ProPublica investigation finds FLAG charity diverted funds to Nick Adams, lacked civics education activities

A ProPublica investigation has found that the Foundation for Liberty and American Greatness (FLAG), a nonprofit founded by conservative influencer Nick Adams, provided little evidence of its stated mission to deliver civics education to K-12 students while directing substantial funds to Adams and his family. Records indicate the organisation raised millions through a sweepstakes operation promising a $1 million prize, yet there is no documented evidence that the prize was ever paid out.

FLAG’s founder, Nick Adams, an Australian-born commentator and State Department appointee, built the organisation over a decade, raising $7.7 million in total. In March, President Donald Trump appointed Adams as special presidential envoy for American tourism, exceptionalism and values. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly praised FLAG in September, celebrating its claimed reach of 2 million children. However, Adams did not respond to detailed questions regarding the charity’s financial practices, and a Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment beyond reiterating Hegseth’s support.

Federal tax filings from 2017 to 2024 show almost no indication that FLAG spent money on its educational mission. There are no line items identifying payments to schools, teachers, or educational distributors. The only documented educational activity in recent years is a 2020 video of Adams speaking at a teachers’ conference and a brief report in April of delivering founding documents to schools in Mississippi. FLAG claims 66 per cent of revenue goes to program services, but internal calculations show 86 per cent of those expenses cover salaries, social media spending, and travel.

Adams and his mother, Angelika Adamopoulos, received a combined $587,279 in compensation and benefits in 2024, representing 53 per cent of the organisation’s revenue that year. Adams’ salary rose from $20,400 in 2019 to $411,209 in 2023. FLAG’s filings indicate no independent review of executive compensation, a safeguard against self-dealing that nonprofit law experts say creates legal exposure. Adams was previously condemned by councillors in Ashfield, Australia, in 2006 for using taxpayer funds for personal phone and taxi charges.

FLAG’s fundraising relies heavily on a sweepstakes operation that has repeatedly postponed drawing deadlines. A Better Business Bureau complaint filed in April 2024 alleged that FLAG extended a deadline from December 2024 to January 2025. Nine years of federal filings contain no transaction consistent with a $1 million payout. Adams stepped down as CEO in March 2024, replaced by Cooper Rodenburg, a recent Stetson University graduate, around the time Adams accepted his government role.