DCA Investigation

Digital Childhood Alliance - Corporate Registry Research Findings

**Research Date:** 2026-03-12 **Researcher:** Automated web search across state corporate registries, IRS databases, and open-source corporate databases

Digital Childhood Alliance - Corporate Registry Research Findings

Research Date: 2026-03-12 Researcher: Automated web search across state corporate registries, IRS databases, and open-source corporate databases

1. Digital Childhood Alliance (DCA) - Overview

  • Legal Name: Digital Childhood Alliance, Inc. (per Facebook page listing)
  • Tax Status: 501(c)(4) nonprofit (IRS determination)
  • Headquarters Location: Washington, DC (per Idealist.org profile, registered October 2025; address listed as “hidden/remote”)
  • Coordinates (Idealist): 38.907192 N, -77.036871 W (generic Washington DC coordinates)
  • Public Launch Date: February 25, 2025 (press release: “Over 50 Child Advocacy Groups Unite to Demand App Store Accountability”)
  • Executive Director: Casey Stefanski (founder; previously Senior Director of Global Partnerships and Events at NCOSE)
  • Contact Email: info@digitalchildhoodalliance.org
  • Website: www.digitalchildhoodalliance.org
  • Facebook: Digital Childhood Alliance, Inc. (page ID 61571460776409)

Corporate Registry Search Results

RegistryResult
OpenCorporatesNo record found for “Digital Childhood Alliance”
ProPublica Nonprofit ExplorerNo organization record found (0 results; 2,080 full-text filing mentions)
IRS Tax Exempt Organization SearchCould not access (403 error); no EIN publicly identified
Colorado Secretary of StateSearch interface accessed but no results returned for “Digital Childhood Alliance”
DC DCRA / DLCP CorpOnlineCould not access search results (permission denied)
Virginia SCCNo results found via web search
Delaware Division of CorporationsNo results found via web search
BizapediaCould not access (permission denied)
Corporation WikiCould not access (permission denied)
Candid/GuideStarNo profile found via web search

Key Finding: Despite extensive searching across multiple state corporate registries, open corporate databases, and IRS records, no incorporation record or EIN was found for the Digital Childhood Alliance, Inc. The organization claims 501(c)(4) status but has no publicly discoverable Form 990 filings, no ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer entry, and no state-level corporate registration record identified through web-accessible searches. This is consistent with a very recently formed entity (publicly launched February 2025) that may not yet have filed its first Form 990 or whose state filing is not yet indexed in public databases.

  • Legal Name: Digital Childhood Institute (formal Inc. suffix not confirmed)
  • Tax Status: 501(c)(3) nonprofit (research and education arm)
  • Founder/President/Board Chair: Melissa McKay (mother of five; began child safety advocacy in 2017)
  • Website: www.digitalchildhoodinstitute.org
  • Relationship to DCA: Affiliated; DCI is described as the 501(c)(3) research and education arm, while DCA is the 501(c)(4) advocacy organization

Corporate Registry Search Results

UPDATE (2026-03-13): DCI was subsequently confirmed in the IRS Business Master File:

  • EIN: 39-3684798
  • Incorporation: Delaware (213 N Market St #1039, Wilmington, DE 19801 - registered agent address)
  • IRS Ruling: November 2025, unconditional exemption
  • Subsection: 501(c)(3), foundation status 15 (not a private foundation) See dca_incorporation_updated.md for full analysis.
  • Legal Name: Headwaters Strategies, Inc.
  • State of Incorporation: Colorado
  • Founded: 2009
  • Co-Founders: Will Coyne and Adam Eichberg; later joined by Aly Schmidt
  • Address: 1660 Lincoln St., Suite 2910, Denver, Colorado 80264
  • Business Type: Strategic political counsel and state legislative lobbying
  • Clients: Corporations, nonprofits, trade and professional associations, public entities
  • Colorado SOS Registration: Confirmed registered (specific entity ID not retrieved due to session timeout on SOS website)
  • FollowTheMoney.org Entity ID: 6153564 (listed as non-individual entity)

Connection to DCA

No direct, publicly documented connection between Headwaters Strategies and the Digital Childhood Alliance was found. However, the research task flagged this entity because of Adam Eichberg’s role as co-founder.

4. Adam Eichberg - Key Person Research

Confirmed Roles and Affiliations

OrganizationRoleNotes
Headwaters Strategies, Inc.Co-Founder and PrincipalDenver-based lobbying firm, founded 2009
New Venture FundChair of the BoardArabella Advisors-managed 501(c)(3)
Windward FundFounding Board MemberArabella Advisors-managed 501(c)(3); served through 2019
Sunflower ServicesIncoming Board ChairSuccessor entity; previously owned by New Venture Fund, Windward Fund, and Hopewell Fund
Colorado Governor Bill RitterDeputy Legislative DirectorFormer government role
Colorado DPHEDirector of Policy, External Affairs, and PlanningFormer government role

Connection to DCA

No direct, publicly documented connection between Adam Eichberg and the Digital Childhood Alliance was found in any search. Eichberg does not appear on DCA’s public team page or in any news articles about DCA. The research hypothesis was that Eichberg might serve as an officer/director given his Arabella network connections, but this could not be confirmed through public sources.

Connection to Arabella Network

Adam Eichberg is a central figure in the Arabella Advisors network:

  • Board Chair of New Venture Fund - the largest entity in the Arabella network
  • Founding board member of Windward Fund - another Arabella-managed entity
  • Incoming board chair of Sunflower Services - successor entity

The Arabella Advisors network operates from 1828 L Street NW, Washington, DC (the address flagged in the research task). However, no evidence was found linking DCA to this address or to any Arabella entity.

