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    American Conservative Union

    From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 4 min
    American Conservative Union
    Acu-logo.png
    Basic facts
    Location:Washington, D.C.
    Type:501(c)(4)
    Affiliation:Conservative
    Year founded:1964
    Website:Official website
    Budget
    2013:$8,050,271
    2012:$10,277,123
    2011:$4,772,554
    Connections
    •American Conservative Union Foundation
    •Carly Fiorina
    •Amy Noone Frederick
    •Matthew Schlapp
    •CPAC


    The American Conservative Union (ACU) is a conservative 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1964, the organization is responsible for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

    Mission[edit]

    According to the American Conservative Union's website, the organization has the following purpose:[1]

    “

    ACU has served as an umbrella organization harnessing the collective strength of conservative organizations fighting for Americans who are concerned with liberty, personal responsibility, traditional values, and strong national defense. As America’s premier conservative voice, ACU is the leading entity in providing conservative positions on issues to Congress, the Executive Branch, State Legislatures, the media, political candidates, and the public.[2]

    		”

    Background[edit]

    The ACU was founded shortly after the 1964 presidential election. In the wake of Sen. Barry Goldwater's defeat to Lyndon Johnson, concerned conservatives gathered to assess the future of conservatism. In order to address broader issues that some within the movement felt were being ignored, the gathered conservatives decided to create an organization with broad appeal. Thus, in December 1964, the ACU met for the first time; in attendance were Frank S. Meyer, John Chamberlain, Jameson Campaigne Sr., John Ashbrook, Katharine St. George, William F. Buckley Jr., L. Brent Bozell and Robert E. Bauman.[3]

    Work[edit]

    CPAC and CPAC 365[edit]

    See also: Conservative Political Action Conference

    The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) began in 1974 and was born out of the pre-existing Conservative Awards Dinners. In 1995, it was decided that CPACs would be held in various locations around the country. In 2011, the first regional CPAC was held in Orlando, Florida, 2012's CPAC was in Chicago, Illinois and 2013's was held in St. Louis, Missouri.[4]

    The conference is four-days long. It begins with the Activism Boot Camp, a program that brings together conservative organizations involved in activism training and campaign management. The other three days of the conference bring together political leaders of the conservative movement with the people who make up the movement.[5]

    Legislative ratings[edit]

    Since 1971, the ACU has published ratings for each session of the U.S. Congress. The organization's Ratings of Congress score members on how conservatively they vote on a wide range of fiscal, social and foreign policy issues.

    ACU expanded the coverage of its ratings in 2011 to include five state legislatures. It continues to add ratings each year with a goal of covering all 50 state legislatures by 2016.[6]

    Board members[edit]

    Matthew Schlapp, current chairman of the ACU

    The Board of Directors of the American Conservative Union included the following individuals, as of June 2015:[7]

    Finances[edit]

    The following is a breakdown of the American Conservative Union's revenue and expenses for the 2011-2013 fiscal years:

    Annual revenue and expenses for American Conservative Union, 2011-2013
    Tax Year Total Revenue Total Expenses
    2013[8] $8,050,271 $7,985,208
    2012[9] $10,277,123 $10,694,076
    2011[9] $4,772,554 $4,339,397

    Related groups[edit]

    The American Conservative Union Foundation[edit]

    See also: American Conservative Union Foundation

    The American Conservative Union Foundation (ACUF) is the 501(c)(3) branch of the ACU. It is classified as an educational foundation. It was founded in 1973. According to the ACUF website, the foundation's mission is "to reach out and educate, influence and convert those who may not know they are conservatives as well as informing, inspiring and motivating those who know they are conservatives," and to "educate voters, office-holders and opinion leaders as to why conservative principles work better to solve problems, as well as to equip them to become better conservatives and effective problem-solvers."[10]

    Recent news[edit]

    The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms American Conservative Union. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

    American Conservative Union - Google News

    See also[edit]

    External links[edit]

    Footnotes[edit]

    1. ↑ American Conservative Union, "Who We Are," accessed June 10, 2015
    2. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    3. ↑ ACU, "History," accessed June 10, 2015
    4. ↑ ACU, "History," accessed June 10, 2015
    5. ↑ CPAC, "About," accessed June 11, 2015
    6. ↑ ACU, "ACU Ratings," accessed June 12, 2015
    7. ↑ ACU, "Board of Directors," accessed June 12, 2015
    8. ↑ GuideStar, "American Conservative Union IRS Form 990 (2013)," accessed June 12, 2015
    9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 GuideStar, "American Conservative Union IRS Form 990 (2012)," accessed June 12, 2015
    10. ↑ ACUF, "Our Mission," accessed June 10, 2015
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