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controlling the democrat party

friday, may 16th, 2025

While Democrats prepared for November’s election, which they lost by a landslide, they began wondering whether it was a good idea for a private firm to control their entire voter database, according to The New York Times.

[FULL TITLE: "Meet The Wealthy Private Firms Controlling The Democrat Party"]

The multinational private equity firm Apax Partners acquired the parent company of NGP VAN — the Democrat Party’s comprehensive voter database — in 2021 and subsequently placed it under subsidiary Bonterra. Just before that, in 2020, a subsidiary of the Financial Investment Corporation had purchased majority ownership of the infamous Arabella Advisors — which controls the American left’s dark money empire. In doing so, Financial Investment Corporation and Apax Partners gained a chokehold on the Democrat Party.

“They’ve seen the houses that the grifters can buy, and they realize how much money there is in lefty political organizing,” Parker Thayer, an investigative researcher at the Capital Research Center, told The Federalist. “This is an enormous industry, a multibillion-dollar-per-year industry. So, of course, private equity is going to come in and try to get a piece of it.”

If these companies hypothetically wanted to secure policies to boost their incomes, Thayer said, they could simply pull the rug out from under Democrats ahead of an election.

“The Democrats are absolutely, completely reliant on that stuff,” Thayer said. “If they wanted to, they could make all kinds of bets on oil companies, and then sabotage the Democrats right before midterms.”

Capturing Left-Wing Infrastructure

“If it’s not in VAN, it doesn’t exist” — or so the saying goes among Democrat operatives, according to The New York Times.

The phrase refers to NGP VAN, which “contains billions of records amounting to nearly every piece of information the party has collected about tens of millions of Americans,” according to the Times. This is used by “[v]irtually every Democratic-aligned campaign or group” to “persuade, organize or mobilize voters.”

Apax is a massive, London-headquartered firm that has directed more than $77 billion in funds. In 2021, it acquired NGP VAN’s parent company EveryAction to “be combined” with Social Solutions and CyberGrants. Apax merged these companies, along with the Network for Good, to launch Bonterra, according to its website.

“A British private equity firm being one of the most powerful forces in American politics — something seems wrong with that,” Thayer said.

Early last year, Democrat officials began to internally question Bonterra’s control over NGP VAN, according to the Times, due to layoffs and slower service. They began discussing their nuclear option — a built-in backdoor to capture the party’s data from NGP VAN and move it to another platform. Democrat officials ultimately decided against this out of fear it would “backfire,” and continued allowing Bonterra to control their comprehensive voting database.

Bonterra refers to itself as “the second-largest social good software company in the world.” Bonterra supports 650,000 nonprofits and more than “38 million donors and volunteers,” according to Apax.

Bonterra oversees NGP VAN’s parent organization, EveryAction, a left-wing “fundraising and engagement” service. Mobilize America (which was used to help organize the recent anti-Tesla and “Hands Off” protests) and Action Kit (which helps leftists “supercharge … online organizing, advocacy and fundraising”) joined Bonterra in 2022 as part of NGP VAN. Bonterra is “trusted by leading organizations” including Pfizer (the manufacturer of a widely used Covid-19 vaccine), the NAACP, and Target, according to its website.

“[Bonterra] owns more than 50 percent of the left’s get-out-the-vote, canvassing, text messaging, and calling infrastructure,” Thayer said. “Conceivably, Elon Musk could just show up and buy it and delete NGP VAN. … They have the nuclear option, so they could probably save NGP VAN, but all the rest of the stuff — he could just get rid of it.”

Apax’s creation of Bonterra “[t]ies closely with Apax’s long-standing focus on ESG [environmental, social, and governance],” according to its website. An Apax representative declined to comment on the record. And while The Federalist reached out multiple times, Bonterra did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.

According to OpenSecrets, individuals affiliated with Apax Partners have donated more than $95,200 to the DNC Services Corp., more than $45,000 to ActBlue, and $25,000 to “Democratic municipal officials.”

Daniel O’Keefe was a founder and managing partner of Apax Digital — the “growth equity arm of Apax” — from 2016 to 2023. According to Open Secrets, he has given nearly $200,000 to Democrats since 2018.

Buying a Dark Money Empire

Before Apax acquired NGP VAN, Concentric Equity Partners — a subsidiary of the Chicago-based Financial Investments Corporation — had acquired majority ownership of the enormous, left-wing dark money network Arabella Advisors in 2020.

