Guarding Against Pandemics
Guarding Against Pandemics PAC is an American political action committee based in Phoenix, Arizona.1)
It operates as a PAC under the name Guarding Against Pandemics Action, and as a non-profit organization under the shortened name Guarding Against Pandemics.2)
GAP was founded by Gabe Bankman-Fried, brother of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.3)
History
2022 election
2021 tax records for GAP reveal that the organization gave $100,000 to House Majority Forward. The group also gave $1 million to Voto Latino for the purpose of opposing California Governor Gavin Newsom's recall election.4)
GAP also paid around $690,000 to GMMB for advertising and production services, which the firm described as being for a “media buy.”
In April 2022, GAP purchased a townhouse in the Capitol Hill region of Washington, D.C. listed for over $3 million. The home was allegedly used for cocktail parties hosted by the nonprofit.5)
In November 2022, after the collapse of FTX and its associated companies and organizations, Gabe Bankman-Fried resigned from Guarding Against Pandemics.6)
Organization
GAP is a Carey committee, “a hybrid political action committee that is not affiliated with a candidate and has the ability to operate both as a traditional PAC, contributing funds to a candidate's committee, and as a super PAC, which makes independent expenditures.”7)
Funding
Sam Bankman-Fried is reported as having provided funds for the organization.8) Alameda Research also reportedly gave $5 million to GAP in 2022, though this is not disclosed on the latter's website.9)
Over $100,000 was moved between the non-profit and PAC arms of the organization during 2022.
| 2022 donors10) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Affiliation | Amount |
| Ashwin Acharya | Georgetown University | $5,000 |
| BFB PAC | - | $5,000 |
| Elizabeth Edwards-Appell | Preparing for Tomorrow | $5,000 |
| Evan Hubinger | - | $5,000 |
| Todor Markov | OpenAI | $5,000 |
| Eric Martin | Jump Operations | $5,000 |
| Maxwell Alejandro Frost for Congress | - | $1,000 |
| Sean McElwee | Data for Progress | $1,000 |
| Michael Sadowsky | OpenLabs | $5,000 |
| Anna Salamon | Center for Applied Rationality | $5,000 |
| Carl Shulman | - | $5,000 |
| William Stebbing | Ought | $5,000 |
| The Next 50 | - | $5,000 |
| Kevin Wei | Digital Ocean | $500 |
| Ethan Winter | Data for Progress | $500 |
Expenditures
| 2022 expenditures11) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Amount |
| ActBlue | $7,784 |
| Blue Dog PAC | $5,000 |
| Building Bridges PAC | $5,000 |
| Everyaction | $7,859 |
| Giddy Up PAC | $5,000 |
| Money Wheel | $13,000 |
| New Democrat Coalition | $5,000 |
| Peters for Michigan | $5,000 |
| Prestige Worldwide | $7,500 |
| Sunny Day Strategies | $35,084 |
| Henri Thunberg | $5,600 |
1)
Home. Guarding against Pandemics Action. Retrieved December 23, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20221223201305/https://www.againstpandemicsaction.org/
2)
Home. Guarding against Pandemics. Retrieved November 18, 2022, from https://archive.vn/l5L08
3)
Schleifer, T. (2022, November 11). The S.B.F. Pandemic. Puck. https://archive.vn/seYar
4)
, 9)
Schwartz, B. (2022, December 19). How former crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried and friends quietly donated to political groups and relatives. CNBC. https://web.archive.org/web/20221222201107/https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/19/how-ftx-founder-sbf-and-friends-quietly-donated-to-political-groups-and-relatives.html
5)
, 8)
Hart, J. (2022, November 27). PHOTOS: Inside the $3 million DC townhouse where FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s brother hosted parties for his COVID-19 nonprofit. Business Insider. https://web.archive.org/web/20221223201717/https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-multimillion-dollar-dc-townhouse-gabe-bankman-fried-nonprofit-photos-2022-11
6)
Dan Diamond [@ddiamond]. (2022, November 14). “Scoop: GABE BANKMAN-FRIED has stepped down as head of Guarding Against Pandemics, the advocacy organization bankrolled by brother SBF, per a person familiar. In statement, GAP says it is ‘proud’ of its contributions in pandemic prevention and ‘hopeful’ momentum will continue.” [Tweet]. Twitter. https://web.archive.org/web/20230321164041/https://twitter.com/ddiamond/status/1592261331847376896
7)
Academic Resources: Glossary. OpenSecrets. Retrieved December 23, 2022, from https://www.opensecrets.org/resources/learn/glossary.php#Carey+Committee
10)
Organizations Disclosing Donations to Guarding Against Pandemics PAC, 2022. OpenSecrets. Retrieved December 23, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20221223202555/https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/detail/2022?cmte=C00781229&tab=donors_all
11)
Expenditures by Guarding Against Pandemics PAC, 2022. (2022, December 23). OpenSecrets. https://archive.vn/2lkVs