¶ JD Vance And His Disastrous Nonprofit, Our Ohio Renewal
Highlights:
- In 2017, JD Vance started Our Ohio Renewal, a nonprofit that, in his words, was founded “to combat Ohio’s opioid epidemic.”
- Our Ohio Renewal employed Dr. Sally Satel as a visiting scholar and expert in addiction treatment.
- Dr. Satel had extensive ties to the American Enterprise Institute, which had been given hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from Purdue Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of OxyContin.
- JD Vance was hired as a visiting scholar by the American Enterprise Institute after Our Ohio Renewal hired Dr. Satel.
- Dr. Satel argued that prescription medications did not turn people into addicts.
- Dr. Satel cited Purdue Pharmaceutical studies in her nationally published articles that argued opiate manufacturers were not responsible for causing addiction.
- Dr. Satel shared drafts of her articles with Purdue Pharmaceuticals before they went to print
- Dr. Satel authored an article that celebrated opioid manufactures prevailing in the Oklahoma Supreme Court over individual plaintiffs who sought monetary damages and attempted to hold them responsible for the opioid epidemic in court.
- Dr. Satel went on to argue that similar states should follow the Oklahoma Supreme Court precedent and restrict individuals’ ability to hold opioid manufacturers responsible in court..
- Dr. Satel had extensive ties to the American Enterprise Institute, which had been given hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from Purdue Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of OxyContin.
- JD Vance’s Our Ohio Renewal featured very little tangible work done to combat the opioid epidemic in Ohio.
- Our Ohio Renewal spent over 95% of its revenue in 2017, the only year in which there was more than $50,000 in revenue, on staff salaries and overhead.
- 0% of 2017 revenue was spent on grants or charitable activities.
- Our Ohio Renewal was staffed by Vance’s friends from law school.
- In 2017, the executive director, Jay Chabria, Vance’s top political advisor, was paid $13,000 more than the nonprofit spent on total services.
- Tim Ryan, Vance’s 2022 Senate opponent, accused Vance of commissioning a study through Our Ohio Renewal that was tantamount to a personal political poll.
- Our Ohio Renewal did commission a $45,000 study, which was never published.
- Our Ohio Renewal became largely defunct by 2018 and was officially out of operation by 2022.
- The IRS 990 forms for 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 show that Our Ohio Renewal had less than $50,000 in annual revenue.
- In 2019, Vance refused to concede that Our Ohio Renewal was defunct.
- The IRS 990 forms for 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 show that Our Ohio Renewal had less than $50,000 in annual revenue.
- Our Ohio Renewal has been described by various media outlets, nonprofit professionals, and Ohio residents as an abject failure.
- Vance was accused by a nonprofit expert, Doug White, the former director of Columbia University’s Fundraising Management program, of establishing Our Ohio Renewal for his own personal and political gain.
- In 2021, The Ohio Opioid Education Alliance, Ohio’s largest anti-opioid coalition, stated they had never heard of Our Ohio Renewal.
- Vance was accused by a nonprofit expert, Doug White, the former director of Columbia University’s Fundraising Management program, of establishing Our Ohio Renewal for his own personal and political gain.
¶ Vance Started Our Ohio Renewal With The Stated Goal Of Combatting The Opioid Epidemic In Ohio
¶ Vance Established Our Ohio Renewal To Combat The Opioid Epidemic In Ohio
Vance Started An Ohio-Based Nonprofit Called Our Ohio Renewal. According to Columbus Monthly, “Vance plans to travel around the state to better understand the issues facing poor Ohioans. ‘I'm trying to approach this with humility,’ said Vance, who's formed a nonprofit called Our Ohio Renewal with Jai Chabria, a former top advisor for Gov. John Kasich. ‘These are problems that people who are pretty smart have been trying to work on for a while. I'm at the stage of trying to understand what it is they've done, and where they've seen opportunities to make things better.’” [Columbus Monthly, 1/18/17]
¶ Vance Said Our Ohio Renewal Would Focus On Opioids
Vance Said The Nonprofit Would Focus On Opioids And Other Issues Important To Him. According to NPR, “JD VANCE: ‘[Laughter] Well, first of all, I've always wanted to go back to Ohio ever since I left when I was 18 or 19 to join the military. So it's always been this thing in the back of my mind. And the success of the book has given me the flexibility, but also I think the platform to talk about some of the issues that are most important to me. And so what I'm going to do is start a small nonprofit that's going to focus on a couple of issues that are a special concern to me and I think will be pretty familiar to those who've read the book.’ AILSA CHANG: ‘I know that opioid addiction is one of the major issues you'll be focusing on, right?” J D VANCE: ‘Yeah, that's absolutely right. It's actually pretty astonishing, but Ohio apparently led the nation in drug overdose deaths last year. And that's obviously a pretty significant cause for concern. So it's a real significant concern among the demographic I wrote about in the book. It's obviously very personally important to me and it's something my family has struggled with and dealt with. And I felt, you know, frankly a little bit of responsibility now that I've been given this platform by the success of the book to go and try to do at least a little something to help out.’” [NPR, 12/25/16]