Jennifer Steans, president and CEO of the Financial Investments Corporation, is listed as the “single beneficial owner” of Arabella Advisors LLC, according to Influence Watch. Steans is also chair of Arabella’s board. American Banker named Steans among the “25 Most Powerful Women In Finance” in 2013, and she has given at least $226,000 to Democrats since the 1990s.

Steans’ company, the Financial Investments Corporation, “manages investment commitments of well over $2 billion,” and its subsidiary Concentric Equity Partners is among the “beneficial owners” of Arabella Advisors Holdings, LLC. Concentric Equity Partners “held a majority stake in Arabella” as of January 2023, according to Georgetown University.

Concentric Equity Partners “invested” in Arabella Advisors five years ago because it is a “well-established firm that provides operational and strategic support to philanthropic clients,” an Arabella Advisors representative told The Federalist.

“Arabella is not a political organization. We do not make grants, accept donations, or engage in advocacy or electoral activity. Instead, we offer professional services to a wide range of clients working on diverse issues across the nonprofit sector,” the representative said, claiming the group does “not engage in political activity.”

The Federalist asked if Concentric Equity Partners still owns a majority stake of Arabella, but did not hear back in time for publication.

Arabella became infamous for channeling billions through nonprofits and “pop-up” groups across America to advance leftist causes. The group has five branches: the New Venture Fund, the Hopewell Fund, the Windward Fund, the Sixteen Thirty Fund, and the North Fund. These branches incubate and support smaller groups, which move funding and organize volunteers to accomplish the aims of their anonymous donors.

In 2020, the New Venture Fund gave $24.8 million to the Center for Tech and Civic Life, which funneled $350 million in “Zuckbucks” from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to boost Democrat turnout in the presidential election. And from 2020 to 2021, the New Venture Fund also gave $675,000 to the other “Zuckbucks” group, the leftist Center for Election Innovation and Research. But Arabella’s influence goes far beyond elections. Its branches have given vast sums to support drug legalization, climate legislation, and abortion across the globe.

The largest donor to the Arabella groups is the Gates Foundation, which gave $456 million between 2008 and 2022, according to the Capital Research Center. The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation gave Arabella-affiliated groups close to $28 million in 2020, and the Rockefeller Foundation gave them a total of $15 million, as The Federalist previously reported. The Wyss Foundation — of the Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, who earned the nickname the “new George Soros” — helped start an Arabella project to shape pro-Democrat media coverage.

Arabella fired its CEO and laid off 10 percent of its employees in 2023, as The Washington Free Beacon reported at the time. The same year, Bonterra laid off 350 employees. According to Thayer, Democrats are growing uncertain about private firms’ growing hold on the party.

“They’re worried about this,” Thayer said. “It testifies to how much money there is in lefty politics — how much dark money, how much PAC money, how much nonprofit money.”

A Day In The Life.

Up at just after 10a(!) on Friday, a very cool, 49°F morning, I upped the heat to 75°, made coffee and an English Muffin, with Kerrygold Irish Butter and Philly Cream Cheese for breakfast, took a 250mg Bayer "Body & Back" Aspirin for various Sciatica and Neuropathy pains, fired-up the Win-7 Pentium HP Desktop to let 32 million lines of code load, and had a couple smokes in the garage. Today and next week are clear, so Sherry will be here by around 1p today, and we can enjoy the beautiful (IMO) rainy day together.

I scanned the weather maps and news headlines, had a quick breakfast, got ready for the day and Sherry arrived around 1p. We had a wonderful 5+ hours together, despite the very cool and rainy weather. She had to leave at 6;30, as another dark storm appeared on the western horizon. We made plan to get to the New Eastern Farmer's Market, Springettsbury Twp Park and other places, in the coming weeks and months. I truly look forward to going anywhere with her.

I made some dinner, watched the evening news, and switched to Discovery's "Gold Rush: White Water" and alternated with History's "unXplained Mysteries" until 11:30, and unplugged.

Up at 8a on Saturday, I made coffee, fired-up the HP Desktop, scanned the news and weather, and checked my desk calendar for the weekend's activity. Sis stopped by at 1p, and we drove top Mt Rose Cemetery, to check the Spring LSCP maintenance clean-up, done by River Rock Landscaping, re-evaluate the Flag Memorial proposed project, and review the Chapel of Memories power-washing details. Sis left after we got back, and I started to feel sick, so I drank copious amounts of water, and laid down on the LR couch.

I had a bad fall in the garage when unplugging the Jeep Wall Sign, bent over but stood up too fast, fell backward and was pinned between the wall and the Jeep. It took 30+ minutes to wiggle out of that tight spot and get back on my feet. I injured my right side ribs, left buttock and both knees. I finally made it upstairs around 2-2:30a, for some sleep.

