Two powerful conservative non-profits, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and the Bradley Impact Fund, have donated millions of dollars to pro-Trump groups led by far-right allies including Stephen Miller and Charlie Kirk, according to tax records and watchdog groups. The donations, made in 2022, have supported organisations that promote election denialism, extremist anti-immigrant policies, and legal challenges bolstering the Make America Great Again (Maga) movement.
The Bradley Impact Fund, a dark-money group, issued the largest cheques: America First Legal, led by Stephen Miller, received approximately $27.1m; Turning Point USA, founded by Charlie Kirk, received close to $8m; and the Conservative Partnership Institute received $712,310. America’s Future, led by Michael Flynn, also received $500,000. Meanwhile, the Bradley Foundation donated $425,000 to the Heritage Foundation, which has worked with other pro-Trump groups on a plan for a new Trump presidency with an authoritarian agenda.
Watchdog groups tracking political money say the Bradley Foundation and Impact Fund have become increasingly influential in funding the Maga ecosystem. Michael Beckel, research director for Issue One, stated: “The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and Bradley Impact Fund have emerged as major forces in Maga circles.” The Impact Fund, started in 2012, has seen explosive growth, with revenues from undisclosed donors hitting $108m in 2022, up from $7m in 2017.
The Bradley Foundation’s board includes rightwinger Art Pope, a North Carolina multimillionaire who also serves as a director of the Impact Fund. The board also features Cleta Mitchell, a rightwing lawyer and Trump ally who participated in Trump’s January 2021 call to Georgia’s secretary of state urging him to “find” votes to overturn the 2020 election. Mitchell chairs the Public Interest Legal Foundation, which received $750,000 from the two Bradley non-profits combined.
Experts say the two Bradley non-profits have become instrumental in funding major political players on the right. “Through their extensive grant-making, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and Bradley Impact Fund are shaping politics and policymaking in ways that will be felt for years to come,” Beckel added. The foundation, launched in 1942 with nearly $1bn in assets, contrasts with the newer Impact Fund, which has grown rapidly and handed out especially large sums to far-right groups close to Trump.
