Kansans for Constitutional Freedom shares address with Planned Parenthood
"Dark Money" details for "Vote No" on Value Them Both Constitutional Amendment
Updated July 20, 2022
TV commercials advocating “vote no” on the Value Them Both Kansas constitutional amendment are paid for by the group Kansans for Constitutional Freedom.
Articles of Incorporation
The Articles of Incorporation filed in Kansas by the KCF 501(c)(4) group shows their office at 4401 W 109th St, Suite 200, Overland Park, KS 66211.
IRS 990
IRS 990 filings by Planned Parenthood Great Plains, a 501(c)(3) organization, show their address as 4401 W 109th St, Suite 200, Overland Park, KS 66211.
So, minimally the two groups share the same office address.
Partner Organizations
The web site for Kansans for Constitutional Freedom identifies partner organizations, including the ACLU of Kansas, Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes, Trust Women, and URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity.
Each of these organizations has a member on the KCF Board of Directors.
American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas (Nadine Johnson, Exec Director, ACLU of Kansas)
Planned Parenthood Great Plains (Rachel Sweet)
Update (Aug 3): Rachel Sweet is the campaign manager for Kansans for Constitutional Freedom according to the Kansas Reflector. Sweet was the registered lobbyist for Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes until 2/7/2022.Trust Women (Julie Burkhart)
URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity (Kimberly Inez McGuire)
Another group active in Kansas with a KCF director but not listed as a partner is
Kansas Values Institute (Evan Gates, Exec Director, Kansas Values)
See the “dark money” source below that KVI shares with KCF.
Political Action Committees
Kansas PACs must file Receipts & Expenditure reports with the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission. There are two kinds of PACs:
“normal” PACs involved in election of government officials, and
The two kinds of PACs have different reporting forms and different deadlines.
The deadline for the last report before the Aug. 2 election for the PACs involved in the Constitutional Ballot Question was July 18.
Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes PAC
Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes has both kinds of PACs sharing the same address:
“Normal” PAC with new report due July 25 (see report from Jan 10 here):
PAC for Constitutional Ballot Question with report due July 18:
These two PACs share the same address as the Kansans for Constitutional Freedom PAC as shown next.
Kansans for Constitutional Freedom PAC
Kansans for Constitutional Freedom must only file a report about the Ballot Question.
The PAC is evasive about its address in its July filing by using a PO Box.
But the PAC’s Feb. 2022 report shows it shares the address of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes.
As a 501(c)(4) organization, it’s unclear whether any IRS 990 this group might file would provide any additional information.
Dark Money
Other Kansas connections
A recent Watchdog Lab article gave a summary of Kansas recipients of “dark money” from DC-based Arabella Advisor funds sent to Kansas in 2020. Two of the KCF partner organizations received significant amounts from three of the four Arabella Advisors funds in 2020:
Kansas Values Institute, Lawrence
$100K from New Venture Fund [501(c)(3)],
$300K from Sixteen Thirty Fund [501(c)(4)].
Trust Women Foundation, Wichita, $952K from Hopewell Fund [501(c)(3)].
Dark money has already appeared in the 2022 election cycle in Kansas:
Kansas Congresswoman Sharice Davids. The Sixteen Thirty Fund has run numerous “positive” ads in her support in recent weeks. The amounts are not known.
IRS 990s documenting additional dark money connections to Kansas in 2022 will likely not be available until late 2023.
Kansans for Constitutional Freedom
A preliminary look at the PAC reports for the Ballot Question shows several “dark money” connections. Unfortunately, the PAC reports for the Ballot Question contain no dates for contributions.
Sixteen Thirty Fund, $15,000
Sixteen Thirty Fund, $1,385,000
North Fund, $500,000 [a “cousin” of the Arabella Advisor funds]
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