Vance Said That The Purpose Of Our Ohio Renewal Would Be “To Combat Ohio’s Opioid Epidemic.” According to an op-ed by J.D. Vance published in the New York Times, “But there were practical reasons to move: I’m founding an organization to combat Ohio’s opioid epidemic. We chose Columbus because I travel a lot, and I need to be centrally located in the state and close to an airport. And the truth is that not every motivation is rational: Part of me loves Ohio simply because it’s home.” [JD Vance, Op-Ed – New York Times, 3/16/17]
¶ Vance Said, “Our Ohio Renewal” Would Also Focus On “Helping The Disadvantaged Youth Through Public-Private Partnerships”
MTSU News: Our Ohio Renewal Was “Dedicated To Helping Disadvantaged Youth Through Public-Private Partnerships.” According to MTSU News, “Vance, a venture capitalist by profession, earned his bachelor's degree from Ohio State University and his law degree from Yale University. He is the founder of Our Ohio Renewal, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping disadvantaged youth through public-private partnerships.” [MTSU News, 8/27/17]
¶ Vance Said He Had “A Responsibility To Try To Help” His State During The Opioid Crisis And Said Running His Nonprofit Would Be “Valuable, If Not More Valuable, Than Running For Office”
2017: Vance: “I Think Running A Small Nonprofit To Work On The Opioid Crisis And Bring Interesting New Businesses To The So-Called Rust Belt — All Of These Things Are Valuable, If Not More Valuable, Than Running For Office.” According to Business Insider, “In 2017, Vance left Mithril to join Revolution, Stephen Case's VC firm in Washington, DC. The two men met via Twitter, where they exchanged direct messages ahead of the 2016 election. After Trump won, they shared a drink at what Vance called a "fancy hotel" in Washington. The pair found common ground in their missions to better the country by investing outside tech hotspots, in states such as South Carolina and Kentucky. At the time, he was looking to help his home state through his nascent nonprofit, Our Ohio Renewal. ‘I'm not going to say that I'm never going to run,’ he said. But he made clear what he thought of politics. ‘I think running a small nonprofit to work on the opioid crisis and bring interesting new businesses to the so-called Rust Belt — all of these things are valuable, if not more valuable, than running for office.’” [Business Insider, 8/29/21]
Vance On The Mission Of His Opioid Abuse Nonprofit: “I Just Think Those Of Us Who Think We Have Something To Offer Have A Responsibility To Try To Help.” According to Business Insider, “Battling opioids was clearly a worthy cause in Vance's home state: According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control, Ohio has the nation's fourth-largest number of opioid-involved overdose deaths. ‘I just think those of us who think we have something to offer have a responsibility to try to help,’ Vance said at the time.” [Business Insider, 8/29/21]
¶ Vance Said His Number One Goal Was To See Fewer People Addicted To And Die From Opiates
Vance: “My No. 1 Goal Is That I Would Like To See Fewer People Getting Addicted To And Dying From Opiates.” According to the Lantern, “‘My No. 1 goal is that I would like to see fewer people getting addicted to and dying from opiates,’ Vance said. ‘This is not a one- or two-year project. This is going to be a long-term thing … I see in five years looking back, are fewer people dying from it? Are fewer people getting addicted to this stuff?’” [Lantern, 4/17/17]
¶ Vance Said Our Ohio Renewal’s Goal Was To Go From Problem-Oriented Thinking To Solution Based-Ideas
Vance Characterized Our Ohio Renewal’s Goal As Transitioning “From Talking About Problems To Solutions.” According to the Blade, “Mr. Vance said in a recent interview with The Blade that he is organizing a group called Our Ohio Renewal to tackle Ohio problems such as heroin addiction and family breakdown. The goal, he said: ‘to transition from talking about problems to solutions.’ Mr. Vance's memoir about his life in rural Ohio and eastern Kentucky provided insight into wealthy New York businessman Donald Trump's appeal to the struggling white working class. ‘We're still identifying the things that we want to work on,’ Mr. Vance said. ‘We have some money. The book gives me access to a lot of folks who are interested in philanthropy.’” [Blade, 4/22/17]
