Calvert Institute for Policy Research

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The Calvert Institute for Policy Research (CIPR) calls itself "an independent, non-partisan public policy research institution committed to generating new ideas based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government and personal responsibility."[1] It was co-founded in 1996 by Ronald W. Dworkin of the Hudson Institute.[2] CIPR is a member of the State Policy Network (SPN), a web of conservative state-based think-tanks. As of October 2016, CIPR has not filed an IRS Form 990 since 2011.[3]

SPN is a web of right-wing “think tanks” and tax-exempt organizations in 50 states, Washington, D.C., Canada, and the United Kingdom. As of October 2019, SPN's membership totals 162. Today's SPN is the tip of the spear of far-right, nationally funded policy agenda in the states that undergirds extremists in the Republican Party. SPN Executive Director Tracie Sharp told the Wall Street Journal in 2017 that the revenue of the combined groups was some $80 million, but a 2019 analysis of SPN's main members IRS filings by the Center for Media and Democracy shows that the combined revenue is over $120 million.[4] Although SPN's member organizations claim to be nonpartisan and independent, the Center for Media and Democracy's in-depth investigation, "EXPOSED: The State Policy Network -- The Powerful Right-Wing Network Helping to Hijack State Politics and Government," reveals that SPN and its member think tanks are major drivers of the right-wing, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)-backed corporate agenda in state houses nationwide, with deep ties to the Koch brothers and the national right-wing network of funders.[5]

In response to CMD's report, SPN Executive Director Tracie Sharp told national and statehouse reporters that SPN affiliates are "fiercely independent." Later the same week, however, The New Yorker's Jane Mayer caught Sharp in a contradiction. In her article, "Is IKEA the New Model for the Conservative Movement?," the Pulitzer-nominated reporter revealed that, in a recent meeting behind closed doors with the heads of SPN affiliates around the country, Sharp "compared the organization’s model to that of the giant global chain IKEA." She reportedly said that SPN "would provide 'the raw materials,' along with the 'services' needed to assemble the products. Rather than acting like passive customers who buy finished products, she wanted each state group to show the enterprise and creativity needed to assemble the parts in their home states. 'Pick what you need,' she said, 'and customize it for what works best for you.'" Not only that, but Sharp "also acknowledged privately to the members that the organization's often anonymous donors frequently shape the agenda. 'The grants are driven by donor intent,' she told the gathered think-tank heads. She added that, often, 'the donors have a very specific idea of what they want to happen.'"[6]

A set of coordinated fundraising proposals obtained and released by The Guardian in early December 2013 confirm many of these SPN members' intent to change state laws and policies, referring to "advancing model legislation" and "candidate briefings." These activities "arguably cross the line into lobbying," The Guardian notes.[7]

Ties to the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity

The Calvert Institute for Policy Research has hosted writers from the ALEC-connected Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, which screens potential reporters on their “free market” views as part of the job application process.[8] The Franklin Center funds reporters in over 40 states.[9] Despite their non-partisan description, many of the websites funded by the Franklin Center have received criticism for their conservative bias.[10][11] On its website, the Franklin Center claims it "provides 10 percent of all daily reporting from state capitals nationwide."[12]

Franklin Center Funding

Franklin Center Director of Communications Michael Moroney told the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) in 2013 that the source of the Franklin Center's funding "is 100 percent anonymous." But 95 percent of its 2011 funding came from DonorsTrust, a spin-off of the Philanthropy Roundtable that functions as a large "donor-advised fund," cloaking the identity of donors to right-wing causes across the country (CPI did a review of Franklin's Internal Revenue Service records).[13] Mother Jones called DonorsTrust "the dark-money ATM of the conservative movement" in a February 2013 article.[14] Franklin received DonorTrust's second-largest donation in 2011.[13]

The Franklin Center also receives funding from the Wisconsin-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation,[15] a conservative grant-making organization.[16]

The Franklin Center was launched by the Chicago-based Sam Adams Alliance (SAM),[17] a 501(c)(3) devoted to pushing free-market ideals. SAM gets funding from the State Policy Network,[18] which is partially funded by The Claude R. Lambe Foundation.[19] Charles Koch, one of the billionaire brothers who co-own Koch Industries, sits on the board of this foundation.[20] SAM also receives funding from the Rodney Fund.

