Daily News Roundup: Hacked Records Highlight Conservative Foundation’s Reach

Right-Wing Bradley Fund Aims to Expand Wisc. Model: Documents hacked from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel detail the $900 million grant maker’s long-term blueprint to replicate its home-state success in promoting Republican candidates and conservative causes by funding think tanks, media outlets, and other entities to pursue state-level change. A follow-up Journal Sentinel article, also based on the hacked material, looks at the foundation’s support for and influence on arts and cultural institutions in Milwaukee.

Atheism Nonprofit Sues Over Trump Order on Church Politicking: The Freedom From Religion Foundation contends the president’s directive that the Internal Revenue Service not enforce the Johnson Amendment against faith organizations is unconstitutional because it grants the exemption to faith groups but not secular nonprofits, which are also barred by the law from endorsing political candidates, the Associated Press reports.

In related news, some religious-liberty advocates who supported President Trump’s election are disappointed with the order because it does not include provisions sparing faith-affiliated nonprofits from federal rules in areas such as LGBT rights and reproductive health that they say violate freedom of worship, writes The Washington Post.

Small Arts Groups Poised to Get Bigger Piece of NYC Funding Pie: An equity-focused “cultural plan” under construction by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration could shift significant municipal resources from major Manhattan institutions to community-based arts nonprofits, particularly in the outer boroughs, writes The New York Times.

Metropolitan Museum of Art Files Plan to Charge Non-New Yorkers: The New York institution is officially seeking City Hall approval to set a mandatory ticket price for out-of-state visitors, writes The New York Times. Mayor Bill de Blasio has signaled support for the idea, under which the museum would remain free for state residents, with a suggested fee.

Charity Pledges $100 Million to Fight Homelessness in San Francisco: The five-year grant from the Tipping Point Community would fund permanent housing, mental-health programs, and other work aimed at helping the city’s new Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing halve the population of chronically homeless people, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

W.K. Kellogg Foundation to Pump $51 Million Into Hometown Schools: The Battle Creek, Mich., grant maker’s five-year investment in a broad array of early-education, curricular, and teacher-support strategies comes after a study detailed how structural bias and racial and economic segregation create unequal access to education in the city, reports MLive.com.