2017: Vance Said The Nonprofit “Will Make Some Headway In Addressing The Opioid Crisis Which Affects A Lot Of The Problems I Talk About, Is Driven By A Lot Of The Problems I Talk About.” According to the Western Free Press, “The other thing I started is a nonprofit organization called 'Our Ohio Renewal.' You can go and follow it online, [… The basic thesis of that is we've got to solve some of these problems locally, at the state and local level. Hopefully that nonprofit organization will make some headway in addressing the opioid crisis which affects a lot of the problems I talk about, is driven by a lot of the problems I talk about. I think if we don't figure out this particular drug epidemic, then it's going to be really tough to restabilize some of these families and some of these kids.” [Western Free Press, 7/21/17]
¶ Vance Said He Hoped Our Ohio Renewal Would Be Able To Cut Through Partisanship
Vance Extolled Our Ohio Renewal’s Mission In A 2017 Profile, Saying He Hoped It Would Be Able To Cut Through Partisanship. According to the Columbus Monthly, “Vance hopes that his work at Our Ohio Renewal can cut through partisanship. He worried that hiring political strategist Jai Chabria, who was known as Kasich's top adviser for two decades, would color the project in the eyes of the public. ‘My concern with Jai was, 'Oh, Republican, John Kasich adviser, immediately you're tagged as a Republican and half the country hates you.’ But he says that hasn't been his experience. ‘If anything, I feel a little bit more confident that Americans are pretty insightful and pretty nuanced in how they think about these issues,’ he says. Bringing some political balance to the leadership of Our Ohio Renewal is Vance's law school friend Jamil Jivani. A biracial Canadian citizen who grew up in a poor immigrant neighborhood in Toronto and identifies as a progressive, Jivani worked as a community organizer after law school.” [Columbus Monthly, November 2017]
¶ Vance Had Many Different Areas Of Target For A Nonprofit Before He Started Our Ohio Renewal
Vance Said He Wanted To Start A Non-Profit Dedicated To Education Issues. According to the Columbus Dispatch, “The 32-year-old plans to bring his insights home to Ohio to create an education-oriented, nonprofit organization. ‘I'm looking for opportunities to contribute and get some traction on the issues I talk about in the book and the issues I care about,’ he said in an interview. ‘I went to Ohio State and really love central Ohio.’” [Columbus Dispatch, 11/13/16]
Vance Said He Wanted To Focus On Promoting Vocational Education. According to the Columbus Business First, “Ohio native J.D. Vance had an unexpected hit this year when he captured the election-season zeitgeist with his book Hillbilly Elegy. Now The Washington Post reports the 32-year-old author is looking to capitalize on his newfound fame and make a difference by returning to Ohio to advocate for changes, including potentially running for political office. ‘The book has given me a platform I frankly didn't expect to have,’ he told the paper. ‘The plan is to go all-in on Ohio. One of the things that concerns me is that so few people who go and get an education elsewhere ... feel any real ... pull for returning home.’ Vance, now working for an investment fund in California, said his initial focus will be helping battle the opioid crisis and promoting vocational education. ‘At this stage, the thing I want to do the most is to go around the state and learn about what's actually going on,’ he said. ‘I'm not one of these people who thinks I know all the answers. The first thing I want to get a sense of is what's actually been tried on the ground already.’” [Columbus Business First, 12/22/16]
Vance Also Said He Wanted To Target Upward Mobility Opportunities For Families In The Lower End Of The Economy. According to the Associated Press, “Vance, who has been working with public relations strategist Jai Chabria, who was a longtime adviser to Ohio Gov. John Kasich, is forming a nonprofit called Our Ohio Renewal and will relocate with his wife from San Francisco to either Cincinnati or Columbus, where he earned his undergraduate degree at Ohio State University. He has spoken at Ohio State and Miami University, near Middletown, in recent weeks and has other speaking engagements lined up that he said will help him learn more as he plans an effort that's' ‘very, very early’ in development. Among the issues he wants to target are the needs for more upward mobility opportunities for families in the lower end of the economy, what he calls rebuilding ‘the broken pipeline to the middle class,’ and the opioid epidemic that has hit his home state particularly hard.” [Associated Press, 12/24/16]
¶ Vance’s Nonprofit Hired A Doctor With Ties To Big Pharma Who Parroted Dubious Claims About Opioids
¶ 2018: Vance And Our Ohio Renewal Hired Dr. Sally Satel
