, "Ballot Questions," accessed July 19, 2016
    26. ↑ San Francisco Ethics Commission,"Campaign Finance Dashboards - June 7, 2016 and November 8, 2016 Elections - Total Contributions and Contributors," accessed October 23, 2016
    27. ↑ GuideStar, "Action Now Initiative IRS Form 990 (2017)," accessed November 25, 2019
    28. ↑ GuideStar, "Action Now Initiative IRS Form 990 (2016)," accessed November 25, 2019
    29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 GuideStar, "Action Now Initiative IRS Form 990 (2015)," accessed November 25, 2019
    30. ↑ Action Now Initiative, "Action Now Initiative IRS Form 990 (2013)," accessed September 7, 2016
    31. ↑ Action Now Initiative, "Action Now Initiative IRS Form 990 (2012)," accessed September 7, 2016
    32. ↑ Internal Revenue Service, "Social Welfare Organizations," accessed January 14, 2014
    33. ↑ Internal Revenue Service, "IRC 501(c)(4) Organizations," accessed July 10, 2014
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