The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) was a major progressive grassroots community organizing network in the United States, founded in 1970 with the mission of advocating for low- and moderate-income families. It employed direct action, lobbying, and voter registration drives to campaign for issues including affordable housing, living wages, predatory lending reform, community development, and neighborhood improvement. At its peak in the 2000s, ACORN claimed over 500,000 member families organized in more than 1,200 neighborhood chapters across over 100 U.S. cities, operating through a complex structure of affiliated 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), and non-stock entities. The organization's model was later expanded internationally. ACORN's operations were severely damaged and it effectively dissolved following a widely publicized controversy in 2009 involving secretly recorded videos by conservative activists (Project Veritas), which alleged misconduct by employees and led to the loss of government and private funding. The organization was defunded and shut down in 2010, though some affiliated entities continued operating under different names.