2018: Vance Said That Our Ohio Renewal Had Sponsored “An Expert In Addiction Treatment” Named Dr. Sally Satel Who Would Provide Addiction Treatment To Individuals Through The Nonprofit. According to Biz Voice Magazine, “BV: ‘How are things going with Our Ohio Renewal (the nonprofit Vance started to work on the drug addiction challenge)? Vance: What I’m most excited about is we’re sponsoring an expert in addiction treatment who is going to move to southeastern Ohio for between six months and a year. One, she is going to treat a lot of patients. There are not enough doctors to provide treatment. But she is also going to study the issue while she is there, figuring out some better treatment methods that can be used in other places and scaled nationally. Her name is Sally Satel. I’d love for her to come out of this with some insights on how we can treat this problem on a national scale. It’s important that we treat people day to day, but that’s one person and that’s not going to solve the whole problem.” [Biz Voice Magazine, 10/1/18]
¶ Satel Worked FOr The American Enterprise Institute
Satel Worked With The American Enterprise Institute. According to the Washington Post, “Vance himself seemed to take a stab at on-the-ground social work around addiction, starting an anti-opioid nonprofit with Jivani called Our Ohio Renewal in 2017. Yet virtually nothing came of it, aside from the sponsorship of a year-long fellowship for Sally Satel — an American Enterprise Institute scholar who has long maintained that prescription pain meds are unlikely to turn the average person into an addict — to work at a drug treatment clinic in southeast Ohio.” [Washington Post, 1/4/22]
July 2024: Satel Was A Senior Fellow At The American Enterprise Institute
[American Enterprise Institute, Accessed 7/23/24]
¶ The American Enterprise Institute Had A Long History Of receiving Donations From Big Pharma And Publishing Dubious Claims On Opioid Addiction
The American Enterprise Institute Received At Least $800,000 In Donations From Purdue Pharmaceuticals. According to Lawyers, Guns and Money via Newstex, “Over the years, according to the report, AEI received regular $50,000 donations and other financial support from Purdue totaling $800,000.” [Lawyers, Guns, and Money, Newstex, Nexis News, 8/21/22]
¶ The American Enterprise Institute Published Material By Satel That Argued For Big Pharma Companies To Face Less Litigation From Those Affected By The Opioid Epidemic
¶ November 9, 2021: The Oklahoma Supreme Court Threw Out A Ruling Holding Johnson & Johnson Liable For The State’s Opioid Crisis
November 9, 2021: The Oklahoma Supreme Court Threw Out A Ruling That Held Johnson & Johnson Liable For The State’s Opioid Epidemic. According to NPR, “The Supreme Court of Oklahoma has tossed out a landmark 2019 ruling in an opioid case against Johnson & Johnson worth $465 million. The 5-to-1 decision found the company can't be held liable for Oklahoma's opioid crisis.” [NPR, 11/9/21]
¶ Satel Praised The Decision In An Article On The American Enterprise Institute’s Website
Satel Praised The Decision From The Oklahoma Supreme Court. According to Satel’s article on the American Enterprise Institute’s website, “The opioid crisis has spawned a rash of litigation, with thousands of pending state and federal cases threatening to penalize legitimate prescription opioid makers. But a welcome decision by the Oklahoma supreme court last week challenges the legal basis for nearly all of the lawsuits, which attempt to treat opioid marketing as a ‘public nuisance.’ Injured parties have a legal right to obtain redress from a public nuisance, which is defined as an ‘unreasonable interference with a right common to the general public.’ Usually, public-nuisance actions are brought against alleged environmental wrongs such as noxious smells, loud noises, and pollution. But in 2017, the state of Oklahoma claimed in state court that three prescription opioid manufacturers created a public nuisance through deceptive marketing that overstated opioids’ benefits and downplayed their dangers.” [American Enterprise Institute, Ending the Epidemic of Public-nuisance Litigation-Sally Satel and Joel Zinberg, 11/16/21]
Satel Encouraged Other States To Follow Oklahoma’s Lead And Curtail Individuals Right To Sue Pharmaceutical Companies Over The Opioid Epidemic. According to Satel’s article on the American Enterprise Institute’s website, “With over 3,000 opioid cases pending, more courts should follow Oklahoma’s and California’s lead and put an end to this epidemic of litigation.” [American Enterprise Institute, Ending the Epidemic of Public-nuisance Litigation-Sally Satel and Joel Zinberg, 11/16/21]
¶ Vance Profited From The Non-Profit; The American Enterprise Institute After Our Ohio Renewal Hired Satel
2022: Vance Was A Visiting Scholar At The American Enterprise Institute.
| Company | Affiliation | Years of Affiliation | Date of Incorporation | Current Status | Non-Profit/For-Profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Enterprise Institute | Part-time Visiting Scholar | 2019 - | - | Active | Non-Profit |
| American Moment | Board Member | 2021 | - | Active | Non-Profit |
| Our Ohio Renewal | Co-Founder | 2016-2017 | 11/9/16 | Inactive | Non-Profit |
[JD Vance Personal Financial Disclosure, 4/1/22]
2020-2021: Vance Reported Earning A $13,336.00 Salary From The American Enterprise Institute For Public Policy Research.
