Suzanne Downing: Watchdog calls on IRS to investigate New Venture Fund and SalmonState

By SUZANNE DOWNING

July 15, 2026 – In an election year where outside progressives are desperately trying to buy Alaska’s U.S. Senate seat, a conservative watchdog group has dropped a bombshell. The American Accountability Foundation has filed a formal complaint with the IRS, demanding a full investigation into the left-wing dark money behemoth, New Venture Fund, and its Alaska-based offshoots, SalmonState and Alaska Venture Fund.

For years, NVF has allowed these groups to operate as de facto independent organizations under its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt cover, effectively shielding them from necessary financial scrutiny.

According to reporting from the DC Journal, a site that has faced odd Cloudflare security blocks while trying to get this news out – AAF President Thomas Jones points out that neither the public nor the IRS can properly examine SalmonState’s or AVF’s budgets, compensation, or programmatic spending.

Take SalmonState, for instance. Founded in 2015, the State of Alaska actually dissolved SalmonState’s domestic nonprofit corporation back in March 2018. Yet they continue to rake in cash, conduct sophisticated multi-year advocacy campaigns to block Alaskan resource development, and operate with zero independent financial transparency, all while quietly using NVF’s federal tax status. AVF, created in 2021, plays the exact same game – maintaining its own leadership and fundraising while hiding under the NVF fiscal sponsorship umbrella.

You can read the full AAF IRS complaint here.

This isn’t NVF’s first time playing fast and loose with tax law. They previously controlled a mail-in ballot advocate group called Secure Democracy, which was accused of political meddling during the 2020 election before NVF hastily cut ties. Now, AAF alleges NVF is using its Alaska projects to illegally fund political advocacy under the guise of charitable education.

This IRS complaint perfectly illustrates the broader left-wing influence pipeline flowing into Alaska just in time for a pivotal Senate race. Democrat “Maybe Mary” Peltola recently announced a staggering $8.9 million fundraising haul for the first quarter of 2026. The lion’s share of this money didn’t come from everyday Alaskans. It poured in from the Lower 48 through the ActBlue giving platform and progressive conduits like Emily’s List. In fact, Peltola spent nearly $1.4 million on digital fundraising alone to build that massive war chest.

Meanwhile, the real Sen. Dan Sullivan raised a respectable $2.1 million (adding to his $7.5 million on hand), with a far greater share of his total cash coming from actual Alaskans. But Senator Sullivan isn’t just facing Peltola; he is battling the entire Lower 48 progressive machine.

Dark money groups tied directly to this NVF network are actively attempting to manipulate Alaska’s voters. The Western Futures Fund, the funding vehicle behind the Anchorage-based 907 Initiative, saw its revenue skyrocket to $8.7 million recently, bolstered by a massive $2 million injection from the Sixteen Thirty Fund – another progressive heavyweight. What is the 907 Initiative doing with all that cash? Launching aggressive ad campaigns and plastering Anchorage with signs attacking Sullivan as “Yes-Man Dan.”

The strategy is clear: funnel millions through tax-exempt, Lower 48 fiscal sponsors like the New Venture Fund, shield the true donors from the public, and unleash a torrent of cash to dictate Alaska’s energy future and elections.

It’s the ultimate progressive poison pill. The IRS needs to step up, do its job, and thoroughly investigate New Venture Fund’s blatant political maneuvering in the 49th State. Alaskans deserve to know exactly who is funding the radical agendas trying to hijack our home.

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