Faith and Freedom Coalition

The Faith and Freedom Coalition is an social conservative political advocacy 501(c)(4)[4] non-profit organization in the United States.

Faith and Freedom Coalition
FoundedMay 14, 2009 (2009-05-14)[1]
FounderRalph Reed[2]
Type501(c)(4) non-profit organization
27-0182697[3]
FocusSocial conservative political advocacy
Location
Coordinates33.945582°N 84.127998°W / 33.945582; -84.127998
Area served
United States
Ralph Reed[2]
Executive Director
Timothy Head[2]
SubsidiariesFreedom and Values Alliance Inc. (501(c)(4)),
Faith and Freedom Action (527)
Revenue (2015)
$4,864,707[3]
Expenses (2015)$4,263,727[3]
Employees (2015)
17[3]
Volunteers (2015)
0[3]
Websitewww.ffcoalition.com

Organization

History

The organization was founded and officially incorporated on May 14, 2009,[1] by Christian Coalition founder Ralph Reed, who described it as "a 21st century version of the Christian Coalition".[5] Reed designed the coalition as a bridge between the Tea Party movement and evangelical voters.[6] The organization has grown quickly with hundreds of thousands of supporters and several hundred local chapters.[5] Reed and his organization were a major supporter of the Romney-Ryan campaign in 2012[7] after organizing a debate for the Republican candidates,[8] and a state chapter was also involved in state elections in 2011.[9]

Positions

According to its website, the coalition opposes abortion, medical marijuana (amendment 2 in Florida), and same-sex marriage, and supports limited government, lower taxes, education reform, free markets, a strong national defense, and Israel.[10]

Conferences

Faith and Freedom Conference & Strategy Briefing

Faith and Freedom Coalition (FFC) held its first conference in September 2010 in Washington, D.C.,[11] with prominent speakers Newt Gingrich, Karl Rove, and Bob McDonnell, the governor of Virginia.[5][12] Other well-known attendees included Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, Rep. Randy Forbes, and Rep. Tom Price.[11]

The 2011 conference was also held in Washington in June with several hundred attendees.[13][14] Nearly all the Republican 2012 presidential hopefuls spoke, including Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Jon Huntsman Jr., Rick Santorum,[15] and Ron Paul.[16] The Associated Press described the conference as a "tryout for candidates hoping to fill a void left by former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, an ordained Baptist minister who won the 2008 Iowa caucus but is not running for the 2012 Republican nomination."[16] The Los Angeles Times said Bachmann was the most enthusiastically received by the crowd.[6] Haley Barbour and Donald Trump, both of whom considered running but decided not to do so, also spoke.[17][18] Cain was the keynote speaker at the closing banquet.[19]

In May 2012, the organization announced a Jewish outreach component. At the June 2012 conference, a Shabbat program was held, with traditional, kosher Shabbat meals and Orthodox Jewish prayer services.[20]

Road to Majority

June 19, 2014, marked FFC's 5th annual Road to Majority policy conference in Washington, DC.[21] The event was attended by national grassroots activists and featured notable speakers such as Gov. Bobby Jindal, Monica Crowley, Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Mike Huckabee. Conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly received the Winston Churchill Award for Conservative Leadership for her history of conservative activism.

On June 8, 2017, President Donald Trump gave his support to the organization and vowed to protect religious liberty and expand the role of religion in politics and education. Trump's speech was praised by Frank Pavone which he said that it inspired him in his anti-abortion campaign. However, his speech and attendance to the conference was criticised by LGBT leaders along with his lack of official recognition of the Pride Month, which started in June.[22] Vice President Mike Pence, Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senator Ted Cruz, James Dobson, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise, Pat Boone and Michael Medved also attended the conference.[23][24][25][26]

Fundraising

Faith and Freedom Coalition contracted with an outside firm, American Target Advertising, to solicit donations through direct mail.[3] In 2015, American Target Advertising raised $4,781,850 for Faith and Freedom Coalition, of which American Target Advertising kept $3,694,853.[3]

Faith and Freedom Coalition contracted with another outside firm, Unisource Direct LLC, to solicit donations through telephone calls.[3] In 2015, Faith and Freedom Coalition paid Unisource Direct $167,198 to raise $33,198 for Faith and Freedom Coalition.[3]

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See also

References
  1. "Faith and Freedom Coalition, Inc." Georgia Corporations Division. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  2. "Staff". Faith and Freedom Coalition. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  3. "Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax". Faith and Freedom Coalition Inc. Guidestar. December 31, 2015.
  4. Gilgoff, Dan (June 23, 2009). "Exclusive: Ralph Reed Launches New Values Group: 'Not Your Daddy's Christian Coalition'". Politics & Policy: God & Country. U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  5. "Ralph's way: The Wunderkind returns". The Economist. September 16, 2010. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
  6. Republican contenders compete for Christian conservatives
  7. Resnikoff, Ned (November 5, 2012). "Ryan: Obama's agenda 'compromises Judeo-Christian values'". msnbc.com/. MSNBC. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  8. Derby, Kevin. "GOP Hopefuls Kick Off P-5 With Pre-Debate Rally". sunshinestatenews.com/. Sunshine State News. Archived from the original on September 8, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  9. Kroll, Andy. "Evangelicals and Abortion Foes Dive Into Wisconsin Recalls". motherjones.com/. Mother Jones. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  10. About the Faith and Freedom Coalition
  11. Mohel, Dave (August 13, 2010). "Grassroots to Gather at Faith & Freedom Conference and Strategy Briefing". christiannewswire.com/. Christian Newswire. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  12. Bob McDonnell 'tip of the spear'
  13. "GOP Candidates Woo Social Conservatives". p2012.org/. Beltway Happenings. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  14. "Iowa Gets First Big 2012 GOP Forum". myfoxmemphis.com/. Fox News. December 29, 2010. Archived from the original on September 8, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  15. Glover, Mike (March 7, 2011). "Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition Forum Brings 5 Mulling GOP Presidential Bids To Stage". huffingtonpost.com/politics/. Huffington Post. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  16. Conference Offers Tryout for Hopefuls
  17. Barbour, RNC Chair Warn Conservatives
  18. Donald Trump dings Eric Cantor, reprises birther talk
  19. Herman Cain says 2012 is his to lose
  20. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-01-24. Retrieved 2013-03-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. Allen, Mike. "Chris Christie to speak to 'pro-family' group". politico.com/. Politico. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  22. S.A. Miller (June 8, 2017). "Trump shores up evangelical support but alienates gays". The Washington Times. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  23. Easley, Jonathan (June 9, 2017). "Trump to speak at religious conference during Comey testimony". The Hill. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  24. Guild, Blair (June 8, 2017). "During Comey testimony, Trump addresses religious group". CBS News. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  25. "Trump to Address Anti-LGBTQ Leaders Before Equality March in D.C." OUT Magazine. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  26. Gremore, Graham (June 8, 2017). "Trump will honor pride month today by speaking at an anti-LGBT conference". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
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