Faith and Freedom Coalition

Last updated

Faith and Freedom Coalition
AbbreviationFFC
Founded14 May 2009(15 years ago) (2009-05-14) [1]
Founder Ralph Reed [2]
Type nonprofit
27-0182697 [3]
Legal status 501(c)(4)
Focus
Headquarters
  • Ste 975
  • 3700 Crestwood Pkwy NW
  • Duluth, GA 30096-7212
  • United States
Area served
United States
Ralph Reed [2]
Timothy Head [2]
Subsidiaries Freedom and Values Alliance Inc. (501(c)(4)),
Faith and Freedom Action (527)
Revenue (2022)
$24,429,473 [4]
Expenses (2022)$26,653,399 [4]
Employees (2015)
17 [3]
Volunteers (2015)
0 [3]
Website www.ffcoalition.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Faith and Freedom Coalition is a conservative political advocacy 501(c)(4) [5] non-profit organization in the United States.

Contents

Organization

History

The organization was founded and officially incorporated on 14 May 2009, [1] by Christian Coalition founder Ralph Reed, who described it as "a 21st century version of the Christian Coalition". [6] Reed designed the coalition as a bridge between the Tea Party movement and evangelical voters. [7] The organization has grown quickly with hundreds of thousands of supporters and several hundred local chapters. [6] Reed and his organization were a major supporter of the Romney–Ryan campaign in 2012 [8] after organizing a debate for the Republican candidates, [9] and a state chapter was also involved in state elections in 2011. [10]

Positions

According to its website, the coalition opposes abortion, medical marijuana (amendment 2 in Florida), and same-sex marriage, and otherwise supports limited government. They also endorse lower taxes, the privatization of public services, free markets, a strong national defense, and Israel. [11]

Conferences

Faith and Freedom Conference & Strategy Briefing

Faith and Freedom Coalition (FFC) held its first conference in September 2010 in Washington, D.C., [12] with prominent speakers Newt Gingrich, Karl Rove, and Bob McDonnell, the governor of Virginia. [6] [13] Other well-known attendees included Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, Rep. Randy Forbes, and Rep. Tom Price. [12]

The 2011 conference was also held in Washington in June with several hundred attendees. [14] [15] Nearly all the Republican 2012 presidential hopefuls spoke, including Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Jon Huntsman Jr., Rick Santorum, [16] and Ron Paul. [17] 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." [17] The Los Angeles Times said Bachmann was the most enthusiastically received by the crowd. [7] Haley Barbour and Donald Trump, both of whom considered running but decided not to do so, also spoke. [18] [19] Cain was the keynote speaker at the closing banquet. [20]

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. [21]

Road to Majority

On 19 June 2014 FFC marked its 5th annual Road to Majority policy conference in Washington, DC. [22] 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 8 June 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. [23] 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. [24] [25] [26] [27]

The COVID-19 pandemic forced FFC to move their conference out of Washington. The conference was held at the Cobb galleria in their hometown of Atlanta Georgia in 2020, and at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Kissimmee Florida during 17–19 June 2021. [28]

The conference returned to Washington DC during 23–24 June 2023 at the Washington Hilton. [29] The conference marked the first time all eleven declared GOP presidential candidates had appeared together at an event. [30] President Donald Trump served as the closing speaker of the conference where during the Gala dinner he received "raucous applause from a packed ballroom of evangelical Christian activists". [31] The speech marked the one year anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. [32]

Fundraising and finances

Faith and Freedom Coalition contracts with outside firms American Target Advertising and Unisource Direct LLC for solicitations through direct mail and telephone calls. Finances for the fiscal year ending 31 December 2022 (the latest available) consist of: revenue of $24,429,473 expenses of $26,653,399; and donations of $24,448,17. [4]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Faith and Freedom Coalition" Georgia Corporations Division. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "Staff". Faith and Freedom Coalition. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 "Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax". Faith and Freedom Coalition Inc. Guidestar. 31 December 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Suozzo, Andrea; Glassford, Alec; Ngu, Ash; Roberts, Brandon (9 May 2013). "Faith And Freedom Coalition Inc, Full Filing - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  5. ↑ Gilgoff, Dan (23 June 2009). "Exclusive: Ralph Reed Launches New Values Group: 'Not Your Daddy's Christian Coalition'". Politics & Policy: God & Country. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 "Ralph's way: The Wunderkind returns". The Economist . 16 September 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  7. 1 2 Republican contenders compete for Christian conservatives
  8. ↑ Resnikoff, Ned (5 November 2012). "Ryan: Obama's agenda 'compromises Judeo-Christian values'". msnbc.com/. MSNBC. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  9. ↑ Derby, Kevin. "GOP Hopefuls Kick Off P-5 With Pre-Debate Rally". sunshinestatenews.com/. Sunshine State News. Archived from the original on 8 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  10. ↑ Kroll, Andy. "Evangelicals and Abortion Foes Dive Into Wisconsin Recalls". motherjones.com/. Mother Jones. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  11. ↑ About the Faith and Freedom Coalition
  12. 1 2 Mohel, Dave (13 August 2010). "Grassroots to Gather at Faith & Freedom Conference and Strategy Briefing". christiannewswire.com/ (Press release). Christian Newswire. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  13. ↑ Bob McDonnell 'tip of the spear'
  14. ↑ "GOP Candidates Woo Social Conservatives". p2012.org/. Beltway Happenings. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  15. ↑ "Iowa Gets First Big 2012 GOP Forum". myfoxmemphis.com/. Fox News. 29 December 2010. Archived from the original on 8 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  16. ↑ Glover, Mike (7 March 2011). "Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition Forum Brings 5 Mulling GOP Presidential Bids To Stage". huffingtonpost.com/politics/. Huffington Post. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  17. 1 2 "Conference Offers Tryout for Hopefuls (Published 2011)". The New York Times. 5 June 2011. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023.
  18. ↑ Barbour, RNC Chair Warn Conservatives
  19. ↑ Donald Trump dings Eric Cantor, reprises birther talk
  20. ↑ Herman Cain says 2012 is his to lose
  21. ↑ "The American Spectator : Renaissance of Faith". Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  22. ↑ Allen, Mike (4 June 2014). "Chris Christie to speak to 'pro-family' group". politico.com/. Politico. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  23. ↑ S. A. Miller (8 June 2017). "Trump shores up evangelical support but alienates gays". The Washington Times. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  24. ↑ Easley, Jonathan (9 June 2017). "Trump to speak at religious conference during Comey testimony". The Hill. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  25. ↑ Guild, Blair (8 June 2017). "During Comey testimony, Trump addresses religious group". CBS News. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  26. ↑ "Trump to Address Anti-LGBTQ Leaders Before Equality March in D.C." OUT Magazine. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  27. ↑ Gremore, Graham (8 June 2017). "Trump will honor pride month today by speaking at an anti-LGBT conference". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  28. ↑ Jaradat, Mya (31 May 2021). "How a faith-based conservative group you've never heard of is impacting American politics". Desecret News. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  29. ↑ "Faith in Trump dominates annual gathering of religious conservatives". NBC News. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  30. ↑ "GOP 2024 candidates appear at faith-focused conference - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  31. ↑ Ward, Myah (24 June 2023). "Trump touts Dobbs decision to cheers at Faith & Freedom". POLITICO. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  32. ↑ "GOP 2024 candidates mark anniversary of overturning Roe at conference". NBC News. Retrieved 26 June 2023.

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