Executive Compensation at Americans For Prosperity

Americans For Prosperity (AFP) is a conservative political advocacy committee (PAC) founded in 2004. AFP is actually two organizations:  AFP, the social welfare organization and therefore a 501 (c) (4), and the Americans For Prosperity Foundation (AFPF), an “educational” organization, a 501 (c) (3).

Both organizations are tax-exempt non-profits with two major differences between them:  donations to AFP are not tax deductible while donations to AFPF are tax deductible; and, as a 501 (c) (4), AFP can engage in more lobbying (businesses and unions can donate unlimited amounts of funds) while AFPF, as a 501 (c) (3) can only engage in a limited amount of lobbying because the organization is considered an educational organization.

Both organizations operate out of the same address in Arlington, Virginia and appear to share employees. Although AFP reports on the IRS Form 990 (2016), they have zero employees, they also reported 15 employees were compensated more than $100,000 and that they spent $22.4 million on compensation-related expenses.  AFPF reported employing 1,126 employees who were compensated $12.3 million. Collectively, both organizations spent $33.7 million on compensation-related expenses for 1,126 employees, which equates to an average compensation of $30,000.

The most highly compensated employees are the same for both organizations with their compensation paid from both organizations. The 14 most highly compensated employees and their total compensation are listed as follows:

• $477,820:  Luke Hilgemann, CEO
• $432,251:  Tim Phillips, President
• $360,675:  Christopher Fink, COO
• $306,036:  Alex Guerreiro, VP, HR
• $289,703:  Brent Gardner, VP, Government Affairs
• $281,903:  Teresa Oelke, VP, State Operations
• $255,983:  Chase Downham, Regional Director
• $252,884:  Victor Bernson, Secretary, VP, and General Counsel
• $246,974:  Dustin Zvonek, Regional Director
• $235,418:  Mark Lucas, Regional Director
• $229,342:  Slade O’Brien, Grassroots, Leadership A
• $227,787:  John Pike, VP, Technology
• $218,458:  Sean Lansing, COO
• $216,592:  Philip Joffrion, Regional Director

Collectively, the above 14 employees (93%) listed above were compensated $4 million. 13 of the 14 most highly compensated employees are male while 1 (7%) is a female.

It is also important to note both organizations report paying for first class or charter travel.

To read the IRS Form 990 (2016) for AFP, click here.

To read the IRS Form 990 (2016) for AFPF, click here.