Searle Freedom Trust

The Searle Freedom Trust (SFT), formerly called the D&D Foundation, is a conservative 501(c)(3) private foundation, consisting of wealth inherited from pharmaceutical G.D. Searle & Company, which created the artificial sweetener aspartame marketed as "NutraSweet" and is now part of Pfizer. Daniel C. Searle formed the trust in 1988 in order to back his ideas as a "free enterprise conservative," according to former board member Howard J. Trienens. The foundation funds Americans for Prosperity, the American Enterprise Institute, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the Heartland Institute, State Policy Network, and many other right-wing groups. Kimberly O. Dennis is its executive director. The trust describes itself as intending to "foster research and education on public policy issues that affect individual freedom and economic liberty."

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council

Searle Freedom Trust gave $125,000 to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in 2011. The organization has funded the research and publication of several editions of ALEC's Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index report (see each year's grants below for more).

About ALEC

ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org, and check out breaking news on our PRWatch.org site.

Ties to DonorsTrust, a Koch Conduit

DonorsTrust is considered a "donor-advised fund," which means that it divides its funds into separate accounts for individual donors, who then recommend disbursements from the accounts to different non-profits. Funds like DonorsTrust are not uncommon in the non-profit sector, but they do cloak the identity of the original donors because the funds are typically distributed in the name of DonorsTrust rather than the original donors. Very little was known about DonorsTrust until late 2012 and early 2013, when the Guardian and others published extensive reports on what Mother Jones called "the dark-money ATM of the conservative movement."

Americans for Prosperity, an organization founded and funded by the Koch brothers, received nearly $9.5 million from DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund from 2010 to 2012.

DonorsTrust Funding

The Searle Freedom Trust contributed $3,636,000 to DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund between 2009 and 2013 (see links to the foundation's IRS forms 990 below).

A report by the Center for Public Integrity exposes a number of DonorsTrust funders, many of which have ties to the Koch brothers. One of the most prominent funders is the Knowledge and Progress Fund, a Charles Koch-run organization and one of the group's largest known contributors, having donated nearly $9 million from 2005 to 2012. Other contributors known to have donated at least $1 million to DonorsTrust include the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation, Donald & Paula Smith Family Foundation, Searle Freedom Trust, Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, and the John M. Olin Foundation.

Since its inception in 1999, DonorsTrust has been used by conservative foundations and individuals to discretely funnel nearly $400 million to like-minded think tanks and media outlets. According to the organization's tax documents, in 2011, DonorsTrust contributed a total of $86 million to conservative organizations. Many recipients had ties to the State Policy Network (SPN), a wide collection of conservative state-based think tanks and media organizations that focus on shaping public policy and opinion. In 2013, the Center for Media and Democracy released a special report on SPN. Those who received DonorsTrust funding included media outlets such as the Franklin Center and the Lucy Burns Institute, as well as think tanks such as SPN itself, the Heartland Institute, Illinois Policy Institute, Independence Institute, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, South Carolina Policy Council, American Legislative Exchange Council, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, and the Cascade Policy Institute.

