Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship

Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship: Form 990

According to InfluenceWatch, Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship (CRS) was founded in 1999 as the REP Environmental Education Foundation, changing its name in 2012. CRS is the charitable arm of Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP), which has been doing business as ConservAmerica since 2012. Despite its name, Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship operates as an Environmental NGO in the states it engages in.

OVERVIEW

CRS uses its conservative moniker to lend bipartisan credence to coordinated advocacy efforts in support left-wing causes. Joe Dana, a reporter for NBC Phoenix affiliate NBC 12, has featured the group in his reporting and referred to them as a “politically conservative non-profit” despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Read here…

Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship does not disclose its funders. However, through publicly available data filed by other organizations, we were able to discover some of their largest donors. In 2023, Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship was almost exclusively funded by liberal NGOs, receiving 96% of its $260,424 gross revenue from left wing groups including dark money heavyweights like the United States Energy Foundation, Environmental Defense Fund and Western Conservation Foundation/Action.

FUNDING

Despite its name, Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship has advocated along side environmental NGOs in Arizona to restrict natural gas use in buildings, promote renewable energy subsidies and mandates and attack Republican Corporation Commissioners. While claiming to uphold conservative values, their advocacy frequently aligns more with radical environmentalism than with practical, market-based solutions. In doing so, they undermine economic growth and alienate the very constituency they claim to represent.