Personnel

Executive Personnel

As of 2011:[21]

  • Christopher R. West, President
  • George W. Liebmann, Executive Director

Calvert Experts

The Calvert Institute has a list of so-called "Calvert Experts," who are members of other right-wing organizations such as the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation.[22] The full list includes 116 names. Below are the first 10 listed as of August 2016:

  • Todd J. Zywicki (Assistant Professor - School of Law, George Mason University)
  • Charmaine Crouse Yoest (Bradley Fellow, Woodrow Wilson Department of Government, University of Virginia)
  • Dr. Ying Wu Assistant Professor, Department of Economics & Finance Salisbury State University, Perdue School of Business
  • M. Craig Wolf (Counsel, Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate)
  • Dr. Walter E. Williams (Chairman, Department of Economics, George Mason University)
  • Dr. Stephen J.K. Walters (Professor, Department of Economics, Loyola College)
  • C. Stephen Wallis (Administrator, Washington/Baltimore Area High School)
  • Gregg VanHelmond (Budget Research Assistant, Institute for Economic Policy Studies - Heritage Foundation)
  • Dr. Peter M. VanDoren (Editor, Regulation Magazine - Cato Institute)
  • Dr. Ronald D. Utt (Research Fellow - Domestic Policy, Heritage Foundation)

Core Financials

2011[21]

  • Total Revenue: $9,940
  • Total Expenses: $10,441
  • Net Assets: $2,666

2006[23]

  • Total Revenue: $0
  • Total Expenses: $0
  • Net Assets: $0

2005[24]

  • Total Revenue: $11,306
  • Total Expenses: $11,907
  • Net Assets: $2,450

2004[25]

  • Total Revenue: $9,317
  • Total Expenses: $9,774
  • Net Assets: $3,055

Contact Details

Calvert Institute
8 West Hamilton Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410 752-5887
Fax: 410 539-3973
Website: http://www.calvertinstitute.org
Email: info@calvertinstitute.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/calvertinstitut

Articles and Resources

Related SourceWatch Articles

Related PRWatch Articles

External Resources

References

  1. ↑ "The Mission", organizational website, accessed November 2012
  2. ↑ Hudson Institute, Ronald W. Dworkin, organizational biography, accessed October 2013.
  3. ↑ Citizen Audit, CALVERT INST FOR POLICY RES INC, non-profit Form 990 search website, accessed October 2016.
  4. ↑ David Armiak, https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2019/11/13/revenue-state-policy-network-state-affiliates-tops-120-million/ Revenue for State Policy Network and State Affiliates Tops $120 Million], ExposedbyCMD, November 13, 2019.
  5. ↑ Rebekah Wilce, Center for Media and Democracy, EXPOSED: The State Policy Network -- The Powerful Right-Wing Network Helping to Hijack State Politics and Government, organizational report, November 13, 2013.
  6. ↑ Jane Mayer, Is IKEA the New Model for the Conservative Movement?, The New Yorker, November 15, 2013.
  7. ↑ Ed Pilkington and Suzanne Goldenberg, State conservative groups plan US-wide assault on education, health and tax, The Guardian, December 5, 2013.
  8. ↑ Franklin Center, Franklin Affiliates in Your State, organizational website, accessed October 2012.
  9. ↑ The Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, Think tank Journalism: The Future of Investigative Journalism, organizational website, accessed August 19, 2011.
  10. ↑ Rebekah Metzler, "Watchdog" website puts a new spin on politics, The Portland Press Herald, October 2, 2010.
  11. ↑ Allison Kilkenny, The Koch Spider Web, Truthout, accessed August 19, 2011.
  12. ↑ Sara Jerving, Franklin Center: Right-Wing Funds State News Source, PRWatch.org, October 27, 2011.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Paul Abowd, Center for Public Integrity, Donors use charity to push free-market policies in states, organizational report, February 14, 2013.
  14. ↑ Andy Kroll, Exposed: The Dark-Money ATM of the Conservative Movement, Mother Jones, February 5, 2013.
  15. ↑ Daniel Bice, Franklin Center boss wants apology from Democratic staffer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 8, 2011.
  16. ↑ The Bradley Foundation. The Bradley Foundation. Organizational website. Accessed August 19, 2011.
  17. ↑ Sam Adams Alliance. Sam Adams Alliance Media Kit. Organizational PDF. Accessed August 19, 2011.
  18. ↑ Media Matters Action Network. Sam Adams Alliance. Conservative Transparency. Accessed August 19, 2011.
  19. ↑ Media Matters Action Network. State Policy Network. Conservative Transparency. Accessed August 19, 2011.
  20. ↑ Media Matters Action Network. Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation. Conservative Transparency. Accessed August 19, 2011.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Calvert Institute for Policy Research, 2011 Form 990, organizational annual IRS filing, June 11, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Calvert Institute Experts Archive", organizational website, accessed November 2012
  23. ↑ Calvert Institute for Policy Research, 2006 Form 990, organizational annual IRS filing, April 6, 2007.
  24. ↑ Calvert Institute for Policy Research, 2005 Form 990, organizational annual IRS filing, March 20, 2006.
  25. ↑ Calvert Institute for Policy Research, 2004 Form 990, organizational annual IRS filing, April 4, 2005.
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