Funding

2015

• Acton Institute: $100,00
• American Action Forum: $125,000
• American Enterprise Institute: $500,000 (Regulation); $1,000,000 (Tax and Public Finance)
• American Legislative Exchange Council: $150,000 (Rich States, Poor States); $50,000 (Pension Research)
• American Transparency: $75,000
• Ashbrook Center: $125,000
• Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics: $50,000
• Benjamin Rush Institute: $125,000
• Brookings Institution: $250,000 (Searle Freedom Trust Senior Fellow; $100,000 (Economic Policy Research)
• Cato Institute: $125,00 (Financial Regulation); $185,000 (Health Care Reform)
• Center for Class Action Fairness: $225,000
• Center for Competitive Politics: $125,000
• Center for Independent Thought: $75,000
• Collegiate Network: $100,000
• Competitive Enterprise Institute: $275,000
• Documentary Foundation: $50,000
• DonorsTrust: $200,00 (Constitutional Challenge Fund); $300,000 (Fund to Unleash American Prosperity); $125,000 (Marketing Director); $100,000 (Supply Side Institute)
• Emory University: $10,000
• Employment Policies Institute: $100,000
• Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies: $170,000 (Fellows in Law Program); $205,000 (Young Scholar Development)
• Flow through contribution via ENCAP Energy Fund V: $2 (For the unrestricted use of the charity)
• Flow through contribution via KTC Hedge Products: $12 (For the unrestricted use of the charity)
• Flow through contribution via The Advisors: $7 (For the unrestricted use of the charity)
• Foundation for Government Accountability: $75,000 (Health Care Research and Education); $50,000 (Welfare Reform)
• Foundation for Individual Rights in Education: $75,000
• Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity: $100,000
• Fraser Institute: $100,000
• Freedomworks Foundation: $100,000
• Galen Institute: $125,000
• George Mason University: $700,000 (Law and Economics Center); $25,000 (Department of Economics); $189,452 (Research Sabbaticals in Law and Public Policy); $200,000 (Supreme Court Law Clinic); $300,000 (Center for the Study of Administrative State)
• George Washington University: $100,000
• Georgetown University Law Center: $171,570
• Goldwater Institute: $125,000
• Government Accountability Institute: $100,000
• Harvard University: $75,000
• Heartland Institute: $50,000
• Heritage Foundation: $300,000
• Hudson Institute: $150,000
• Institute for Humane Studies: $275,000 (Dan Searle Fellowships); $150,00 (Learn Liberty Project).
• Institute for Justice: $350,000 (Strategic Research); $50,000 (Social Media)
• Truth in Accounting: $100,000
• Institute to Reduce Spending: $46,140
• Kinship Foundation: $60,000
• Liberty Source: $140, 300
• Lucy Burns Institute: $100,000
• Manhattan Institute for Policy Research: $200,000 (Initiative on Race, Culture, and Economics); $450,000 (Center for State and Local Leadership, Center for Energy Policy and the Environment)
• Mercatus Center: $150,000 (Financial Markets Working Group); $150,00 (Spending and Budget Initiative); $100,000 (Permissionless Innovation); $250,000 (Marginal Revolution University); $50,000 (Project for the Study of American Capitalism)
• Minding the Campus: $25,000
• Moving Picture Institute: $75,000 (Hollywood Career Launch); $52,250 (Film Editing Workshop); $125,000 (Rising Filmmakers Program)
• National Affairs: $315,000 (Economic Growth Project); $175,000 (Editorial Support)
• National Council on Teacher Quality: $100,000
• National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation: $50,000
• New York University: $72,000
• Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs: $60,000
• Pacific Legal Foundation: $130,000
• Pacific Research Institute: $125,000 (Health Care Communication); $100,000 (Macroeconomic Research Project)
• Philanthropy Roundtable: $50,000 (Donor Outreach); $50,000 (Almanac of American Philanthropy)
• Project Liberty: $350, 000
• Project on Fair Representation: $450,000
• Prosperity and Environment Research Center: $37,500 (Book Project on Indian Reservations); $227,000 (Workshops on Environmental Economics); $85,000 (Julian Simon Fellows)
• Real Clear Foundation: $25,000 (Marketing of the End of Doom); $25,000 (Marketing of Popular Economics); $100,000 (Real Clear Policy and Real Clear Books)
• Reason Foundation: $250,000 (Searle Freedom Trust Fellowship); $700,000 (Reason.tv); $93,500 (Collaboration Filmmakers Challenge)
• State Budget Solutions: $50,000
• State Policy Network: $966,850
• Statistical Assessment Service: $230,000 (Science Literacy Project); $130,000 (Sense About Science, US)
• Student Free Press Association: $100,000
• Students for Fair Admissions: $500,000
• Taliesen Nexus: $96,900 (Film and Television Workshop and Institutes); $110,500 (Narrative Writing)
• Tax Foundation: $100,000 (Putting a Face on America's Tax Returns); $300,000 (Taxes and Growth Dynamic Modeling Project)
• Texas Public Policy Foundation: $50,000
• Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy: $100,000
• The Daily Caller News Foundation: $80,000 (Fellowship Program); $100,000 (Investigative Reporting)
• The Prometheus Institute: $81,500
• R Street Institute: $94,500
• The University of Colorado Foundation: $42,938
• White House Writers Group: $50,000
• Work First Foundation: $100,000

