By now, the word of USAID funding anti-gun groups has gone viral throughout the gun community. This funding of groups working against an American’s God-given rights has led many to wonder how such spending went unnoticed for years. Multiple investigations show an elaborate web of money funneling that obfuscates the money sources.
None of the funding to the anti-gun groups came directly from USAID. What USAID did was to pass the funds to a middleman that paid out the anti-gun groups. Some think these middlemen made it so USAID could deny that they were funding politically motivated anti-gun groups like a shell game. Some would equate it to legal money laundering. It is unclear how much USAID knew about the funds’ disbursal, but the agency is supposed to monitor any taxpayers’ dollars doled out. USAID was either incompetent or complacent.
One example of the dark web of money is the tunneling of funds distributed through non-profit groups such as NEO Philanthropy, the Board of Trustees of the Lelan, and George Soros’s Tides Foundation to anti-gun organizations. These groups joined other non-profits such as Civicus World Alliance, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, and Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund to bankroll Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety to the tune of $7.5 million. Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund was responsible for a staggering $6,748,000. The next largest donor was Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, which gave the anti-gun group $300,000. Everytown took in $65,049,593 in 2022.
A large proportion of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence’s operating budget came from USAID through intermediaries. Over $12,809,748 was filtered through the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS) and five other organizations before finally reaching its final destination. This amount is $200,000 less than the total amount of money the organization took in 2022 and over $1,000,000 more than its total contributions in 2021.
New Democrat Vice Chair David Hogg’s organization, March for Our Lives, was also heavily funded by money that originated from USAID. This money was also filtered through non-profits that received taxpayer money and issued grants to the anti-gun organization. It received $1,407,153 through these funds. In 2023, March for Our Lives took in $1,420,000.
Sandy Hook Promise also benefited from funds from USAID. Through intermediaries, the anti-gun organization took $1,417,049 from the taxpayers to advocate against those taxpayer rights. In 2022, Sandy Hook Promise took in $31,539,036. Sandy Hook Promise was founded after a school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in New Town, Connecticut.
The Consortium for Election and Political Process Strengthening not only funded the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence but also funded Giffords through the same five layers of organizations to the tune of $8,292,189. Giffords took in $12.8 million in 2023, including a large chunk of taxpayer money.
The Consortium for Election and Political Process Strengthening is responsible for filtering over $21,000,000 of taxpayer money to anti-gun groups. The group was founded in 1995 by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), the International Republican Institute (IRI), and the National Democratic Institute (NDI). Its mission was supposed to be to strengthen the democratic process. The group was supposed to be non-partisan, but the funding of anti-gun groups tells a different story.
IFES runs most of the CEPPS. It is also heavily funded by USAID. It was founded in response to President Reagan’s call to strengthen democracy. Although a Republican founded it, the organization’s current co-chair is s William Carlton Eacho III, who served as Barack Obama’s ambassador to Austria. The second co-chair is Ken Blackwell, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
If the money is cut off from USAID to these anti-gun groups, it could heavily damage their ability to wage war on the right to bear arms. Currently, a judge ordered the lifting of the three-week halt of foreign aid via USAID. If the domestic cuts hold, these anti-gun groups can be facing a reckoning of apocalyptic portions that could see many collapses or be forced to make heavy cuts to their programs.
About John Crump
Mr. Crump is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people from all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons, follow him on X at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
