About
Founded in 2010, Heritage Action for America (Heritage Action) is the 501(c)(4) advocacy arm of The Heritage Foundation. According to its website, the group’s lobbyists on Capitol Hill work with lawmakers and their staff “to implement conservative solutions… drawn from our partners at The Heritage Foundation.” The group has successfully advocated and lobbied for voter suppression and anti-abortion legislation, and is getting more deeply involved in the Right’s anti-ESG movement.
Heritage Action works closely with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF), and the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) as part of a larger coalition committed to fighting ESG initiatives. Heritage Action publishes the website esghurts.com, promotes Heritage’s model anti-ESG legislation, and shares its lobbyists with other right-wing anti-ESG organizations. Towards the end of 2022, Heritage Action endorsed ALEC’s model bill known as the Eliminate Political Boycotts Act, which would prevent states from doing business with companies that have in turn chosen not to do business with fossil fuel producers.
Heritage Action is also part of a rightwing coalition promoting the Heritage Foundation’s State Pension Fiduciary Duty Act, model legislation that seeks to ban the consideration of ESG factors in the management of public pensions.
Heritage Action presented on the panel “America Runs on Energy: ESG and Grid Sustainability” at the 2024 ALEC Annual Meeting with Consumers’ Research‘s executive director Will Hild. The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) obtained the flyer, “ESG and the Threat to Agriculture in America,” that Heritage distributed to meeting attendees, which states that the “Left’s radical ESG agenda poses a serious threat to American agriculture.” The flyer does not address the threats farmers face due to the unfolding climate emergency.
Heritage Action also distributed its “Recommendations for States to Fight ESG” flyer at the ALEC 2024 Annual Meeting.
Heritage Action only lists Executive Vice President Ryan Walker on its website. However, a pamphlet obtained by the CMD indicates that the organization employs at least 10 regional legislative coordinators. It also claims to have over 20,000 grassroots activists.
Operatives
- Former Executive Director Jessica Anderson
- Director of State Advocacy Catherine Gunsalus
- Upper Midwest Coordinator Eli Huber
- Executive Vice President Ryan Walker
- Paul Watkins (position unknown)
Top Funders
- The Concord Fund: $4,437,883 (2020-2022)
- Heritage Foundation: $1,400,000 (2020-2023)
- America First Works: $994,000 (2020)
- Stand Together: $675,000 (2012–14)
Note: Heritage Action 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: $12,699,259
- Total Expenses: $14,343,938
- Net Assets: $3,380,626
Source: 2023 IRS 990 filing
For more information, visit the Heritage Action page on SourceWatch.