Title: AARP - InfluenceWatch
Headings: AARP
AARP
Contents
History
Founding
Early Growth
Disputes over Non-Profit Status
Expansion of Membership Base
Leadership
Activities and Reach
Business Interests
Lobbying
Media Production
Advocacy Positions
Support for Obamacare
Social Security
Other
References
Directors, Employees & Supporters
Associated Organizations
Coalition Memberships
Donor Organizations
Donation Recipients
Vendors
Nonprofit Information
Available Filings
Additional Filings (PDFs)

Content: [1]
AARP claims 38 million members, making it the largest interest group in America. [2]
AARP is generally considered to be left-of-center. [3] [4]
It is a frequent supporter of left-leaning health care policy and has resisted Republican efforts to reform entitlement programs such as Social Security. [5]
AARP describes itself as “a champion for social change” with an “ambitious social agenda.” [6]
More than 98 percent of the political donations made by AARP staff in 2016 and 2018 went to Democratic candidates and affiliated groups. [7]
AARP, the nonprofit entity, is the parent organization of two for-profit wholly owned subsidiaries, AARP Services, Inc. and AARP Financial,
[8]
which generate revenue from insurance products, marketing deals, and other products and services offered to members. [9]
In 2017, AARP reported total assets of $4.2 billion and operating revenue of $1.6 billion. [10]
Contents
History
Founding
Early Growth
Disputes over Non-Profit Status
Expansion of Membership Base
Leadership
Activities and Reach
Business Interests
Lobbying
Media Production
Advocacy Positions
Support for Obamacare
Social Security
Other
References
Related Profiles
Directors, Employees & Supporters
Associated Organizations
Coalition Memberships
Donor Organizations
Donation Recipients
Vendors
Form 990 Information
History
Founding
AARP was founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, a retired educator from California. It evolved from the National Retired Teachers Association (NRTA), which Andrus had established in 1947 in part to promote health insurance for retired teachers. [11]
Instrumental in AARP’s evolution from the NRTA was Leonard Davis, the founder of the Colonial Penn Group of insurance companies.