Chase Foundation of Virginia

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The Chase Foundation of Virginia is a 501(c)(3) founded in 1995 by investor Derwood Chase, who serves as the foundation's president.[1] Chase is the founder of Chase Investment Counsel Corporation in Charlottesville, Virginia, as well as its chairman emeritus, CEO, treasurer, and portfolio manager.[2] Chase is a trustee of Fraser Institute, Reason Foundation, and Virginia Institute for Public Policy and a member of Mont Pelerin Sociery.[2][3]

Ties to the Koch Brothers

The Chase Foundation of Virginia contributed over $2.23 million to Koch-affiliated right-wing donors between 2014-2018, including Acton Institute, Americans for Prosperity, Atlas Economic Research Foundation, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, Federalist Society for Law and Policy Studies, Foundation for Economic Education, Fraser Institute, FreedomWorks, Goldwater Institute, Heartland Institute, Heritage Foundation, Independent Women’s Forum, Institute for Energy Research, Institute for Humane Studies, Institute for Justice, James Madison Institute, John Locke Foundation, Kansas Policy Institute, Libre Initiative, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, National Center for Policy Analysis, Pacific Legal Foundation, Pacific Research Institute, Property and Environment Research Center, Reason Foundation, State Policy Network, Students for Liberty, and Talent Market, a project of DonorsTrust.[4][5][6][7][8]

The Chase Foundation of Virginia's president, Derwood Chase, is a board member of Koch-funded Fraser Institute and Reason Foundation[2][3] and its board members are connected to ALEC, Club for Growth, and George Mason University.[4]

Koch Wiki

Charles Koch is the right-wing billionaire owner of Koch Industries. As one of the richest people in the world, he is a key funder of the right-wing infrastructure, including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the State Policy Network (SPN). In SourceWatch, key articles on Charles Koch and his late brother David include: Koch Brothers, Americans for Prosperity, Stand Together Chamber of Commerce, Stand Together, Koch Family Foundations, Koch Universities, and I360.

Ties to the State Policy Network

The Chase Foundation of Virginia contributed over $3.16 million to SPN, its members, and associate members between 2014-2018.[4][5][6][7][8] (See below)

SPN is a web of right-wing “think tanks” and tax-exempt organizations in 50 states, Washington, D.C., Canada, and the United Kingdom. As of April 2023, SPN's membership totals 163. Today's SPN is the tip of the spear of far-right, nationally funded policy agenda in the states that undergirds extremists in the Republican Party. SPN Executive Director Tracie Sharp told the Wall Street Journal in 2017 that the revenue of the combined groups was some $80 million, but a 2022 analysis of SPN's main members IRS filings by the Center for Media and Democracy shows that the combined revenue is over $152 million.[9] Although SPN's member organizations claim to be nonpartisan and independent, the Center for Media and Democracy's in-depth investigation, "EXPOSED: The State Policy Network -- The Powerful Right-Wing Network Helping to Hijack State Politics and Government," reveals that SPN and its member think tanks are major drivers of the right-wing, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)-backed corporate agenda in state houses nationwide, with deep ties to the Koch brothers and the national right-wing network of funders.[10]

In response to CMD's report, SPN Executive Director Tracie Sharp told national and statehouse reporters that SPN affiliates are "fiercely independent." Later the same week, however, The New Yorker's Jane Mayer caught Sharp in a contradiction. In her article, "Is IKEA the New Model for the Conservative Movement?," the Pulitzer-nominated reporter revealed that, in a recent meeting behind closed doors with the heads of SPN affiliates around the country, Sharp "compared the organization’s model to that of the giant global chain IKEA." She reportedly said that SPN "would provide 'the raw materials,' along with the 'services' needed to assemble the products. Rather than acting like passive customers who buy finished products, she wanted each state group to show the enterprise and creativity needed to assemble the parts in their home states. 'Pick what you need,' she said, 'and customize it for what works best for you.'" Not only that, but Sharp "also acknowledged privately to the members that the organization's often anonymous donors frequently shape the agenda. 'The grants are driven by donor intent,' she told the gathered think-tank heads. She added that, often, 'the donors have a very specific idea of what they want to happen.'"[11]