[JD Vance Personal Financial Disclosure, 4/1/22]
¶ Satel Authored Articles, That She Shared With Big Pharma Before They Went To Print, That Shifted The Blame Of Opioid Addiction Away From Prescribers And Towards Individuals
Washington Post: Satel “Has Long Maintained That Prescription Pain Meds Are Unlikely To Turn The Average Person Into An Addict.” According to the Washington Post, “Vance himself seemed to take a stab at on-the-ground social work around addiction, starting an anti-opioid nonprofit with Jivani called Our Ohio Renewal in 2017. Yet virtually nothing came of it, aside from the sponsorship of a year-long fellowship for Sally Satel — an American Enterprise Institute scholar who has long maintained that prescription pain meds are unlikely to turn the average person into an addict — to work at a drug treatment clinic in southeast Ohio.” [Washington Post, 1/4/22]
Satel Repeatedly Authored Articles That Shifted The Blame Of The Opioid Epidemic Away From Doctors That Prescribed The Pills. According to the Canadian Press, “It’s a familiar position for Satel, whose opinion columns in national publications included an October 2004 Times article, ‘Doctors Behind Bars: Treating Pain is Now Risky Business,’ a February 2018 Politico article, ‘The Myth of What’s Driving the Opioid Crisis - Doctor-prescribed painkillers are not the biggest threat’ and the March 2018 Slate article, ‘Pill Limits Are Not a Smart Way to Fight the Opioid Crisis.’" [Canadian Press, Nexis News, 8/18/22]
Satel: “Contrary To Media Portrayals, The Typical OxyContin Addict Does Not Start Out As A Pain Patient Who Fell Unwittingly Into A Drug Habit.” According to ProPublica, “That October, an essay ran across the top of The New York Times’ health section under the headline ‘Doctors Behind Bars: Treating Pain is Now Risky Business.’ Its author, Sally Satel, a psychiatrist, argued that law enforcement was overzealous, and that some patients needed large doses of opioids to relieve pain. She described an unnamed colleague who had run a pain service at a university medical center and had a patient who could only get out of bed by taking ‘staggering’ levels of oxycodone, the active ingredient in OxyContin. She also cited a study published in a medical journal showing that OxyContin is rarely the only drug found in autopsies of oxycodone-related deaths. ‘When you scratch the surface of someone who is addicted to painkillers, you usually find a seasoned drug abuser with a previous habit involving pills, alcohol, heroin or cocaine,’ Satel wrote. ‘Contrary to media portrayals, the typical OxyContin addict does not start out as a pain patient who fell unwittingly into a drug habit.’” [ProPublica, 11/19/19]
¶ Satel Shared Drafts Of Her Articles With Purdue Pharma Ahead Of Their Public Release
Satel Shared Drafts Of Her Articles Ahead Of Release With Purdue Pharma. According to the Canadian Press, “Documents and emails obtained by ProPublica for a 2019 investigation found that Satel, a senior fellow at AEI, sometimes cited Purdue-funded studies and doctors in her articles on addiction for major news outlets and occasionally shared drafts of the pieces with Purdue officials in advance, including on occasions in 2004 and 2016.” [Canadian Press, Nexis News, 8/18/22]
¶ Satel Cited Purdue Studies In Her Nationally Published Articles On Addiction
Satel Cited Purdue Pharma Studies In Her Nationally Published Articles On Addiction. According to the Canadian Press, “Documents and emails obtained by ProPublica for a 2019 investigation found that Satel, a senior fellow at AEI, sometimes cited Purdue-funded studies and doctors in her articles on addiction for major news outlets and occasionally shared drafts of the pieces with Purdue officials in advance, including on occasions in 2004 and 2016.” [Canadian Press, Nexis News, 8/18/22]
¶ Ohio State Political Science Professor Herb Asher Called Our Ohio Renewal’s Links To Satel And Big Pharma A “Betrayal”