2014

• Action Institute: $100,000
• American Enterprise Institute: $1,500,000
• American Legislative Exchange Council: $140,000 (Rich States, Poor States); $54,500 (State Fiscal Reform Research)
• American Transparency: $50,000
• Ashbrook Center: $125,000
• Atlas Network: $65,000
• Becker Friedman Institute: $50,000
• Benjamin Rush Institute: $100,000
• Brigham and Women's Hospital: $101,200
• Brookings Institution: $250,000 (Searle Freedom Trust Senior Fellow); $100,000 (Domestic Policy Research)
• The Buckeye Institute: $100,000
• Cato Institute: $375,000
• Center for Class Action Fairness: $225,000
• Center for Competitive Politics: $125,000
• Center for Independent Thought: $75,000
• Chapman University: $100,000
• Claremont Institute: $100,000
• Collegiate Network: $100,000
• Competitive Enterprise Institute: $275,000 (Center for Energy and Environment); $175,000 (Public Interest Litigation)
• Documentary Foundation: $50,000
• DonorsTrust: $550,000 (Constitutional Challenges Fund); $310,000 (Dan Searle Fellowships in Economics); $50,000 (David's Fund); $125,000 (Marketing Director); $100,000 (Supply Side Institute)
• Employment Policies Institute: $75,000
• Encounter Books: $31,000
• Ethics and Public Policy Center: $125,000 (Research on Political Trends); $75,000 (Education on Judicial Appointments)
• Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies: $375,000
• Foundation for Government Accountability: $75,000
• Foundation for Individual Rights in Education: $75,000
• Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity: $100,000
• Fraser Institute: $150,000
• Galen Institute: $100,000
• George Mason University: $115,000 (Supreme Court Law Clinic); $700,000 (Law and Economics Center); $116,210 (Research Sabbaticals in Law and Public Policy); $25,000 (Department of Economics); $100,000 (Regulatory Studies Center)
• Georgetown University Law Center: $34,325
• Goldwater Institute: $125,000 (Constitutional Litigation Center); $52,500 (Strategy Guide and Training Retreat)
• Harvard University: $166,250 (Online Course Development); $123,000 (Program on Education Policy and Governance); $75,000 (Education Next)
• Heartland Institute: $50,000
• Hudson Institute: $150,000
• Institute for Humane Studies: $350,000
• Institute for Justice: $350,000
• Truth in Accounting: $80,000
• Kinship Foundation: $60,000
• Liberty Source: $42,750
• Lucy Burns Institute: $85,000
• Manhattan Institute for Policy Research: $550,000
• Mercatus Center: $400,000 (Financial Markets Working Group / Permissionless Innovation / Spending and Budget Initiative); $200,000 (Marginal Revolution University)
• Moving Picture Institute: $200,000 (Rising Filmmakers Program / Hollywood Career Launch Program); $25,000 (Web Comedy Series)
• National Affairs: $175,000
• National Center for Policy Analysis: $50,000
• National Council on Teacher Quality: $100,000
• National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation: $75,000
• New York University School of Law: $35,464 (Legal Studies Fellowship); $72,700 (Legal Studies Fellowship)
• Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs: $60,000
• Pacific Legal Foundation: $100,000
• Pacific Research Institute: $225,000
• Philanthropic Enterprise: $40,000
• Philanthropy Roundtable: $50,000
• Progressive Policy Institute: $50,000
• Project Liberty: $350,000 (Center for College Affordability and Productivity); $47,500 (Public Records Project)
• Prometheus Institute: $70,000
• Property and Environment Research Center: $302,000 (Workshops on Environmental Economics / Julian Simon Fellowships); $37,500 (Book Project on Indian Reservations)
• Real Clear Foundation: $100,000
• Reason Foundation: $250,000 (Transportation Fellowship); $700,000 (Reason.tv); $93.500 (Collaboration Filmmakers Challenge); $10,000 (The End of Doom Book Project)
• State Policy Network: $60,000 (Public Policy RFP); $312,500 (Public Policy RFP)
• Statistical Assessment Service: $55,000 (Genetic Literacy and Coercive Paternalism Projects); additional donation, $55,000 (Genetic Literacy and Coercive Paternalism Projects)
• Student Free Press Association: $100,000
• Taliesin Nexus: $169,200
• Tax Foundation: $400,000
• Texas Public Policy Foundation: $100,000
• The Daily Caller News Foundation: $80,000
• The Foundation for a Free Society: $20,000
• The R Street Institute: $85,500
• Thomas B. Fordham Foundation: $75,000
• University of Colorado Foundation: $42,938
• Flow through contribution via The Advisors: $44
• Flow through contribution via Advisors IV: $3
• Flow through contribution via ENCAP Energy Fund V: $10
• Flow through contribution via KTC Hedge Products: $112
• Flow through contribution via Madison Dearborn IV: $6

