Arabella Advisors rebrands, shifts toxic dark-money operations to side entity

Arabella Advisors, the Washington, DC–based for-profit consulting firm that built and managed the Left’s most powerful dark-money network, has undergone a major restructuring that looks more like a strategic rebranding than a dismantling.

The move, announced Nov. 17 and now reverberating through political circles, coincides with new scrutiny over Arabella’s influence in Alaska, where millions in Outside money have shaped local policy for years.

The shift comes just as the American Accountability Foundation launched the Alaska Influence Pipeline, a first-of-its-kind transparency site that traces how progressive donor networks and Arabella-linked nonprofits have funneled more than $9 million into Alaska political campaigns, environmental activism, and election-system changes in recent years.

As of Nov. 21, the apparent change is Arabella’s sudden shift of its political arm to Sunflower Services, a newly formed public benefit corporation (B Corp), which the group says has acquired Arabella’s entire fiscal sponsorship and administrative services business, including staff, client relationships, and operational infrastructure.

The acquisition was financed by Arabella’s own clients: the New Venture Fund, Windward Fund, and Hopewell Fund — all 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofits formerly managed by Arabella. All of these groups have been highly active in reshaping the Alaska political landscape, in everything from local races in Assembly seats to statewide ballot initiatives and groups like the 907 Initiative.

Sunflower will now be the vehicle providing back-office functions such as HR, accounting, and compliance for these groups and a wide array of “social-impact” organizations.

Arabella CEO Himesh Bhise touted the deal as a “positive outcome,” describing it as continuity for staff and clients. Bhise will now lead the remnant of Arabella under a new name – “Vital Impact.” They will be focusing on traditional consulting rather than the lucrative fiscal-sponsorship operations that powered Arabella’s rise.

Allan Williams, previously Arabella’s senior vice president for partner solutions, has moved over to become the CEO of Sunflower Services.

What remains unclear is whether Arabella’s politically active 501(c)(4) entities, including the Sixteen Thirty Fund, North Fund, Impetus Fund, and others, will continue working with Sunflower or reposition themselves further away. Conservative watchdogs say the structure appears designed to deliberately separate the charitable side from openly political activity.

The restructuring did not occur in a vacuum.

It follows major donor pullbacks, most notably Bill Gates’ recent decision to end nearly $450 million in support to Arabella-administered organizations, citing the need to depoliticize the Gates Foundation’s giving.

Arabella, which routed more than $1.2 billion in revenue in 2023 alone, is a dominant force in progressive philanthropy and election infrastructure, so much so that there are mounting investigations into Arabella’s financial controls, donor transparency practices, and political operations. The network’s nonprofits have poured tens of millions into voter-registration drives, ballot initiatives, and anti-gerrymandering campaigns across key battleground states.

Just this week, House Oversight Chairman James Comer launched an investigation into the Sixteen Thirty Fund’s “Chorus Creator Incubator Program,” alleging the group uses secret contracts to pay influencers to amplify Democratic messaging in ways that evade election disclosure laws. Comer sent letters to Sixteen Thirty Fund President Amy Kurtz and new Sunflower CEO Allan Williams demanding records.

Conservatives argue that Arabella’s rebrand is a “shell game” to shed the now-radioactive Arabella name, while preserving the same national network under a new corporate wrapper.

Alaskans are now getting a clearer picture of Arabella’s influence in the state and why the network may be eager to distance itself from years of scrutiny.

Between 2020 and 2024, Arabella-linked entities pumped more than $9 million into Alaska-based or Alaska-targeted political campaigns and environmental initiatives. Much of the funding went toward:

• Opposition to resource development, including litigation, ballot measures, and campaign operations aimed at blocking roads, mines, oil projects, and infrastructure.

• Election-system changes, including the 2016 PFD-linked automatic voter-registration measure and later voting-reform campaigns.

• Labor and wage initiatives, such as the Sixteen Thirty Fund’s nearly $930,000 contribution to the 2024 ballot initiative raising minimum wages and mandating paid sick leave.

The Alaska Influence Pipeline’s research shows how national donor networks have bankrolled local-branded groups,  often with names suggesting broad public support, that were in fact seeded and controlled by Outside interests.

Among the findings:

• The Alaska Center, backed by the Sixteen Thirty Fund and others, pressured candidates on energy mandates and tax hikes.

• The Alaska Conservation Foundation received New Venture Fund support while opposing Ambler Road,  a project crucial to US mineral security.

• Progress Alaska, funded heavily by Arabella-linked donors, worked with the Alaska Venture Fund to oppose mining, oil development, and major transportation projects.

Other groups like SalmonState, 907 Initiative, and Alaskans for Posterity market themselves as homegrown, despite receiving millions from national mega-donors such as Jeff Bezos’ Earth Fund and big-ticket foundations headquartered thousands of miles away.

Arabella’s Alaska footprint runs deep.

Arabella-managed nonprofits have supported, directly or indirectly, many of Alaska’s most consequential political battles:

• “Stand for Salmon” (2018): New Venture Fund provided more than $263,000 in in-kind support to restrict development.

• Anchorage mayoral races: Sixteen Thirty Fund supported “Building a Stronger Anchorage,” the dark-money effort backing Forrest Dunbar.

• Constitutional convention (2022): NEA teamed with the Sixteen Thirty Fund to pour $1.4 million into opposition messaging.

• Minimum-wage ballot measure: Over $800,000 into the “Better Jobs for Alaska” campaign.

Even teachers’ unions have played a role — a new report from Defending Education found the NEA and AFT funneled more than $40 million into progressive advocacy networks, including Arabella-linked entities.

Is this a new era or just a shell game? Or is it a “Hydra” regenerating under a new name – one head severed, several more emerging.

The reality is that Sunflower Services now inherits the operational engine that allowed Arabella’s nonprofits to run hundreds of projects simultaneously across all 50 states. Meanwhile, Arabella’s politically sensitive operations become more insulated under the new name, Vital Impact.

The Alaska Influence Pipeline aims to do what no government agency, campaign watchdog, or media outlet has been willing to do: map the entire flow of Outside political money into the 49th State.

Its message is simple — if Alaskans don’t start paying attention, Outside donors will continue defining Alaska’s future.

And with Arabella’s network now reorganizing under new names, the challenge of following the money has only become more urgent.

Breaking: New watchdog initiative exposes dark-money network targeting Alaska