"Kansas" groups Loud Light and Loud Light Civic Action have only a Kansas PO Box address and are registered Florida non-profits
Kansas Rep. Susan Ruiz: “A lot of these groups are not based in Kansas ... they're coming from Florida ..."
Updated Dec. 2, 2023.
Kansas Reflector’s recent “news” story quoted State Rep. Susan Ruiz complaining about conservative groups:
“A lot of these groups are not based in Kansas,” Ruiz said. “They may have an office in Kansas, but they’re not based in Kansas. They’re coming from Florida, Texas, Virginia.”
Rep. Ruiz and the Reflector seem oblivious to the huge amounts of progressive out-of-state money flowing into Kansas to fund progressive organizations, lobbying and organizing.
An example of a progressive organization receiving out-of-state money to alter Kansas is Loud Light, which has been active since 2016.
Loud Light, a 501(c)(3), and its newer sister organization, Loud Light Civic Action, a 501(c)(4), have no known street address and no known office — only a Topeka PO Box. They are registered corporations with the State of Florida.
Loud Light is involved in organizing for progressive causes and lobbying to influence Kansas government. Known funding sources include “dark money” from funds managed by the Arabella Advisors.
Loud Light president Davis Hammet told his story in a Nov. 2018 Washington Post article. Hammet came to Kansas in 2013 to be an LGBTQ activist to annoy Rev. Fred Phelps at the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka. By 2016 Hammet said “I decided to leave LGBTQ activism to create a nonprofit, Loud Light, and devote myself to voter registration and turnout.”
An example focusing on Loud Light’s recent political activism concludes this article. This example is more about LGBTQ activism than voter registration and turnout.
Loud Light Inc.
View the State of Florida corporation filing for Loud Light Inc. 2023 Annual Report.
The Florida corporation filing and 2023 Annual report say the “Current Principal Place of Business” is “3797 Indian Trail, Destin, Florida.”
Google Maps shows this is a residential address near Cobbs Point in Destin, Florida.
Zillows says the house at this address is worth approximately $929,000.
Three of the five Loud Light officers are currently registered voters in Kansas.
Davis Hammet, President, Topeka.
Farai Harreld, Treasurer, Topeka.
Vignesh Ganapathy, Director, San Francisco. ACLU of Kansas Director of Policy & the Racial Justice Project, 2017-2018.
Sarah Oglesby-Dunegan, Chair, Chandler, AZ.
Former minister of Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Topeka.
Arrested protesting at Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s office in 2018.Israel Sanchez, Secretary, Topeka.
Loud Light Civic Action Inc
View the State of Florida corporation filing for Loud Light Civic Action Inc. 2023 Annual Report.
Loud Light Civic Action shares the same Florida address as Loud Light.
Officers are registered voters in Kansas (except Vignesh Ganapathy).
Davis Hammet, President, Topeka.
Vignesh Ganapathy, Chair, San Francisco. ACLU of Kansas Director of Policy & the Racial Justice Project, 2017-2018.
Elina Alterman, Treasurer, Lawrence.
Treasurer of IRS 527 PAC related to ACLU of Kansas, “Kansans United for Civil Liberties.”
Diosselyn Tot[Velasquez], Secretary, Kansas City, KS. Co-founder of Urbanworks. Former lead community organizer for El Centro.
Kansas Filings
Neither Loud Light nor Loud Light Civic Action are registered business entities according the Kansas Secretary of State’s Business Entity Search.
The “Name Availability” search on that site shows “Loud Light” is available.
Loud Light registered as a “charitable organization” with the Kansas Attorney General’s Charitable Organization Registration, but that registration expired over three years ago.
IRS 990 Filings
Loud Light
From 2017 through 2019 Loud Light’s IRS 990s used its Florida address:
In 2020 Loud Light told the IRS about its PO Box in Topeka, but continued filing annual corporation reports with a Florida address with the State of Florida.
Loud Light enjoys huge bumps in funding in election years according to their IRS 990s.
Loud Light Civic Action
Information about this new 501(c)(4) is difficult to find.
The IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search shows no “hits” for Loud Light Civic Action by name or for its EIN 85-1047024 (see below). ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer shows no information.
Supposedly COVID has slowed IRS processing of non-profit information.
But the Arabella Advisor’s “dark money” New Venture Fund could find the EIN and address of Loud Light Civic Action for their 2020 IRS 990 and $75,000 grant.
Likewise, Tides Advocacy, another “dark money” source, found Loud Light Civic Action in 2020 for a $46,000 grant.
This tweet documents $515K Loud Light has received from other dark money sources:
Example of Loud Light’s Activism
One of the options under “About” on Loud Light’s web site shows information about their “New Frontiers” project. This group focuses on southwest Kansas.
WHAT IS A NEW FRONTIER?
Redefining the issues that impact young folks in southwest Kansas, centered around the needs of those most marginalized through a social justice lens of historic and current racial and economic inequity.
On Monday the New Frontiers Twitter account asked for opposition to a “book ban on LGBQ+ topics” at the Dodge City Public Library Board Meeting held on Tuesday.
Conservative groups opposed “graphic and obscene content targeting our children at the Dodge City Public Library” according to an image on the Dodge City Daily Globe’s web site from Saturday.
So are these books shown above supported by the Loud Light New Frontier’s project examples of “free speech” or “graphic and obscene content” for children?
Unbelievably the “Overton window” has shifted and we must now have this debate to protect Kansas children.
Kansans must wake up to oppose progressive activism being funded by out-of-state money. Protecting children and women in our society can never be “hate speech.”
Related
Loud Light unionized and became part of SEIU Kansas Local 513, May 2023.
Could Public and School Libraries be Guilty of Felony Distribution of Obscene Materials to Children per KSA 21-6401?, Free State News, 2023-07-28.
Loud Light was the main player behind Gov. Kelly sending voter registration forms to 277,000 voters in 2020:
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Have u ever looked up, MySidewalk, it is owned by the same people of, Election Systems & Software, they have a big partnership with the, National League of Cities. I'd give more info but I don't know if u want it. I know u don't know me but you can ask Thad Snyder, can't remember how he spells his last name, I know him as Mr T.