Up at 9a on Sunday, a sunny, high overcast, low humidity, 74° morning, Beautiful day ahead. I was feeling even sicker than last night. I kept throwing-up the morning Rx pills, coffee, OJ, so I avoided all food, just drank water and rested. 99.3° temperature, and lots of pain. I was shaky from the fever, and the pain was worse than last night. I skipped shaving and a shower, for the day, and rested on the LR couch. I did manage to get the laundry done, and garbage/recyclables to the curb, but didn't eat all day; just snacked a little, took aspirin and rested. I called Sherry, watched the evening news, fell asleep again, went up early and got some sleep.

Up at 9a on Monday, a sunny, 67°, high clouds, with rain coming for the next 5-6 days. We can use the rain, so no complaints. I made coffee, had a smoke in the now-open garage and tuned into the "CP Show LIVE" for a couple hours. I still have lots of pain in 3 major areas: L/S buttock, R/S ribs and both knees. After getting ready for the day, I left at 1p for my usual trip for points south of York, with only 2 quick stops.

Back by 2:15p, as the lawn care mower company was finishing-up, I unloaded the Jeep, had a cheeseburger and large fries from Mickey-Ds for lunch, went thru the mail, checked the news and weather, and had a 2hr nap. I'm going to have to quickly shop for a new pharmacy, due to Rite Aid's bankruptcy announcement, months ago, and the updates I'm reading in local news websites. The massive rain storms moved up the coast, and hit the York are mid-evening. I watched the evening, as I ate some dinner, and kept taking Tramadol 50mg to get thru the ribs/shoulder/buttock pain. By 11:30p, I was fading and unplugged. Cleaning lady is in tomorrow at 8:30a.

Up very early at 5:30a -- still 0 DARK THIRTY -- it was still raining and temps had dropped 10-15°, to 63°, and the humidity was up, SOP with the rain. I made coffee, had a couple smokes in the garage, had some breakfast, tuned into the "CS Show LIVE", and JoAnne arrived at 8:30. A ***FLOOD WATCH*** was posted, due to the slow-moving, MASSIVE t-storms moving up the coast. Glad I live on a hill. In my 35yrs here, we've never had any problem.

I quit flying both commercial and private -- dumped my visual rating pilot's license --in 1986, after TWA 800 was shot down over Long Island, and this is one of the "10 Reasons Why" I don't fly anymore.

JoAnne got to work, I finished-up some computer work, and hit the LR couch for a short 1hr nap. The heavy rain continued, with the seriously heavy rain moving north, missing our area, but severely impacting the area west of York, toward Pittsburgh. And Maryland got hammered with floods, too. I made dinner, watched the news, and switched to History's "Curse of Oak Island" until 11:30p. I have a mid-morning 2-yr registration/service app't at the Jeep dealer down in Red Lion. Lights out.

Up just before 6a on Wednesday, a cloudy/overcast, rainy, chilly 59° morning. I upped the heat a few degrees, made coffee, skipped breakfast, tuned into the "CS Show LIVE", and scanned the weather and news headlines. I'll be leaving at 9:30 for Thornton Jeep to get my vehicle's inspection/registration done, at 10a. After getting thru all the morning prep, I left at 9:30, for Red Lion.

(H/T Sherry)

The emissions inspection went fine, my 2025-2027 registration is now valid w/ online completed inspection paperwork, and I was back home by 11:30. After lunch, I did some computer work on the Mt Rose Cemetery Estimate, and tuned into History's "American Pickers" until 6p, when the evening news came on FNC, then back to "Pickers" until 12 midnight. Lights out.

Up at 8:15a on Thursday, a rainy, overcast, foggy, 63° morning, I made coffee, turned-off the AC, fired-up the ol' HP Desktop, scanned the weather and news, and tuned into the last portion of the "CS Show LIVE", and then over to the "CP Show LIVE" (sub-hosted today). Flood warnings posted for Western York County, where rain was the heaviest, but we're OK here in South-Central. We appreciate the rain.

Sis stopped by about 1:30p, and we worked on a proposal/estimate for 2 new projects at Mt Rose Cemetery, for a sub-contractor, and emailed it to him, so I could finalize it and put it into final corporate form, and we might get the [projects done in the Fall. She left after a nice visit, and an hour, and I did some local errands. The rain stopped, skies cleared, I opened the Jeeps large, panoramic sunroof, and drove around in the fresh, clean air. Back home by 5p, I had some dinner, watched the news and switched to History's "Ancient Aliens" and then to TWC's "Tornado Alley", and then unplugged.