Liberal dark money group forms to push back against anti-CRT efforts in schools across the country

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FOX NEWS FIRST: A liberal dark money campaign has quietly formed to push back against anti-Critical Race Theory efforts in K-12 schools across the United States, records reviewed by Fox News Digital show. 

The group, Campaign for Our Shared Future, bills itself as a grassroots and non-partisan effort working to "build a diverse ideological coalition that equally involves policymakers, business leaders, school leaders, teachers, parents, and most importantly children."

"The Campaign for Our Shared Future is an 18-month campaign to combat the latest wave of 'culture war' attacks on our communities, our children and our K-12 system," the group says of their efforts. "The Campaign is a non-partisan, common ground effort committed to fighting the attack on education playing out in school board meetings and state legislatures across the country and reframing the debate in favor of inclusion, representation, equity and truth."

Residents of Loudoun County, Virginia, have helped make critical race theory a national conversation in 2021.  (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)

But while Campaign for Our Shared Future claims it is a grassroots "non-partisan" effort, the group is part of one of the most prominent left-wing dark money networks in the United States.

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According to Washington, D.C. business records, Campaign for Our Shared Future, the group's 501(c)(3) educational arm, is fiscally sponsored by the New Venture Fund. Meanwhile, Campaign for Our Shared Future Action Fund, its 501(c)(4) advocacy arm, falls under the Sixteen Thirty Fund. The funds registered the respective groups in early May.

The New Venture Fund and Sixteen Thirty Fund are both nonprofit incubators managed by the D.C.-based Arabella Advisors consulting firm. The funds each provide their tax and legal status to dozens of left-wing nonprofits that fall under their auspices. Due to this setup, the groups they fiscally sponsor are exempt from providing tax records to the IRS, further shielding information such as their finances from the public.

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The Arabella Advisors-managed dark money network, which also includes other nonprofit fiscal sponsors such as the Windward Fund, Hopewell Fund and North Fund, pulled in an astronomical $1.6 billion in cash from deep-pocketed Democratic donors in 2020, their most recent tax records show. 

Critical race theory (CRT) opponents protest outside of the Loudoun County School Board headquarters, in Ashburn, Virginia, U.S.  June 22, 2021. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)

Campaign for Our Shared Future's launch follows conservative parents bombarding school board meetings in numerous states over what they say is their local schools teaching critical race theory to children. Liberals, meanwhile, maintain that schools are not implementing CRT in K-12 educational institutions.

Despite this, Campaign for Our Shared Future states in one of its online job postings that it's working on mobilizing and building coalitions to push back against "anti-CRT" efforts in numerous states.

"The Campaign is based on the belief that to win the debate we have to shift the debate, and do so in ways that bring unlikely allies to the table," the job posting says. "We have brought together a seasoned leadership team from across the ideological spectrum to mobilize and/or build the grasstops and grassroots networks in key states that are best-positioned to stem the tide of damaging 'anti-CRT' actions."

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Paarents and community members protest after a Loudoun County School Board meeting was halted by the school board in Ashburn, Virginia, June 22, 2021. Loudoun has been roiled by accusations that it has embraced critical race theory. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo)

According to the job posting, the group has raised $6.6 million from private individuals and institutions and is "fully funded to launch." The posting says they are also attempting to round up $6.5 million more in contributions. 

Campaign for Our Shared Future's website contains practically no information on the individuals involved with the group. However, a LinkedIn search turns up at least ten people with the group marked as their current place of employment.

One of the individuals, Eliza Byard, says she co-founded Campaign for Our Shared Future in her LinkedIn profile, which contains a header picture of protesters holding "protect trans youth" and "resist" signs. 

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From 2008 to 2021, Byard served as executive director of the LGBTQ+ group GLSEN, which works to ensure "every member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression," according to its website. 

Ernie Grigg, Campaign for Our Shared Future's communications and research director, told Fox News Digital that they are still relatively new and do not have anything to add besides their mission statement and information contained on their website.

The Placentia Yorba Linda School Board discusses a proposed resolution to ban teaching critical race theory in schools.  (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

"Every child deserves an inclusive, meaningful education that supports their health, learning, and success in life," Grigg wrote. "An excellent K-12 education, inclusive of and accessible to all, is the foundation of a healthy multi-racial democracy. The Campaign for Our Shared Future fights for equitable, anti-racist programs, practices, and policies that sustain schools and ensure opportunity for every child and a brighter future for us all."

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"Our vision is a society that guarantees an accessible, inclusive, high-quality education as the right of every child and the foundation of a healthy multi-racial democracy," Grigg wrote.

Campaign for Our Shared Future did not address Fox News Digital's questions on its fiscal sponsorship at one of the largest liberal dark money networks, its "anti-CRT" efforts and its top funders.