Role in the network: The entity that replaced Arabella Advisors on November 17, 2025 — same staff, same clients, same infrastructure, new name — now managing the New Venture Fund that routes Moritz family money to VotingWorks. Critically, the nonprofits that were managed by Arabella now OWN the entity that manages them.
Bio
Sunflower Services is a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) founded on November 17, 2025 — the same day it acquired Arabella Advisors’ fiscal sponsorship business. It is headquartered in Washington, DC. [1] [2]
The entity was financed by its own future clients: New Venture Fund (lead investor), Windward Fund, and Hopewell Fund — three 501(c)(3) nonprofits that were previously managed by Arabella and are now Sunflower’s owners. The managed entities bought their own manager. [1] [3]
Sunflower absorbed approximately 243 Arabella staffers and acquired “the existing infrastructure and the operations team previously housed within Arabella Advisors.” CEO Allan Williams previously served as Senior Vice President for Partner Solutions at Arabella. [2] [4]
The remaining Arabella entity — the traditional consulting arm — was renamed Vital Impact under outgoing CEO Himesh Bhise. [3]
Sunflower now provides operational and administrative support to all seven funds in the former Arabella network: New Venture Fund, Windward Fund, Hopewell Fund, Sixteen Thirty Fund, North Fund, Impetus Fund, and Telescope Fund. Sunflower’s website states: “Each organization contracts with Sunflower to receive operational and administrative support. Sunflower itself is not a fiscal sponsor or intermediary.” [5]
In 2024, the three founding charities (NVF, Windward, Hopewell) “allocated over $1.179 billion in resources to nearly 200 projects.” [5]
Why This Matters for the Investigation
The Loud Hound Foundation → New Venture Fund → VotingWorks money flow now routes through Sunflower Services instead of Arabella Advisors. The intermediary changed its name. The pipeline did not change:
Loud Hound Foundation (William Moritz)
|
v
New Venture Fund (now OWNER of Sunflower Services AND client)
|
v
VotingWorks (Jake Moritz, brother)The structural innovation is that the nonprofits Arabella managed now own the for-profit entity that manages them. New Venture Fund is simultaneously Sunflower’s owner, investor, and client. The managed has become the manager’s manager.
The Circular Ownership
| Entity | Role Before (Arabella) | Role After (Sunflower) |
|---|---|---|
| New Venture Fund | Client (managed by Arabella) | Owner + lead investor + client of Sunflower |
| Windward Fund | Client (managed by Arabella) | Owner + investor + client of Sunflower |
| Hopewell Fund | Client (managed by Arabella) | Owner + investor + client of Sunflower |
| Sunflower Services | Did not exist | Managed by its own owners |
| Allan Williams | Arabella SVP | Sunflower CEO (same person, new title) |
Regulatory Context
- August 2023: Americans for Public Trust filed IRS complaint against Arabella, arguing New Venture Fund’s 2006 claim that Arabella management was “anticipated to be temporary” with a “one-year term” was misleading — given it lasted 19 years. [4]
- September 2023: DC Attorney General opened investigation into Arabella following reports that New Venture Fund illegally used charitable donations to push for expanded mail-in voting. Case eventually dropped. [4]
- November 2025: Arabella dissolved. Sunflower created and acquired the business the same day. [1]
- Conservative observers call the restructuring a “rebrand to dodge scrutiny.” Capital Research Center’s Scott Walter took credit for making the Arabella brand “toxic.” [2] [4]
Nodes and Open Questions
- Does the money flow change? If Loud Hound Foundation’s next grants still go to New Venture Fund (now a Sunflower owner), the pipeline to VotingWorks remains intact regardless of the rebrand.
- PBC vs. nonprofit: As a Public Benefit Corporation, Sunflower can earn profits — unlike the 501(c)(3) nonprofits it serves. Does this create new opportunities for value extraction from the charitable funds?
- Circular ownership: New Venture Fund is both the lead investor in and a client of Sunflower Services. Who exercises governance oversight over Sunflower when the overseer and the overseen are the same entity?
- “Not a fiscal sponsor”: Sunflower explicitly states it is “not a fiscal sponsor or intermediary.” But it provides operational and administrative support to the fiscal sponsors. Is this a legal distinction without a practical difference?
Sources
[3] [Archive] (https://www.philanthropy.com/news/arabella-advisors-dissolves-after-years-of-gop-led-investigations/)
[4] [Archive] (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/investigations/3894402/liberal-dark-money-giant-rebrands-to-dodge-scrutiny-observers-say/)
[5] [Archive] (https://ballotpedia.org/Sunflower_Services)
[6] [Archive] (https://www.influencewatch.org/for-profit/sunflower-services/)