2013

• Acton Institute: $100,000
• American Enterprise Institute: $1,500,000
• American Legislative Exchange Council: $135,000 (for Rich States, Poor States)
• Beacon Hill Institute: $61,875
• Benjamin Rush Institute: $75,000
• Brigham & Women's Hospital: $101,200
• Brookings Institution: $250,000
• Brown University: $25,000
• Capital Research Center: $35,000 (Community Organizer Watch); $50,000 (Philanthropy Daily)
• Cato Institute: $300,000
• Center for Class Action Fairness: $225,000
• Center for Independent Thought: $75,000
• Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy: $100,000
• Collegiate Network: $100,000
• Competitive Enterprise Institute: $275.000
• DonorsTrust: $350,000 (Center for College Affordability and Productivity); $550,000 (Constitutional Challenges Fund); $599,500 (Dan Searle Fellowships in Economics); $30,000 (Marketing); $100,000 (Supply Side Institute)
• Encounter Books: $31,000
• Ethics and Public Policy Center: $125,000 (Research on Political Trends); $75,000 (Education on Judicial Appointments)
• Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies: $365,000 (Fellows in Law Program and Young Legal Scholars Research Support Program / Research); $100,000 (Online Education)
• Foundation for Government Accountability: $50,000
• Foundation for Individual Rights in Education: $75,000
• Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity: $150,000
• Fraser Institute: $100,000
• Freedom Foundation: $60,000
• Galen Institute: $100,000
• George Mason University: $115,000 (Supreme Court Law Clinic); $700,000 (Law & Economics Clinic)
• George W. Bush Presidential Center: $100,000
• George Washington University: $80,000
• Goldwater Institute: $100,000
• Harvard University: $75,000
• Heartland Institute: $50,000 (Climate Change Research)
• Heritage Foundation: $50,000
• Hudson Institute: $225,000
• Institute for Energy Research: $75,000
• Institute for Humane Studies: $375,000 (Journalism Internships / Learn Liberty / Dan Searle Fellowships); $250,000 (Online Economics Program)
• Institute for Justice: $350,000
• Truth in Accounting: $80,000
• Kinship Foundation: $60,000
• Lucy Burns Institute: $70,000
• Manhattan Institute: $550,000
• Mercatus Center: $100,000 (Marginal Revolution University); $300,000 (Regulatory Reform / Financial Markets Working Group / Technology Policy)
• Moving Picture Institute: $200,000
• National Affairs: $150,000
• National Center for Policy Analysis: $100,000
• National Council on Teacher Quality: $100,000
• National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation: $85,000 (Card Check Strategic Litigation)
• National Taxpayers Union Foundation: $40,000
• New York University School of Law: $35,853
• Pacific Legal Foundation: $100,000
• Pacific Research Institute: $300,000
• Foundation on Prevention & Early Resolution of Conflict (PERC): $292,000
• Philanthropy Roundtable: $100,000
• Project Liberty: $650,000
• Prometheus Institute: $68,500
• The R Street Institute: $50,000
• Reason Foundation: $200,000 (Transportation Fellowship); $688,000 (Reason.tv); $10,000 (The End of Doom, Book Project); $93,500 (Collaboration Filmmakers Challenge)
• State Policy Network: $632,000
• Statistical Assessment Service: $220,000
• Student Free Press Association: $100,000
• Taliesin Nexus: $96,000
• Tax Foundation: $400,000
• Texas Public Policy Foundation: $100,000
• Fund for American Studies: $84,000
• White House Writers Group: 34,500
• Flow through contribution via ENCAP Energy Fund V: $19
• Flow through contribution via Madison Dearborn IV: $5
• Flow through contribution via Advisors IV: $18
• Flow through contribution via ETC Hedge Products: $219

