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Advancing American Freedom

Conservative advocacy and policy-research network founded in 2021 by former vice president Mike Pence.

Organizational details

Founded
2021
Founder
Mike Pence
Organization type
Conservative policy advocacy / associated educational charity
Advocacy legal form
501(c)(4), EIN 86-1778799
Educational foundation
Separate 501(c)(3), EIN 87-2090900
President
Tim Chapman (2026)
Board chair
Marc Short (2026)
2024 advocacy revenue
$13,667,982 (IRS Form 990, fiscal 2024)

Advancing American Freedom is a U.S. conservative nonprofit advocacy and research network established by Mike Pence in 2021. The organization operates through distinct social-welfare and charitable entities and pursues public policy projects, legal briefs and organizing. Its 2026 personnel roster includes former officials and scholars from the first Trump administration, Heritage Foundation and other conservative institutions.

Founding and purposes

Advancing American Freedom (AAF) is a U.S. conservative advocacy organization founded in 2021 by former vice president Mike Pence. Its publicly stated objectives include lower taxes, limited government, religious liberty, opposition to abortion, national defense and market-oriented economic policy. It issues policy papers, conducts advocacy with Congress, files amicus briefs, sponsors forums and organizes professional development. The political views are the organization's own public positions, rather than a finding that every associated organization or staff member agrees on every question. [1][2][10][12]

AAF's activity continued beyond Pence's unsuccessful 2024 presidential primary. By 2026 it had recruited additional legal, economics, technology and national-security staff, launched specialized institutes and issued reports on affordability, artificial intelligence and trade. Its founder's reported criticisms of the current Trump administration are not evidence that AAF itself is a party committee or a governmental agency. [2][11][12]

Legal entities and nonprofit status

Advancing American Freedom Inc is classified by the IRS as a 501(c)(4) social-welfare organization (EIN 86-1778799); its federal tax-exempt recognition was issued in May 2022. Contributions to the advocacy nonprofit are not tax-deductible charitable donations. A separate related organization, the Advancing American Freedom Foundation (AAFF), describes itself as a 501(c)(3) charity (EIN 87-2090900) providing educational research and policy scholarship. The two legal entities have different tax rules and filing records, and aggregate amounts from one should never be automatically attributed to the other. [3][4]

The public 2024 Form 990 for the social-welfare nonprofit reports certain interested-person transactions on Schedule L, which is a required disclosure category. The label on an IRS return does not itself identify a conflict-of-interest violation or wrongdoing; any particular related-party contract requires its own source document and stated financial terms. [4]

Public 2024 financial disclosures

According to AAF Inc's IRS Form 990 for the fiscal year ending December 2024, reported revenue was $13,667,982, expenses were $10,998,810, and year-end net assets were $4,790,978. The revenue included $9,126,985 in contributions and $4,508,656 in program-service revenue. These figures are from the 2024 reporting year and should not be represented as current 2026 spending or an estimate of Pence's personal income. [4][5]

The 2024 return reports $1,755,577 in professional fundraising fees and separately identifies officer and employee compensation, including President Tim Chapman. The filings provide public amounts for the organization; a donor name is not established merely by the amount in a contribution column. The Minnesota charity registry also lists professional fundraising businesses used by the nonprofit, including American Target Advertising and TenX Strategies. Those are vendor relationships as identified in that registry, not proof of an undocumented political strategy or donor identity. [4][5]

Leadership and governance in 2026

AAF's 2026 public roster lists Mike Pence as founder and Tim Chapman as president. Marc Short, who served as Pence's chief of staff during the Trump administration, is its board chairman. Other directors include Greg Jacob (Pence's former White House counsel), Ed Schweitzer, former Arizona governor Doug Ducey, Art Pope, Jeff Knight and Victor Smith. Staff listed in its public roster include Bethany Scully, Marc Wheat and John Shelton. These are distinct board, staff and founder roles with named titles, not a single undifferentiated leadership position. [2][6][7]

