What American Principles Project does

American Principles Project (APP) is a 501(c)(4) advocacy nonprofit founded in 2009 by Princeton professor Robert George and strategist Frank Cannon, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. The organization operates a three-entity structure: the parent 501(c)(4), APP PAC (its political action committee), and APP Foundation (a related 501(c)(3) research arm). APP describes itself as the only national pro-family organization primarily dedicated to direct electoral engagement, focusing on parental rights, protection of children's innocence, opposition to the "transgender agenda," and online child safety.

The core technical capability is APP PAC's voter-microtargeting infrastructure, which delivers paid political messaging over OTT video (YouTube TV, Hulu, Roku, Peacock) and SMS to a reported 5 million+ targeted families across five battleground states. The PAC claims 82.8 million completed ad views, 9 million SMS contacts, and an 88% ad-completion rate in the 2024 cycle — a meaningful paid-media footprint for a 1–10 person advocacy shop. APP Foundation produces research reports on gender medicine, cultural policy, and family issues, while the Terry Schilling Show podcast and earned-media placements extend reach.

APP is funded primarily through donations and recurring memberships (tiers from $25 to $250 monthly), event revenue (Father's Day Invitational gala tickets at $300–$750 per seat), and contributions from aligned donor-advised funds (notably approximately $2.66M from Fair Elections Fund between July 2024 and June 2025). Donations are split between tax-deductible (APP Foundation) and non-deductible (APP, APP PAC) buckets. Go-to-market is event- and election-driven rather than product-led: APP PAC monetizes political alignment into electoral outcomes in select races, rather than selling a commercial product or service.

Name

American Principles Project

Legal name

American Principles Project

Website

https://americanprinciplesproject.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

American Principles Project (APP) is a 501(c)(4) pro-family advocacy nonprofit (Arlington, VA) operating a political action committee that runs targeted digital and SMS campaigns in U.S. battleground states and a research foundation. It is funded by donations, memberships, and event revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Conservative Political Advocacy Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Political Organizations (813940)

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer Rights & Public Interest Advocacy (BPAGAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Policy, Research & Advocacy Organizations (Nonprofit) (BPAGADAN), Political & Advocacy Advertising (MPADAEAK)

Keywords

• Pro-family advocacy
• Political action committee
• Conservative policy research
• Voter mobilization campaigns
• Electoral campaign advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Membership: American Principles Project operates as a 501(c)(4) organization primarily funded through donations from supporters and members. The organization collects donations ranging from $25 to custom amounts, with monthly recurring donation options for members who gain access to exclusive content.
2. APP Foundation Tax-Deductible Donations: APP Foundation, founded in 2009 as a separate 501(c)(3) organization, accepts tax-deductible donations for research and educational purposes. Donation tiers include $25, $50, $100, and $250 options.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

American Principles Project is a 501(c)(4) national pro-family political advocacy organization that operates through two main arms: APP PAC runs electoral campaigns and targeted voter outreach to impose political costs on anti-family extremism, while APP Foundation produces policy research and educational content on family, gender, education, and cultural issues. The organization combines political campaigning, policy research, coalition advocacy, and media content to defend traditional family values in U.S. public policy.

Product overview

American Principles Project is a political advocacy organization (501(c)(4)) with two main operational arms: APP PAC, which conducts political campaigns and voter outreach targeting persuadable family voters through digital advertising and microtargeting, and APP Foundation, which produces research on family values issues. The organization also produces a podcast (Terry Schilling Show) and runs advocacy campaigns on issues including protecting children online, preserving women's sports, and ending child gender transitions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• American Principles Project (APP) The core 501(c)(4) national pro-family political advocacy organization that fights in the political arena to defend life, childhood innocence, and American values, operating as the only national pro-family organization primarily dedicated to direct engagement in the political arena.
• APP PAC The political action committee of American Principles Project that targets persuadable family voters in key races, employs microtargeting and digital advertising strategies across OTT platforms, and works to impose political consequences on anti-family extremism.
• APP Foundation The research and education arm of American Principles Project, founded in 2009 to produce rigorous research on family, gender, education, and American values issues, including reports on the transgender medical industry, Planned Parenthood, and cultural politics.
• Terry Schilling Show Podcast A podcast featuring candid conversations on faith, family, and politics hosted by APP President Terry Schilling, with episodes distributed on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
• Protecting Kids Online Campaign A campaign advocating for age verification requirements and legislation to protect children from online pornography and harmful content, supporting state and federal laws including the SCREEN Act and App Store Accountability Act.

Quantifiable outcome

• 91 million voter contacts with 88% ad completion rate in 2024 cycle
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Coalition of Pro-Family OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Coalition of over two-dozen prominent conservative organizations including Heritage Action, Family Research Council, VA Family Foundation, Concerned Women for America, Family Policy Alliance, CatholicVote, American Compass, and others signed coalition letter supporting the SAFE for Kids Act.
• American Principles Project FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009APP Foundation was founded in 2009 with a mission to tackle issues critical to protecting human dignity. APP and APP Foundation operate as related entities with shared mission but distinct organizational structures (501(c)(4) vs 501(c)(3)).
• APP PACcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAPP PAC is the political action committee of American Principles Project, employing strategy to impose political costs on anti-family extremism. The PAC conducts electoral campaigns, voter mobilization, and political advertising.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Heritage Foundation: One of the largest and most influential conservative policy and advocacy organizations in the U.S. Directly comparable to APP as a coalition partner (signed APP-led SAFE for Kids Act letter) and as a competitor for conservative donor dollars on overlapping family-values, parental-rights, and cultural-issue advocacy.
• Family Research Council: Prominent Christian conservative policy and lobbying organization focused on family, faith, and traditional values. Directly comparable mission to APP's pro-family advocacy, and identified as a core APP coalition partner on the SAFE for Kids Act.
• Concerned Women for America: Largest public-policy women's organization in the U.S., advocating for conservative family values. Closely aligned with APP on parental rights, women's sports, and anti-trans policy positions; an APP coalition partner.
• Focus on the Family: Major Christian conservative family-advocacy organization with broad cultural reach. Competes with APP for the same pro-family donor base and overlaps heavily on parental rights, childhood innocence, and online child-safety advocacy.
• Alliance Defending Freedom: Conservative Christian legal-advocacy organization that litigates on religious liberty, parental rights, and family-values issues. Comparable to APP on the legal/policy advocacy side of the same culture-war agenda.
• CatholicVote: Catholic-aligned civic and political organization that mobilizes voters around faith and family issues. Identified as an APP coalition partner on the SAFE for Kids Act and directly comparable as a values-driven electoral-advocacy outfit.
• Family Policy Alliance: State-based family-policy advocacy network connecting state affiliates to national conservative advocacy. Sits in the same pro-family coalition as APP and competes/collaborates on overlapping parental-rights and cultural-issue campaigns.
• Club for Growth: Conservative political action committee that runs aggressive electoral campaigns and voter-contact programs in primary and general elections. Directly comparable to APP PAC in PAC mechanics, electoral targeting, and battleground-state ad-buying strategy.

Broad incumbents

• Americans for Prosperity: Koch-network advocacy and political organization with substantially larger budget and broader economic-policy portfolio. Operates as both a coalition ally and a competitor for conservative donor attention and electoral influence.

Emerging players

• Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America: National pro-life advocacy organization that runs independent-expenditure campaigns targeting voters on life and family issues. Adjacent to APP in mission and methods — comparable digital ad-buying, voter-microtargeting, and electoral-engagement model, with a more focused single-issue identity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/approject
• Facebookfacebook.com/AmericanPrinciplesProject
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/american-principles-project

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about American Principles Project