2012

• Acton Institute: $100,000
• American Council of Trustees and Alumni: $15,000
• American Enterprise Institute: $1,500,000
• American Legislative Exchange Council: $35,000 (Center for State Fiscal Reform); $140,000 (Rich States, Poor States)
• Art Institute of Chicago: $1,000,000 (Bridge Project)
• Atlas Network: $50,000
• Brigham & Women's Hospital: $101,200
• Brookings Institution: $15,000 (Conference on Mismatch Research); second donation, $35,000 (Conference on Mismatch Research); $99,962 (Research on Legal Education)
• Capital Research Center: $35,000 (Community Organizer Watch); $50,000 (Philanthropy Daily)
• Cato Institute: $50,000
• Center for Independent Thought: $75,000
• Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy: $75,000
• Collegiate Network: $100,000
• Competitive Enterprise Institute: $175,000 (Climate Change Research & Outreach); $50,000 (I, Pencil Video Project)
• Donors Trust: $250,000 (Project on Fair Representation); second donation, $200,000 (Project on Fair Representation); $200,000 (Center for Class Action Fairness); $330,000 (Center for College Affordability and Productivity); $100,000 (Constitutional Challenges Fund); $325,000 (Dan Searle Fellowship in Economics); second donation, $338,500 (Dan Searle Fellowships in Economics); $30,000 (Marketing); $100,000 (Student Free Press Association); $100,000 (Supply Side Institute); $35,000 (Conference on Mismatch Research)
• Duke University: $54,141 (Research on College Admissions); $52,100 (Department of Political Science, Post-Doctoral Fellowships)
• Employment Policies Institute: $75,000
• Encounter Books: $32,500
• Ethics and Public Policy Center: $75,000
• Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies: $225,000 (Fellows in Law Program); $170,000 (Young Scholar Development)
• Florida State University Department of Economics: $60,000
• Foundation for Individual Rights in Education: $75,000
• Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity: $150,000
• Fraser Institute: $100,00
• Free to Choose Media: $100,000
• Freedom Foundation: $50,000 (Save Our States Project); second donation, $50,000 (Save Our States Project)
• FreedomWorks: $75,000
• Galen Institute: $75,000
• George Mason University: $115,000 (GMU School of Law, Supreme Court Law Clinic)
• Goldwater Institute: $75,000
• Harvard University: $75,000
• Heritage Foundation: $100,000
• Hudson Institute: $50,000 (Energy Policy Research); $150,000 (Regulatory Studies Fellowship)
• Institute for Energy Research: $75,000
• Institute for Humane Studies: $50,000 (Learn Liberty Video Project); $50,000 (Journalism Internships); $225,000 (Dan Searle Fellowships)
• Institute for Justice: $75,000 (Social Media); $225,000 (Strategic Research)
• Kinship Foundation: $60,000
• Lucy Burns Institute: $70,000
• Manhattan Institute for Policy Research: $150,000 (Center for the American University); $100,000 (Public Policy Fellowship); $150,000 (Center for State and Local Leadership); $150,000 (Center for Energy Policy & the Environment)
• Mercatus Center: $40,000 (MA Program in Applied Economics); $250,000 (Research on Economics and Regulation); $100,000 (Marginal Revolution University
• Moving Picture Institute: $200,000
• National Affairs: $150,000
• National Center for Policy Analysis: $55,000
• National Review Institute: $45,000
• National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation: $75,000 (Card Check Strategic Litigation)
• National Taxpayers Union Foundation: $40,000
• New York University, Journal of Law and Liberty: $9,218
• New York University, School of Law: $32,275
• Pacific Legal Foundation: $100,000
• Pacific Research Institute: $100,000
• Philanthropy Roundtable: $100,000
• Prometheus Institute: $58,000
• Property and Environment Research Center: $227,000 (Workshops on Environmental Economics); $65,000 (Julian Simon Fellows)
• Reason Foundation: $200,000 (Transportation Fellowship); $688,000 (Reason.tv); $82,500 (Film Competition)
• State Policy Network: $30,000 (Tax and Budget RFP); second donation, $297,000 (Tax and Budget, RFP); $20,000 (Federalism, RFP); second donation $200,000 (Federalism, RFP)
• Statistical Assessment Service: $160,000 (Gene Policy and Science Literacy Project); $60,000 (War on Obesity Project)
• Tuerck Foundation: $55,000
• Taliesin Nexus: $70,000
• Tax Foundation: $150,000 (Putting a Face on America's Tax Returns); $100,000 (Compete USA)
• The Fund for American Studies: $45,000
• Thomas B. Fordham Institute: $100,000
• University of California Regents: $75,000 (UC Berkeley School of Law: Moot Court); $13,400 (UC Berkeley School of Law: Research on Ideological Bias)
• Vanderbilt University Law School: $127,380
• Washington Policy Center: $15,000
• Flow through contribution via The Advisors: $36; second donation, $12
• Flow through contribution via ENCAP Energy Fund V: $4
• Flow through contribution via Madison Dearborn IV: $25
• Flow through contribution via Thackeray Partners: $44
• Flow through contribution via ETC Hedge Products: $125

