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Three Republican former school board members formed Moms for Liberty in Brevard County, Florida, in January 2021. It is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, a designation used by many social welfare organizations that allows them to engage in political activities. 

Moms for Liberty quickly gained nationwide attention with the help of Fox News and other conservative media organizations. 

The group initially focused on opposing COVID-19 restrictions in schools. It later shifted its attention to banning books and opposing school curricula that teach about racism in U.S. history, LGBTQ issues, sexuality and other topics. 

In 2022, the group said it had nearly 100,000 members nationally, with about 200 chapters in at least 37 states. 

Moms for Liberty is especially prominent in Pennsylvania, where it has 27 chapters. That’s second only to Florida.

RELATED COVERAGE: How Moms for Liberty is shaping Warwick school board races

Some details about the group’s funding and structure are unclear. The Moms for Liberty national organization did not respond to requests for more information.

Tax documents show that in 2021 the group had about $207,000 in its coffers after spending about $164,000 on events and staffing.

These numbers are now likely much higher, said Alyssa Bowen at True North Research, a progressive group that tracks what she calls “dark money” in politics – referring to political spending that’s not easily traceable to a specific donor or donor organization. She noted that conservative groups such as the Heritage Foundation and the Leadership Institute made large contributions to Moms for Liberty at a gala in 2022.

School board candidates in Florida endorsed by Moms for Liberty have received campaign donations from a political action committee tied to Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Florida Republicans, Bowen said.

The group’s chapter leaders work closely with the national organization. Bowen said the group is often behind what may initially appear to be local efforts to monitor books in schools. That’s why the use of language like “groomers” and descriptions of books containing sexual content as “pornography” is so consistent from state to state. 

“Most people don’t realize where these talking points are coming from, and they’re distributed around the country, and I think most moms don’t realize they’re part of this really well-funded, coordinated effort from the top down to dismantle public education,” Bowen said. 

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