Short's prior service in the White House and Jacob's documented counsel role during the January 6 electoral-count dispute link AAF's present board to Pence's executive-branch period. The January 6 congressional report identifies Short and Jacob in dated meetings and communications about the disputed electoral count. The presence of these individuals on a later board does not establish that the former White House Office or its records transferred into the nonprofit. [2][7][14]

Heritage Action and Heritage Foundation personnel links

Tim Chapman, AAF president, previously worked for senators including Jim DeMint and served as chief of staff at the Heritage Foundation. He was also a co-founder and former executive director of Heritage Action before joining Pence's advocacy organization. These are confirmed employment and leadership relationships between named institutions, not an inference from shared political views. [6]

On January 12, 2026, AAF announced the hiring of Hans von Spakovsky as a senior legal fellow in its Edwin Meese III Institute for the Rule of Law. The announcement says he had earlier worked in the Edwin Meese III Center at Heritage and managed its Election Law Reform Initiative. The original White House record also lists von Spakovsky as a member of the 2017 Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity chaired by Pence. The 2017 appointment and 2026 hiring are two separately documented contacts with the same person. [8][13]

In other 2026 announcements AAF described recruiting former Heritage economic, legal and data analysts, including Richard Stern and Kevin Dayaratna. This is a directly observed personnel pipeline. It does not establish an undocumented merger or shared legal board between the two organizations. [9]

Policy institutes, filings and November 2026 developments

AAF and AAFF list the Plymouth Institute for Free Enterprise, Institute for Statistical Policy Analysis, and Edwin Meese III Institute for the Rule of Law, with named policy and legal scholars. Their programs include economic analysis, constitutional-law advocacy, legal briefs and training. The Edwin Meese Institute at AAF should not be confused with the identically named prior center at Heritage without checking the institution named on each document. [2][9][10][15]

On November 9, 2026, National Review reported the launch of an AAF Institute for National Security, led by Dakota Wood, a former Heritage defense analyst and retired U.S. Marine. The AAF public roster independently lists the institute. This establishes another named staff transition in the national security field. [2][11]

As of November 13, 2026, AAF publishes current policy memos and advertises its amicus filings and program initiatives, including a policy booklet on affordability. Claims about litigation wins and policy influence on its website represent the organization's own performance descriptions and require individual case documents before independent attribution. [12]

Documented connections

  • Mike Pence — founder in 2021; former vice president.
  • Heritage Action — AAF president Tim Chapman previously served as executive director.
  • Heritage Foundation — several 2025–2026 AAF staff previously worked at Heritage, including Chapman and Hans von Spakovsky.
  • Jim DeMint — Tim Chapman previously worked as a Senate aide and adviser to DeMint; indirect personnel link, not an AAF board appointment.

Connections to The Story

The advocacy network connects through Pence's presidency-era service and through named Heritage, House conservative-policy and executive-personnel histories. No Story chapter prose has been modified.

Through Mike Pence · Chapter 10 · Through the Heritage institutional network · Chapter 7

References

  1. Advancing American Freedom, founder Mike Pence biography
  2. AAF, current staff, board, founder and policy institutes, November 2026
  3. AAF, 501(c)(4) and AAFF 501(c)(3) structure and activities
  4. IRS Form 990 summarized by ProPublica, AAF Inc, 2021–2024 financial reports
  5. Minnesota Attorney General public charity registry, AAF 2024 financial statements and fundraising
  6. AAF, Tim Chapman career including Heritage and Heritage Action
  7. AAF, Marc Short chairman and first-term White House Pence chief of staff
  8. AAF, January 12, 2026 von Spakovsky joined Meese Institute
  9. AAF, 2026 recruitment of former Heritage Foundation economic, data and legal researchers
  10. AAF, stated policy program and named institutes
  11. National Review, November 9, 2026 AAF national security institute launch and Dakota Wood
  12. AAF, November 2026 policy memos, amicus briefs, research and programs
  13. Archived White House 2017 Election Integrity Commission; von Spakovsky member, Pence chair
  14. House January 6 Select Committee final report, counsel Greg Jacob and chief of staff Marc Short
  15. AAFF scholars and institute roster in 2026

Updated November 13, 2026. Financial figures are explicitly labeled by fiscal year; legal entities and individual staff roles are identified separately.