2011

• American Legislative Exchange Council - $125,000 (Rich States, Poor States), $50,000
• Atlas Economic Research Foundation - $50,000
• Cato Institute - $225,000
• Competitive Enterprise Institute - $175,000
• DonorsTrust - $1,796,000
• Goldwater Institute - $75,000
• Heritage Foundation - $125,000
• Manhattan Institute - $500,000
• Pacific Research Institute - $350,000
• State Policy Network - $464,000
• Texas Public Policy Foundation - $100,000

Another major industry-connected right wing organization that received donations from the Searle Freedom Trust in 2011 was the Philanthropy Roundtable, which received $100,000.

2010

• American Legislative Exchange Council - $125,000 for "Rich States Poor States, 3rd Edition" (see above)
• Americans for Prosperity Foundation $100,000 for "RightOnline blogger development" ("a project of Americans for Prosperity Foundation dedicated to advancing liberty and prosperity for all Americans through greater citizen participation online")
• Cato Institute - $200,000
• Competitive Enterprise Institute - $175,000
• DonorsTrust - $30,000 for marketing
• Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (which fights anti-bullying laws on campus, among other things) $75,000 for "Spotlight website"
• Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity $87,500 for "watchdog websites"
• Goldwater Institute - $50,000
• Heritage Foundation - $295,000 for "Case Against Tenure book," "marketing of book by Naomi Riley on tenure," and "nuclear energy film"
• Institute for Humane Studies (also at George Mason University) $325,000 for "Dan Searle Fellowships," "popular culture initiative," and "journalism internships"
• Manhattan Institute - $450,000 for "Center for the American University," "SFT Fellowship for Nicole Gelinas"; "Center for State & Local Leadership/Moving Men into the Mainstream," and "Center for Energy Policy & the Environment"
• Mercatus Center (also at George Mason University) $250,000 for "new program of Masters degrees in Applied Econ.," "Regulatory Studies Program; Veronique de Rugy & Jerry Brito's work on budget," and "financial markets working group"
• National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation $75,000 for "card check legal defense program"
• National Taxpayers Union Foundation $40,000 for "Bill Tally"
• Pacific Research Institute - $200,000 for "truth about ObamaCare" and "environmental almanac"
• State Policy Network- (a network of right wing think tanks in all 50 states) $371,500 for "State Budgets in Crisis project" and "RFP on state spending policy"
• Texas Public Policy Foundation - $95,000 for Center for Tenth Amendment Studies

Other Searle Freedom Trusts grantees in 2010 included a veritable who's who of right wing organizations and causes:

• Philanthropy Roundtable - $100,000
• American Enterprise Institute $100,000 for "tax and public finance"
• Dick Armey's Freedomworks Foundation $60,000 for a "blogger conference"
• George Mason University $1,149,949 for a range of departments and projects for "Case Against Tenure book," "marketing of book by Naomi Riley on tenure," and "nuclear energy film"
• Lucy Burns Institute $25,000 for "Ballotpedia"
• Property and Environment Research Center (former Political Economy Research Center, a think tank specializing in so-called "free market environmentalism") $246,000 for "workshops on environmental economics," "Julian Simon fellows," and "media fellows"
• STATS - $154,000 for a "Gene Policy and Science Literacy Project" which has been linked agribusiness think tanks

