A new consumer advocacy nonprofit project run by a Democratic strategist has emerged to take on companies such as payday lenders, for-profit colleges and other groups with outsize political influence, things he believes take advantage of middle-class Americans.
Allied Progress is the new organization, and it was founded by Karl Frisch, who is also its executive director.
The goal of Allied Progress, launched Wednesday, is “to hold accountable the powerful interests that all too often seek to silence or take advantage of hardworking American families,” Frisch says.
The nonprofit will create public awareness campaigns for a variety of issues, drawing attention to financial institutions and major banks that finance payday loans or pursue other predatory lending practices.
The organization is a 501(c)3 corporation and is funded by charities such as the New Venture Fund, as well as by grants and contributions from individuals.
The nonprofit will use digital and social media actions and feature a website with news and research related to its various campaigns to raise public awareness about institutions and individuals.
Frisch is also a syndicated columnist. In the past he has worked in election campaigns for both Democrats and Republicans and was the press secretary for Rep. Louise Slaughter, the powerful Democratic congresswoman from Rochester, N.Y.
Most recently he was with Media Matters for America, a media watchdog and fact-checking organization.
Frisch says he has a team of researchers and consultants to gather the information necessary to conduct the organization’s issue campaigns.
“It’s time to turn the tables on the insiders who facilitate and profit off the misery they inflict on others,” says Frisch. “We intend to shine a light on the powerful institutions” that affect people’s lives.