This week has seen its share of coverage on ACORN's apparent dissolution as a national organization. Politico's Ben Smith reported that ACORN was "in the process of dissolving its national structure, with state and local-chapters splitting off from the . . . group.…" It appears Smith got his scoop from New York's City Hall News who reported that ACORN's New York office has closed. On Monday, the answering machine at the office stated, "ACORN is not providing services in New York, but if you would like to receive information from local organizations with similar purposes, please leave your name, number and mailing address after the beep."
This is no cause for celebration. It appears that most of ACORN's New York apparatus is moving to the newly formed "New York Communities for Change (NYCC)," a soon to be 501(c)(4). All indications are that this organization is ACORN in everything but name. NYCC was "formed by prominent community activists and leaders in the progressive community who are committed to promoting social and economic justice." On specific activities, NRCC's statement notes the organization's "initial focus will be working to put an end to the foreclosure crisis facing so many New Yorkers, enforcing New York's wage and hour laws, preserving tenant rights and preventing devastating state and local budget cuts that would harm services for low-income families." Pajamas Media also reports that ACORN's New York office "handed its lease over to New York Communities for Change."
New York Communities for Change held a fundraiser yesterday at the home of the treasurer of the Working Families Organization and Working Families Party. The organizers of the fundraiser read like a who's who of the Working Families Party and former ACORN bigwigs. Another fundraiser is planned in March.
BigGovernment.com's Matthew Vadum
reports on a leaked email from Nathan Henderson-James, director of ACORN's online campaigns, confirming that ACORN's metamorphosis in New York to the NYCC is part of a nationwide strategy:
It is definitely true that over the next week or so we should see a dozen or more organizations launched on the state level by staff who used to work for ACORN and leaders who developed their skills as ACORN members. These are not just simple name changes, but reimaginings of how best to organize low and moderate income constitiuencies [sic] without any of the legal problems and funding issues dogging ACORN, not to mention the brand damage
And sure enough, this is exactly what's happening:
[I]n recent weeks, local ACORN—or Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now—offices in California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Washington and New York have been shuttered, with employees at different stages of re-launch around the country. In California, the remnants of ACORN have become the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment. In Massachusetts, they have become New England United for Justice.
In Arkansas, Little Rock's KHTV reports that two local offices rebranded to "Arkansas Community Organizations." The rest of the story reads similar to that of ACORN in New York and elsewhere. The state and local ACORN affiliates had trouble raising money, receiving government contracts and funding, and were generally hindered by the negative publicity surrounding the organization. National Review sums up the motivation behind the rebranding effort nicely: "The reason is money."
There's absolutely nothing novel about ACORN's approach. It's something that we've seen happen in corporate America time and time again. Remember ValuJet and the tragic plane crash in the Everglades? They're now AirTran. Remember Arthur Andersen from the Enron scandal? They're now Accenture. Blackwater? They now operate under the name Xe. Philip Morris? They're now Altria. (Please see Time's "Top 10 Worst Corporate Name Changes" for some others.) These organizations were all involved in varying degrees to scandals, controversies, crimes, etc., that prevented the corporation from remaining viable (or at the least would have made survival difficult). ACORN has now taken a page from this playbook.
For now, it looks like ACORN continues to exist, at least nominally, as a national organization. Their website is still up and on Monday an ACORN spokesman denied that the national organization had shut down and confirmed that Bertha Lewis was still the CEO. (However, for what it's worth, the toll-free number on their website is disconnected.)
Do you have news that ACORN's local chapters have rebranded in your area? If so, please let us know.