A set of coordinated fundraising proposals obtained and released by The Guardian in early December 2013 confirm many of these SPN members' intent to change state laws and policies, referring to "advancing model legislation" and "candidate briefings." These activities "arguably cross the line into lobbying," The Guardian notes.[12]

Grants Distributed

2019[13]

2018

The Chase Foundation of Virginia gave at least $609,500 to State Policy Network, its members, and associate members in 2018. These groups, as well as other entities that received grants in 2018, are broken down as follows:[4]

2017

The Chase Foundation of Virginia gave at least $653,058 to State Policy Network, its members, and associate members in 2017. These groups, as well as other entities that received grants in 2017, are broken down as follows:[5]

2016

The Chase Foundation of Virginia gave at least $645,800 to State Policy Network, its members, and associate members in 2016. These groups, as well as other entities that received grants in 2016, are broken down as follows:[6]

2015

The Chase Foundation of Virginia gave at least $605,500 to State Policy Network, its members, and associate members in 2015. These groups, as well as other entities that received grants in 2015, are broken down as follows:[7]

2014

The Chase Foundation of Virginia gave at least $652,000 to State Policy Network, its members, and associate members in 2014. These groups, as well as other entities that received grants in 2014, are broken down as follows:[8]

Core Financials

2019[13]

  • Total Revenue: $582,484
  • Total Expenses: $820,352
  • Net Assets: $16,422,477

2018[4]

  • Total Revenue: $582,484
  • Total Expenses: $820,352
  • Net Assets: $16,422,477

2017[5]

  • Total Revenue: $582,484
  • Total Expenses: $820,352
  • Net Assets: $16,422,477

2016[6]

  • Total Revenue: $1,431,159
  • Total Expenses: $814,765
  • Net Assets: $15,797,956

2015[7]

  • Total Revenue: $176,732
  • Total Expenses: $815,065
  • Net Assets: $16,941,969

2014[8]

  • Total Revenue: $400,863
  • Total Expenses: $837,599
  • Net Assets: $17,370,418

Personnel

Board Trustees

As of 2019:[13]

Contact Information

EIN: 54-1770697

Chase Foundation of Virginia
300 Preston Ave., No. 500
Charlottesville, VA 22902-5096

Articles and Resources

IRS Form 990 Filings

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

Related SourceWatch

References

  1. ↑ ProPublica, Chase Foundation of Virginia, organizational website, accessed October 9, 2020.
  2. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Virginia Institute for Public Policy, Derwood S. Chase, Jr., organizational website, accessed October 9, 2020.
  3. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Chase Foundation of Virginia, 2018 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, filed May 9, 2019.
  4. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Chase Foundation of Virginia, 2017 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, filed May 8, 2018.
  5. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Chase Foundation of Virginia, 2016 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, filed October 18, 2017.
  6. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Chase Foundation of Virginia, 2015 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, filed May 6, 2016.
  7. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Chase Foundation of Virginia, 2014 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, filed May 18, 2015.
  8. ↑ David Armiak, State Policy Network and Affiliates Raises $152 Million Annually to Push Right-Wing Policies, ExposedbyCMD, September 30, 2022.
  9. ↑ Rebekah Wilce, Center for Media and Democracy, EXPOSED: The State Policy Network -- The Powerful Right-Wing Network Helping to Hijack State Politics and Government, organizational report, November 13, 2013.
  10. ↑ Jane Mayer, Is IKEA the New Model for the Conservative Movement?, The New Yorker, November 15, 2013.
  11. ↑ Ed Pilkington and Suzanne Goldenberg, State conservative groups plan US-wide assault on education, health and tax, The Guardian, December 5, 2013.
  12. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Chase Foundation of Virginia, 2019 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, filed November 6, 2020.
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