About
Stand Together—the umbrella organization for the Koch political network, formerly known as the Seminar Network and Freedom Partners—refers to itself as a “philanthropic community.” Grant Hewitt, vice president for foundational education at Stand Together, has attended SFOF meetings.
Although it was founded in 2003, in 2019 Stand Together rebranded itself and became the reorganized shell organization for the sprawling Koch network. “In the 2020 election cycle, 28 organizations controlled by Charles Koch, his family, and Koch Industries executives spent a combined $1.1 billion, primarily to influence public policy and politics in the U.S., and had net revenues of $2.7 billion,” the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) reported.
Chairman and CEO Brian Hooks—who was president of the Charles Koch Foundation before the 2019 reorganization—previously served as the executive director of the right-wing Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Paul Fitzpatrick—president of the 1792 Exchange, a board member of the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF), and a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) Private Enterprise Advisory Council—was formerly director of development for the billionaire Koch brothers’ Freedom Partners (now Stand Together).
Stand Together groups are tied to the SFOF-led assault on “woke capitalism.” In December 2021, members of ALEC’s Energy, Environment, and Agriculture task force voted to approve the group’s proposed Energy Discrimination Elimination Act, a model bill written to prevent financial firms that end investments in oil, gas, and coal companies from receiving state government contracts or managing state funds, CMD reported.
Koch’s American for Prosperity (AFP) is lobbying to overturn the Biden administration’s Department of Labor rule that encourages retirement fund managers to consider ESG factors.
Operatives
- Vice President for Foundational Education Grant Hewitt
Top Funders
- CCKC4: $85,000,000 (2021)
- America Engaged: $4,200,000 (2017–19)
- Reams Foundation: $600,000 (2018–20)
- American Future Fund: $500,000 (2018)
- Mascaro Foundation: $500,000 (2015–16)
Note: Stand Together is not required by law to disclose its donors. The Center for Media and Democracy identified its top funders through an examination of IRS filings.
Core Financials
- Total revenue: $325,758,897
- Total expenses: $244,294,486
- Net assets: $199,357,733
Source: 2021 IRS 990 Filing
For more information, visit the Stand Together page on SourceWatch.