Editing Focus on the Family (section)

=== Post-Dobson ===
In a break from the previous status quo, president Jim Daly purportedly tried to steer the organization away from the same level of political activism that the organization was known for in its initial decades of existence. Daly made connections with figures and organizations that founder Dobson disdained and cut off, such as [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[United States]] [[President Barack Obama]], liberal activist [[Ted Trimpa]], and the newspaper [[The Independent]].<ref name=":1" />

On June 23, 2017, [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Mike Pence]] attended the organization's 40th anniversary celebration; at the event, he praised founder James Dobson, stated that then-[[President of the United States|President]] [[Donald Trump]] was an ally of the organization, and added that the Trump administration supported Focus on the Family's goals (including the abolition of [[Planned Parenthood]]).<ref>{{cite news|last=Blue |first=Miranda |title=Pence Tells Focus On the Family It Has An 'Unwavering Ally' In Trump |url=http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/pence-tells-focus-on-the-family-it-has-an-unwavering-ally-in-trump/ |access-date=June 24, 2017|work=Right Wing Watch|date=June 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627212525/http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/pence-tells-focus-on-the-family-it-has-an-unwavering-ally-in-trump/|archive-date=June 27, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Paul |first=Jesse |title=Mike Pence to speak in Colorado Springs for Focus on the Family's 40th anniversary celebration|url=http://www.denverpost.com/2017/06/13/mike-pence-colorado-springs-focus-family-anniversary/|access-date=June 24, 2017|work=The Denver Post|date=June 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170616233331/http://www.denverpost.com/2017/06/13/mike-pence-colorado-springs-focus-family-anniversary/|archive-date=June 16, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Garrison|first1=Robert|title=Vice President Mike Pence to speak at Focus on the Family event in Colorado Springs |url=http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/vice-president-mike-pence-to-speak-at-focus-on-the-family-event-in-colorado-springs|access-date=June 24, 2017|work=7News - The Denver Channel |date=June 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170614014952/http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/vice-president-mike-pence-to-speak-at-focus-on-the-family-event-in-colorado-springs|archive-date=June 14, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Pence's attendance at the event, along with Focus on the Family's stances on LGBT rights, was criticized by the [[Human Rights Campaign]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Peters |first=Stephen |title=#HateWatch: Trump-Pence Endorse Agenda of Anti-LGBTQ Organization|url=http://www.hrc.org/blog/hatewatch-donald-trump-mike-pence-endorse-agenda-of-anti-lgbtq-organization|access-date=June 24, 2017|date=June 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625232544/http://www.hrc.org/blog/hatewatch-donald-trump-mike-pence-endorse-agenda-of-anti-lgbtq-organization|archive-date=June 25, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In its IRS Form 990 for Tax Year 2015, dated October 26, 2017, Focus on the Family for the first time declared itself a "church, convention of churches or association of churches", claiming that it was no longer required to file the IRS disclosure form and that the sources and disposition of its $89 million budget were "Not for public inspection". Tax attorney Gail Harmon, who advises nonprofit organizations on tax law, said she found the declaration "shocking", noting that "There's nothing about them that meets the traditional definition of what a church is. They don't have a congregation, they don't have the rites of various parts of a person's life."<ref>Miranda Blue, [http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/focus-on-the-family-has-declared-itself-a-church-avoiding-irs-disclosure-rules/, "Focus On The Family Has Declared Itself A Church, Avoiding IRS Disclosure Rules"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218145105/https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/focus-on-the-family-has-declared-itself-a-church-avoiding-irs-disclosure-rules/ |date=December 18, 2020}}, "Right Wing Watch", February 20, 2018, Retrieved: February 23, 2018</ref> A spokesperson for the organization stated that it changed its status "primarily to protect the confidentiality of our donors".{{ r | WP_now_church}} By 2023, the organization had offices in 14 countries and partnerships in 60 countries, for an international presence in 98 countries.<ref>Focus on the Family, [http://www.focusonthefamily.com/about/global-outreach Global Outreach], focusonthefamily.com, USA, retrieved February 4, 2023</ref>