2008

• ACCF Center for Policy Research - $60,000 for Capital Gains Tax Research
• Action Institute - $50,000 for Documentary Video Shorts
• Africa Fight Malaria - $50,000 for Regulation of Counterfeit Drugs
• America's Future Foundation - $31,000 for College Blogger Award
• American Enterprise Institute - $500,000 for D.C. Searle Chair for Chris Dumuth; $1,000,000 for Tax/Public Finance
• American Family Business Foundation - $46,400 for Dynamic Analysis of Death Tax Repeal
• American Film Renassaince - $300,000 for Seed Funding
• American Legislative Exchange Council - $100,000 for Rich States Poor States
• Americans for Prosperity - $50,000 for Earmarks and Electivity Project
• Americans for Tax Reform - $44,000 for Web 2.0 Training; $100,000 for Web 2.0 Training
• Capital Research Center - $35,000 for Soros Watch
• Center for Competitive Politics - $125,000 for Litigation Program
• Center for Independent Thought - $75,000 for Stossel in the Classroom
• Citizens Against Government Waste - $50,000 for State Piglet Books
• Claremont Institute - $75,000 for Fellows Program
• Collegiate Network - $140,000 for Professionalism Journalism Development Award
• Competitive Enterprise Institute - $50,000 for Warrant T. Brookes Journalism Fellowship; $175,000 for Climate Change/Tobacco Legislation
• Donor's Trust - $40,000 for Initiative on Race Preferences; $200,000 for Litigation on Race Preferences; $30,000 for Marketing; $100,000 for Supply Side Institute
• Duke University Political Science - $53,100 for Postdoctoral Fellowships
• Encounter Books - $30,000 for Manifest on Media Freedom
• Ethics and Public Policy Center - $75,000 for Work by Ed Whelan
• Evergreen Foundation - $50,000 for scrapthecode.org
• Federalists Society - $300,000 for Fellows in Law/Research Fellowships
• Foundation for Individual Rights in Education - $75,000 for "Spotlight" Website
• Fraser Institute - $100,000 for Economic Freedom
• George Marshall Insitute - $60,000 for Study on Impact of Mandate Greenhouse Reductions
• George Mason University Foundation - $109,371 for Reseach Sabbatical
• GMU Economics Department - $60,000 for Postdoctoral Fellowships
• Grassroot Insitute of Hawaii - $25,000 for Akaka Bill Studies
• Harris School of Public Policy - $29,650 for Sabbatical for Chris Berry
• Harvard University - $115,000 for Graduate and Post Doc Fellowships; $50,000 for Program on Education Policy
• Heritage Foundation - $80,000 for Cost of Climate Change
• Hoover Institution - $200,000 for Uncommon Knowledge
• Independent Women's Forum - $75,000 for Family Medical Leave Act
• Institute for Humane Studies - $250,000 for Fellowships/Pop Culture Intitative
• Institute for Research on Economics and Taxation - $80,000 for Capital Gains Tax Research
• Institute for Justice - $200,000 for Strategic Research Program
• Iowa State University - $50,000 for Reaserach on 3R Policies
• John Locke Foundation - $30,000 for Carlina Journal TV
• KTC Hedge Products - $37
• Madison Dearborn Capital - $84
• Manhattan Institute - $450,000 for MMM Project
• Mercatus Center - $40,000 for Fellowships for M.A.S. in Economics; $190,000 for Regulatory Studies
• Moving Picture Institute - $100,000 for Internship
• Natinal Right to Work Foundation - $75,000 for Card Check Instant Organizaing Task Force
• National Council on Teacher Quality - $100,000 for Ratings of School Education
• National Review Institute - $45,000 for Fellows Program
• National Taxpayers Union Foundation - $40,000 for Bill/Vote Tally
• Pacific Legal Foundation - $80,000 for Endangered Species Act
• Pacific Research Foundation - $180,000 for Environmental Index; $100,000 for Benjamin Rush Society
• Philanthropy Roundtable - $100,000 for Donor Recruiting
• Property and Environment Reseach - $5,000 for Fellows; $161,000 for Workshops
• Reason Foundation - $75,000 for Grant for line plot; $160,000 for New Media Fellowship; $500,000 for Reason TV
• School Performance, Inc. - $100,000 for Brighter Choice
• Searle Center on Law/Regulation - $400,000 for Civil Justice Institute
• Social Security Foundation - $50,000 for Book Launch
• Stanford Instute - $248,000 for Postdoctoral Fellowships
• State Policy Newtork - $30,000 for RFP on State Spending Policy; $300,000 for Budget/Tax RFP; $30,000 for State Budget Cuts
• Tax Foundation - $150,000 for Putting a Face on America's Tax Returns; $77,500 for Federal Tax and Spending Policies
• Thackeray Partners - $10
• The Advisors - $647
• UC Regents - $100,000 for Grant for Affirmative Action; $360,000 for Initiative on Race Preferences
• University of Chicago - $22,500 for PHD Fellowships; $29,650 for School Sabbatical
• University of Pennsylvania - $40,000 for Market and the Environment
• University of Texas - $26,000 for Edgewood Voucher Project
• Witherspoon Insitute - $12,155 for Fellowship Support Catherine Pakaluk
• Yale University - $249,600 for Law Clinic