Note: Arabella Advisors reportedly dissolved in 2025 following years of congressional investigations.

5. Address Analysis

Addresses of Interest

AddressEntityConnection to DCA
1828 L Street NW, Washington, DCArabella Advisors / New Venture Fund / Windward Fund / Sixteen Thirty FundNo connection found. DCA is listed as Washington, DC-based but no specific street address is publicly disclosed.
1660 Lincoln St., Suite 2910, Denver, CO 80264Headwaters Strategies, Inc.No connection found to DCA.
Washington, DC (general)Digital Childhood AllianceDCA lists Washington, DC as its location on Idealist but describes itself as a “remote organization” with no public street address.
Atlanta, GeorgiaCasey Stefanski (Executive Director)Stefanski lives in Atlanta with her family.

6. Funding and Transparency Issues

Meta Funding

Multiple news sources (Bloomberg/Insurance Journal, July 2025; Deseret News, December 2025; The Center Square/Louisiana, May 2025) report that Meta is helping fund the Digital Childhood Alliance:

  • Bloomberg (July 2025): “Meta is also helping to fund the Digital Childhood Alliance, a coalition of conservative groups leading efforts to pass app-store age verification, according to three people familiar with the funding.”
  • Louisiana Senate Finance Committee hearing: When Senator Jay Morris pressed Executive Director Casey Stefanski on whether tech companies fund DCA, she “eventually confirmed that they do but refused to name them.”
  • Stefanski also stated that “the father of the Digital Childhood Alliance’s founder” is its largest donor.
  • DCA’s 501(c)(4) status means it is not required to publicly disclose its donors.

Characterization

The organization has been described as:

  • A “coalition of conservative groups” (Bloomberg/Insurance Journal)
  • An “astroturf operation” where “corporate money creates the illusion of grassroots activism” (Deseret News, citing investigative reporting)
  • Backed by “over 140 organizations”

7. Gaps and Limitations

  1. No state incorporation record found. The specific state of incorporation for Digital Childhood Alliance, Inc. could not be determined. DC DCRA, Colorado SOS, Virginia SCC, and Delaware corporate databases were searched or attempted without success.

  2. No EIN found. The organization’s Employer Identification Number is not publicly available through any database searched.

  3. No Form 990 filed. As a 501(c)(4) formed circa late 2024/early 2025, DCA’s first Form 990 would likely not be due until late 2025 or 2026, and would not yet appear in ProPublica or other databases.

  4. No officers/directors list found. Beyond Casey Stefanski (Executive Director) and Melissa McKay (DCI founder), no board members or officers are publicly identified for either entity.

  5. No registered agent identified. Could not access state corporate filing portals to determine the registered agent.

  6. Adam Eichberg connection unconfirmed. While Eichberg has deep ties to the Arabella network (New Venture Fund, Windward Fund), no public source connects him to DCA. This does not rule out an undisclosed connection.

  7. Arabella address connection unconfirmed. No evidence that DCA operates from or shares an address with any Arabella entity at 1828 L St NW, Washington, DC.

  8. Several web sources blocked. WebFetch was denied access to multiple key sources including The Center Square, The Hayride, Jessica Reed Kraus Substack, CyberScoop, PR Newswire, IRS TEOS, and DC DCRA CorpOnline, limiting the depth of findings.

8. Summary of Key Findings

  • DCA is formally named “Digital Childhood Alliance, Inc.” and claims 501(c)(4) status, but no incorporation record, EIN, or Form 990 could be located in any public database. UPDATE: Subsequent IRS BMF search of all 4 regional extracts (eo1-eo4.csv) confirmed DCA is NOT in the IRS system. See dca_incorporation_updated.md.
  • DCA was publicly launched on February 25, 2025 and is headquartered in Washington, DC (remote organization, no public street address).
  • Casey Stefanski is Executive Director; previously at NCOSE for 10 years. The “founder” appears to be a separate, unnamed individual whose father is DCA’s largest donor.
  • Meta is funding DCA according to multiple news reports, which Stefanski confirmed under questioning but refused to name specific donors.
  • No connection to Adam Eichberg or Headwaters Strategies was publicly documented, though Eichberg’s role as chair of the Arabella-managed New Venture Fund is notable given the opacity of DCA’s organizational structure.
  • Headwaters Strategies, Inc. is confirmed registered in Colorado (founded 2009, 1660 Lincoln St., Denver) but no link to DCA was found.
  • The Digital Childhood Institute (DCI) is the 501(c)(3) sister entity, founded by Melissa McKay, who serves as President and Board Chair. UPDATE: DCI confirmed in IRS BMF with EIN 39-3684798, Delaware incorporation.

9. Subsequent Findings (Added 2026-03-13)

The following findings were established after this initial registry search:

  • NCOSE has a 501(c)(4) affiliate - “NCOSEAction” / Institute for Public Policy (EIN 88-1180705), IRS ruling May 2025, same address and leadership as NCOSE. Potential DCA fiscal sponsor.
  • DCA processes donations through For Good DAF (EIN 68-0480736) - classified as “Project” (ID 258136) in the system, not as a standalone nonprofit. For Good explicitly limits grants to 501(c)(3) organizations.
  • For Good DAF grants searched: 59,736 recipients across 5 years ($1.73B) - zero matches for DCA, DCI, or NCOSE entities.
  • DCA’s legal non-existence (no EIN, no incorporation, no IRS record) is consistent with fiscal sponsorship under NCOSEAction or Sixteen Thirty Fund.

See also: dca_incorporation_updated.md, five_threads_investigation.md, ncose_forgood_fec_investigation.md

Sources