Begun in 2003 with funding from philanthropists Herbert M. Sandler and Marion O. Sandler, it is a Washington, DC-based liberal think tank created and led by President and Chief Executive Officer John D. Podesta. In 2009 CAP’s Progressive Media project emerged as a major communications war room on behalf of Obama’s domestic and foreign policy agenda and CAP became a strong advocate for escalation in Afghanistan. Progressive Media is run through the Center for American Project Action Fund, the more political 501(c)4 arm of CAP. It coordinates closely with the Common Purpose Project, an effort to create message discipline among the pro-Obama organizations, with a direct tie to the White House. CAP has fired whistleblowers and retaliated against employees who reported harassment.
CAP is the parent organization of Campus Progress. The Center publishes a daily emailed Progress Report, described by the National Review to be “The most aggressive, most energetic opposition research in politics.” Many left-of-center donors gave millions to get CAP started, including donations from the following:
| Center for American Progress Donors | |
| $22,274,000 | Sandler Foundation |
| $3,000,000 | George Soros |
| $1,849,991 | Open Society Foundations (formerly Open Society Institute) |
| $3,000,000 | Marisla Foundation |
| $2,192,450 | New York Community Trust |
| $1,900,000 | Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation |
| $797,983 | Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation |
| $765,000 | Tides Foundation |
CAP also receives donations from the Rockefeller Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, Sea Change Foundation, Wyss Foundation, Glaser Progress Foundation, and Schwab Charitable Fund. Other notable donors to the Center for American Progress include companies like CVS, Facebook, Google, Goldman Sachs, Walmart, Apple, Blackstone, Citigroup, Samsung, Microsoft, and Ernst & Young, as well as defense contractors DRS Technologies and Northrop Grumman.
Source: https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/center-for-american-progress-cap/