Herb Asher, An Ohio State Political Science Professor, Called Satel’s Links To Purdue Pharma “A Betrayal.” According to Lawyers, Guns, and Money, via Newstex, “Longtime Ohio political observer Herb Asher cast the charity's shortcomings, including Satel's links to Big Pharma, as a 'betrayal.' A person forms a charity presumably to do good things, so when it doesn't, for whatever reason, that really is a betrayal,' said Asher, an emeritus professor of political science at Ohio State University.” [Lawyers, Guns, and Money, Newstex, Nexis News, 8/21/22]
¶ Vance Said He Hoped To Leveraged Satel’s Residency Into A Book That He Would Help Write
Vance Said He Was Hoping Satel’s Residency Would Lead To A Book-Length Publication That He Would Help To Write. According to the Columbus Monthly, “Vance is interested in learning more about efforts that combine psychiatric treatment and drugs such as suboxone or buprenorphine. ‘I’m consistently amazed at how unable we are to say, ‘this works,’ or ‘this doesn’t work,’ ‘Vance said, noting that he hopes Satel’s residency will lead to a paper or a book-length publication, which he suggested he might help write. ‘There’s a lot of on-the-ground innovation, but there isn’t a whole lot of good data on whether it’s working, whether it’s actually helping people avoid relapse.’” [Columbus Monthly, 2/1/19]
¶ Our Ohio Renewal’s Revenue Showed There Was Zero Tangible Work Done To Combat The Opioid Epidemic
¶ 2017: Our Ohio Renewal Spent More Than 95% Of Its Fundraising On Staff Salaries And Overhead, And $0 On Charitable Activities Or Grants
¶ 2017: Our Ohio Renewal’s 990 Forms Showed That There Was $221,140 In Total Revenue And $0 Was Spent On Charitable Grants Or Activities
2017: Our Ohio Renewal’s Federal Income Tax Return Showed The Group Had $221,140 In Total Revenue.
[Our Ohio Renewal 2017 IRS Form 990, 5/14/18]
Our Ohio Renewal Spent $0 On Charitable Grants Or Activities.
[Our Ohio Renewal 2017 IRS Form 990, 5/14/18]
¶ 2017: Our Ohio Renewal’s 990 Forms Showed That Over 95% Of Fundraising Went To Staff Salaries And Other Expenses
96.4% Of Our Ohio Renewal’s Fundraising Was Devoted To Staff Salaries And Other Expenses.
[Our Ohio Renewal 2017 IRS Form 990, 5/14/18]
Our Ohio Renewal Spent $77,430.96 – 35% Of Its Total Fundraising – On Staff Salaries.
[Our Ohio Renewal 2017 IRS Form 990, 5/14/18]
Our Ohio Renewal Spent $66,084 – 29.8% Of Its Total Fundraising – On Management, Legal, And Accounting Fees.
[Our Ohio Renewal 2017 IRS Form 990, 5/14/18]
Our Ohio Renewal Spent $45,000 – 20.3% Of Its Total Fundraising – On A Survey.
[Our Ohio Renewal 2017 IRS Form 990, 5/14/18]
¶ Vance’s 2022 Senate Opponent, Tim Ryan, Accused Our Ohio Renewal Of Spending Its Funds On A Poll For Vance
Ryan Accused Vance Of Spending His Nonprofit’s Funds On Political Polling, Rather Than Helping Ohio Deal With The Opioid Crisis. According to PolitiFact, “U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan’s campaign made the attack in a 30-second ad: ‘When J.D. Vance moved back to Ohio, he told us his new nonprofit would help fix our state’s opioid crisis, but he failed to fund a single addiction program,’ the ad’s narrator says. ‘So, what did Vance do with the money? He funneled tens of thousands to his top political adviser and paid tens of thousands for political polling.’” [PolitiFact, 7/27/22]
Vance’s Nonprofit Did Spend $45,000 On A Survey Of The “Social, Cultural And General Welfare Needs Of Ohio Citizens,” But The Results Of The Survey Were Never Published. According to PolitiFact, “The nonprofit also spent $45,000 for a survey of the ‘social, cultural and general welfare needs of Ohio citizens.’ We could not find evidence documenting the survey’s exact questions.” [PolitiFact, 7/27/22]
¶ 2017: Our Ohio Renewal Spent Over $16,000 On Advertising, Promotion, Travel, And Conferences
Our Ohio Renewal Spent $11,031 On Advertising And Promotion.
[Our Ohio Renewal 2017 IRS Form 990, 5/14/18]
Our Ohio Renewal Spent $5,078 On Travel And Conferences.
