Krause Group - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Krause Group is Medium Risk.

Krause Group often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. Krause Group occasionally embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues at times. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Lower Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	Lower Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	No Data

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Krause Group has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (1).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Krause Group does not discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs (1).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

The Krause Group hosted “Transgender & Nonbinary Inclusion Training ” (1). Krause Group does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (2).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Kum & Go, a subsidiary of Krause Group was a Bronze Tier corporate sponsor of the Trevor Project, an organization that advocates for controversial sex and gender ideology, including “gender transition” drugs and surgeries for minors, through legislation, litigation, advertising, and PR campaigns. The organization also hosts online chatrooms that allow adults to communicate with minors as young as 13 about sexually explicit topics. Adults in these chatrooms have encouraged minors to adopt transgender identities and withhold this information from their parents (1)(2)(3)(5)(6). Kum & Go, a Krause Group company, advocates for LGBT causes (7). The company created a Kum & Gay Rights T-shirt (8) Kum & Go uses its Twitter to support two Iowa laws advancing transgenderism (9)(10). With the addition of the Krause Group’s DEI Manager, the company now offers transition benefits for LGBTQ employees (11). Krause Group‘s CEO, Kyle Krause, signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge, which includes a commitment to promote DEI through bias education training in the workplace (12)(13).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Krause Gentle was a sponsor of Des Moines’ Capital City Pride (1). Kum & Go partnered with queer swim brand HOMOCO in 2021 to release a swimwear line celebrating Pride Month. The proceeds supported the Transgender Law Center (2). Kum & Go also donates to the Trevor Project, the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, and the Transgender Law Center’s Trans Agenda for Liberation (3). In support of Black Lives Matter, Kum & Go donated $25,000 to the Center for Constitutional Rights (4). Krause Group sponsored the Capital City Pride in 2025 (5). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of Krause Group using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (6).

Criteria:

Uses corporate political actions and/or financial contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level:

N/A

Rationale:

Krause Group does not operate a PAC or engage in lobbying at this time (1)(2)(3).