Profile: National Campaign Fund

National Campaign Fund

A still from the National Campaign Fund's anti-Obama Web site.

Click here to see ads funded by this organization on the Secret Money Project blog.

Founded in 2007, National Campaign Fund started out spending on mailings in support of GOP presidential candidates Arizona Sen. John McCain and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, while opposing Democratic presidential candidate New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. The political action committee raised $50,000 in the first three months of 2008 for those activities.

Since then, according to filings, it has concentrated on opposing Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and supporting McCain.

The group has a Web site devoted to attacking Obama — a project of Floyd Brown, who also wrote the anti-Bill Clinton book Slick Willie and founded Citizens United. Brown was also behind the infamous "Willie Horton ad" that attacked Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis in the 1988 race.

Brown's 501(c)4 organization, Policy Issues Institute, was inactive for the last few years until the fall of 2007, when it hired a fundraising firm.

It has an affilated 501(c)3 called the Reagan Legacy Foundation. An affiliated 527 called Citizens for a Safe and Prosperous America was also formed in late 2007. (See a list of funders for the second quarter of 2008).

Funders: Small donors for the PAC and 527; funders unknown for the 501(c)4.

Leadership: Floyd G. Brown, Bruce E. Hawkins, James V. Lacey, Tim Kelly, Michael Reagan. Read more about these leaders in The Secret Money Project's Who's Who Directory of Key Leaders of Independent Groups.

Will Evans is a reporter for the Center for Investigative Reporting, NPR's partner for the Secret Money Project.