[Our Ohio Renewal 2017 IRS Form 990, 5/14/18]
¶ Vance’s Nonprofit Provided A Huge Windfall For His Friends And Top Political Advisors
¶ Our Ohio Renewal’s Executive Director Was Also Vance’s Top Political Advisor
Jai Chabria, Who Would Later Become Vance’s Top Political Advisor, Was The Executive Director Of Our Ohio Renewal. According to Business Insider, “In its first year, according to an Insider review of its public tax filings, the nonprofit brought in $221,135. Jai Chabria, the nonprofit's principal officer, earned more in management fees — $63,425 — than the company spent on programming, which totaled about $50,000. Chabria, a former senior advisor to John Kasich and an employee of Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital, is now advising Vance's Senate campaign.” [Business Insider, 8/29/21]
Our Ohio Renewal Spent More On Chabria’s “Management Services” Than On Programs To Fight Opioid Abuse. According to Business Insider, “After moving back to Ohio in 2017, Vance founded Our Ohio Renewal, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting the opioid epidemic that he wrote about so wrenchingly in his memoir. He also raised $93 million to launch Narya Capital, a venture-capital firm focused on startups in the Midwest. The two projects are key chapters in his political biography — accomplishments he's frequently cited to portray himself as a job creator and champion of the white working class. […] In reality, though, it's not clear what, if anything, Vance has achieved through his company or his charity. A review by Insider of Our Ohio Renewal's tax filings showed that in its first year, the nonprofit spent more on ‘management services’ provided by its executive director — who also serves as Vance's top political advisor — than it did on programs to fight opioid abuse. The group, which has shut down its website and abandoned its Twitter account after publishing only two tweets, says it commissioned a survey to gauge the needs and welfare of Ohioans, but Vance's campaign declined to provide any documentation of the project. A spokeswoman for Ohio's largest anti-opioid coalition told Insider that she hadn't heard of Vance's organization.” [Business Insider, 8/29/21]
Chabria Received $63,425 In Management Fees, $13,425 More Than The $50,000 The Nonprofit Spent On All Of Its Programming. According to Business Insider, “In its first year, according to an Insider review of its public tax filings, the nonprofit brought in $221,135. Jai Chabria, the nonprofit's principal officer, earned more in management fees — $63,425 — than the company spent on programming, which totaled about $50,000. Chabria, a former senior advisor to John Kasich and an employee of Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital, is now advising Vance's Senate campaign.” [Business Insider, 8/29/21]
¶ Our Ohio Renewal Leadership Included A Friend Of Vance’s From Law School And A Board Member Of The Right-Wing Video Site Rumble
Our Ohio Renewal’s Leadership Also Included Vance’s Law School Friend Jamil Jivana. According to the Columbus Monthly, “Bringing some political balance to the leadership of Our Ohio Renewal is Vance's law school friend Jamil Jivani. A biracial Canadian citizen who grew up in a poor immigrant neighborhood in Toronto and identifies as a progressive, Jivani worked as a community organizer after law school. He founded a Toronto organization that teaches young black men strategies for interacting with police. He's written a book, due out next year, exploring the forces that cause young men to join extremist groups. On leave from a Toronto law school teaching job, Jivani currently shares Vance's German Village home.” [Columbus Monthly, November 2017]
The Director Of Our Ohio Renewal, Ethan Fallang, Also Served On The Board Of The Rightwing Video Streaming Site, Rumble. According to the Observer, “According to the charity’s 2017 tax return, the last available filing for Our Ohio Renewal, Vance’s business and political associates formed the leadership team. Jai Chabria, the executive director of the organization, would go on to serve as a strategist for Vance’s successful 2022 Senate campaign. The director of the organization, Ethan Fallang, a partner in JD Vance’s venture capital firm Narya, serves on the board of the rightwing video streaming service Rumble.” [Observer, Nexis News, 7/21/24]
¶ Our Ohio Renewal Was Largely Defunct Starting In 2018
¶ Our Ohio Renewal Was Incorporated In NOvember 2016 And Was No Longer Active By July 2022
Our Ohio Renewal Was Incorporated In Ohio On November 6, 2016 And As Of July 12, 2022 Was No Longer Active.
[Ohio Secretary of State, accessed 7/4/22]
¶ 2018-2019: Our Ohio Renewal Was Largely Defunct And Had Revenues Under $50,000
Our Ohio Renewal Filed Form 990-N Returns For 2018.
Our Ohio Renewal Filed Form 990-N Returns For 2019.