2006

• Action Institute, Grand Rapids MI - $50,000
• American Enterprise Institute, Washington D.C. - $194,000
• American Docs. Inc., Yucaipa, CA - $225,000
• American Film Renaissance, Dallas, TX - $75,000
• Americans for Prosperity, Washington D.C. - $25,000
• American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Washington D.C. - $100,000
• Brookings Institute (to support economic institutes for judges), Irving CA - $100,000
• Capital Research Center, Washington D.C. - $25,000
• Case Western University (Center for Business Law and Regulations), Cleveland, OH - $16,125
• Cato Institute, Washington D.C. - $100,000
• Citizens Against Government Waste, Washington D.C. - $25,000
• Claremont Insitute, Claremont, CA - $100,000
• Clemson University (Post Doctorate Fellowship), Clemson, SC - $70,00
• Collegiate Network, Wilmington, DE - $120,000
• Competitive Enterprise Institute, Washington D.C. - $160,000
• Donors Trust, Alexandria, VA - $692,000
• Ethics and Public Policy Center (For work on judicial appointments), Washington D.C. - $50,000
• Federalist Society, Washington D.C. - $150,000
• The Foundation, Culver City, CA - $25,000
• Free Enterprise Institute, Washington D.C. - $75,000
• George Mason University (School of Public Policy/ ATC Study), Fairfax, VA - $20,000
• George Mason University (Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science) - $45,000
• George Mason University (Law and Economic Center) - $80,000
• Harvard University, Cambridge, MA - $250,000
• Heritage Foundation, Washington D.C. - $100,000
• Institute for Humane Studies, Arlington, VA - $245,000
• Institute for Justice, Arlington, VA - $150,000
• Kinship Foundation, Northbrook, IL - $20,000
• Manhattan Institute, New York, NY - $300,000
• Mercatus Center, Arlington, VA - $100,000
• Moving Pictures Institute, New York, NY - $100,000
• National Council on Teacher Quality, Washington D.C. - $226,000
• National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Springfield, VA - $65,000
• National Taxpayers Union Foundation, Alexandria, VA - $40,000
• Pacific Legal Foundation, Sacramento, CA - $100,000
• Pacific Research Institute, San Francisco, CA - $140,000
• PERC, Bozeman, MT - $85,000
• Reason Foundation, Los Angeles, CA - $250,000
• Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Stanford, CA - $10,800
• State Policy Network (SPN), Richmond, CA - $248,500
• Tax Foundation, Washington D.C. - $100,000
• Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Washington D.C. - $40,000
• University of Chicago (Becker and Murphy Course on Price Theory), Chicago, IL - $22,500
• University of Chicago (Chicago workshop on black - white inequality) - $147,800
• University of Virginia (Research on Housing Policy), Charlottesville, VA -$36,215

Personnel

Staff

As of July 2017:

• Kimberly O. Dennis, President and CEO
• Courtney Myers, Program Officer
• Richard Tren, Program Officer
• Gerard Alexander, Consultant
• Jennifer Eakle, Office Manager

Board of Trustees

As of 2015:

• D. Gideon Searle, Trustee
• Kinship Trust Company, Trustee

Contact Information

Searle Freedom Trust
1055 Thomas Jefferson St., NW, Suite L 26
Washington, DC 20007
Phone: 202-375-7820
Web: http://searlefreedomtrust.org/
Email: jeakle@searlefreedomtrust.org

Articles and Resources

Related SourceWatch Articles

• Pfizer
• DonorsTrust
• State Policy Network
• Kimberly O. Dennis

External Resources

• Ed Pilkington, State conservative groups plan US-wide assault on education, health and tax, The Guardian, December 5, 2013.
• Tom Philpott, The making of an Agribusiness Apologist, Mother Jones, Feb 24, 2012.