¶ Tax Exempt Organizations With Less Than $50,000 In Annual Revenue Were Eligible To File A Form 990-N
Tax Exempt Organizations With Less Than $50,000 In Annual Revenues Were Eligible To File A Form 990-N. According to the IRS, “Form 990-N: Most small organizations that receive less than $50,000 fall into this category.” [IRS Website, Accessed 7/22/24]
¶ 2019: Vance Refused To Concede That Our Ohio Renewal Was Defunct
2019: Vance Maintained That Our Ohio Renewal Was Still Operational – Despite Its Website Being Offline – And Said It Was Sponsoring A Residency For A Researcher In Southern Ohio. According to the Columbus Monthly, “What about the organization Vance founded to help fight the opioid epidemic? Our Ohio Renewal's website is currently offline ["It's just not my instinct to care about the website," he explained], but Vance said the group is still focused on its mission of conducting and promoting research into innovative ways of combating the epidemic and its fallout. The group is sponsoring a yearlong residency in southern Ohio for Sally Satel, a psychiatrist and research fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, with the Ironton-Lawrence Community Action Agency, which has service locations along the Ohio River near Portsmouth. Satel is working with the agency's behavioral health team, providing counseling and conducting research.” [Columbus Monthly, February 2019]
¶ 2020-2022: Our Ohio Renewal Was Largely Defunct And Had Revenues Under $50,000
Our Ohio Renewal Filed Form 990-N Returns For 2020.
Our Ohio Renewal Filed Form 990-N Returns For 2021.
Our Ohio Renewal Filed Form 990-N Returns For 2022.
¶ Nonprofit Experts Accused Vance Of Establishing Our Ohio Renewal For His Own Self Promotion
¶ 2021: Our Ohio Renewal Was Called A “Charade” By A LEading Nonprofit Expert
A Nonprofit Expert Called Vance’s Nonprofit “A Charade” And Said, “It’s A Superficial Way For Him To Say He Is Helping Ohio. None Of That Is Actually Happening, From What I Can Tell.” According to Business Insider, “‘This is a charade,’ said Doug White, a nonprofit expert and former director of the master's program in fundraising management at Columbia University, who reviewed Our Ohio Renewal's tax filings for Insider. ‘It's a superficial way for him to say he's helping Ohio. None of that is actually happening, from what I can tell.’” [Business Insider, 8/29/21]
- Doug White Was A Nonprofit Expert And Former Director Of Columbia University’s Fundraising Management Masters Program. According to Business Insider, “But Our Ohio Renewal's biggest problem wasn't its spending; it was its lack of fundraising. The nonprofit raised so little in each of the last three years — less than $50,000 a year — that it wasn't even required by the IRS to disclose its activities and finances. ‘It's a pittance, given what they said they want to accomplish,’ said White, the nonprofit expert who reviewed the organization's initial filing. ‘This is a very small operation. They're not doing much. I don't think it rises to the level of fraud, but they are sitting around doing nothing.’” [Business Insider, 8/29/21]
White On The Impact Of Vance’s Nonprofit: “They’re Sitting Around Doing Nothing.” According to Business Insider, “But Our Ohio Renewal's biggest problem wasn't its spending; it was its lack of fundraising. The nonprofit raised so little in each of the last three years — less than $50,000 a year — that it wasn't even required by the IRS to disclose its activities and finances. ‘It's a pittance, given what they said they want to accomplish,’ said White, the nonprofit expert who reviewed the organization's initial filing. ‘This is a very small operation. They're not doing much. I don't think it rises to the level of fraud, but they are sitting around doing nothing.’” [Business Insider, 8/29/21]
¶ The Asia News Monitor Reported That Our Ohio Renewal Was Accused Of Being A “Front For His Political Ambitions”
The Asia News Monitor Reported That Our Ohio Renewal Was Accused Of Being A “Front For His Political Ambitions.” According to the Asia News Monitor, “He launched a nonprofit, Our Ohio Renewal, to develop opioid addiction treatments, though it ultimately failed and was criticised as a front for his political ambitions.” [Asia News Monitor, Nexis News, 7/18/24]
¶ 2021: The Ohio Opioid Education Alliance, Ohio’s Largest Anti-Opioid Coalition, Had Never Heard Of Our Ohio Renewal
2021: The Largest In-State Anti-Opioid Coalition In Ohio Said They Had Never Heard Of Our Ohio Renewal. According to Vanity Fair, “Interestingly, a spokesperson for the Ohio Opioid Education Alliance, what Insider says is the largest in-state anti-opioid coalition, informed the outlet that they had never even heard of Our Ohio Renewal. It is also difficult to find evidence of the nonprofit’s day-to-day work, as its Twitter account has been dormant for more than three years and its website is offline, Insider notes. (Our Ohio Renewal declined to respond to questions from Insider about its programs and finances.)” [Vanity Fair, 8/30/21]