Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy

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The Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy (TJI) is a state-based think tank in Virginia "dealing with the issues of improving education, government reform, economic development and environmental stewardship."[1] The Institute states as its mission "to provide Virginia's political, business, academic, community and media leadership with thoughtful, realistic, useful and non-partisan analysis of public policy issues confronting our Commonwealth."[2]. Its "alternative policy ideas focus on state and local issues and are based on the Institute's belief in free markets, limited government and individual responsibility," according to the organization's website.[2]

The group was founded in 1985[3] and is a member of the State Policy Network (SPN).

News and Controversies

TJI's Director of the Center for Environmental Stewardship Named to President-elect Trump's EPA Transition Team

David Schnare, director of the Center for Environmental Stewardship at the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, has been tapped to serve on President-elect Trump's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) team.[4] Schnare is also the director of Free Market Environmental Law Clinic (FMELC), general counsel at the Energy and Environment Legal Institute (EELI). Schnare is a climate change denier and is well-known among climate scientists for his intimidation campaigns.[5]

TJIPP Called Out for Blocking Action on Climate Change

In July of 2016, nineteen U.S. Senators delivered a series of speeches denouncing climate change denial from 32 organizations with links to fossil-fuel interests, including the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy.[6] Sen. Whitehouse (RI-D), who led the effort to expose "the web of denial" said in his remarks on the floor that the purpose was to,

"shine a little light on the web of climate denial and spotlight the bad actors in the web, who are polluting our American discourse with phony climate denial. This web of denial, formed over decades, has been built and provisioned by the deep-pocketed Koch brothers, by ExxonMobil, by Peabody coal, and by other fossil fuel interests. It is a grim shadow over our democracy in that it includes an electioneering effort that spends hundreds of millions of dollars in a single election cycle and threatens any Republican who steps up to address the global threat of climate change. . . . [I]t is long past time we shed some light on the perpetrators of this web of denial and expose their filthy grip on our political process. It is a disgrace, and our grandchildren will look back at this as a dirty time in America’s political history because of their work.”[6]

Ties to the Bradley Foundation

Between 2013 and 2015 the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy received $150,000 from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.

Bradley detailed the most recent grants in internal documents examined by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD). Below is a description of the grant prepared by CMD. The quoted text was written by Bradley staff.

2015: $50,000 to support the State Energy Policy Summits. The Thomas Jefferson Institute has received a total of $150,000 from Bradley as of this grant. “In September TJI will hold a summit meeting prior to the SPN annual meeting in Grand Rapids. Attention will be focused on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations and the free market case for offshore gas and oil exploration in Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. Discussion will also be entertained on issue of Keystone Pipeline in several Plain states.”

2014: $50,000 to support its Leadership Roundtables on Energy & Environmental Stewardship. “Planned and put on in close cooperation with the Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), the roundtables allow state think tanks to better promote free market energy and environmental policies… During the past three years, TJI has filled what it justifiably saw as an important, unfilled niche by convening and hosting energy roundtables twice a year – one before Brady-supported Heritage Foundation’s Annual Resource Bank meeting in Spring and another before the annual SPN meetings in the Fall – for conservative state think-tank leaders and policy analysts. At September’s SPN meeting, about 60 people attended the roundtable.”

2013: $50,000 in first-time support for its energy roundtables.

Bradley Files

In 2017, the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), publishers of SourceWatch, launched a series of articles on the Milwaukee-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, exposing the inner-workings of one of America's largest right-wing foundations. 56,000 previously undisclosed documents laid bare the Bradley Foundation's highly politicized agenda. CMD detailed Bradley's efforts to map and measure right wing infrastructure nationwide, including by dismantling and defunding unions to impact state elections; bankrolling discredited spin doctor Richard Berman and his many front groups; and more.

Find the series here at ExposedbyCMD.org.

Ties to the Koch Brothers

TJI has ties to the Koch brothers. The organization has received funding from DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund. TJI also received funding from the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation. (See below.)

Koch Wiki

The Koch brothers -- David and Charles -- are the right-wing billionaire co-owners of Koch Industries. As two of the richest people in the world, they are key funders of the right-wing infrastructure, including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the State Policy Network (SPN). In SourceWatch, key articles on the Kochs include: Koch Brothers, Koch Industries, Americans for Prosperity, American Encore, and Freedom Partners.

Funding

The Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy is not required to disclose its funders. Its major foundation funders, however, can be found through a search of the IRS filings. Here are some of the known funders:[7]

Core Financials

2016[10]

  • Total Revenue: $201,878
  • Total Expenses: $230,223
  • Net Assets: $-11,256

2015[11]

  • Total Revenue: $240,331
  • Total Expenses: $267,750
  • Net Assets: $15,320

2014[12]

  • Total Revenue: $269,944
  • Total Expenses: $239,348
  • Net Assets: $45,279

2013[13]

  • Total Revenue: $315,473
  • Total Expenses: $272,805
  • Net Assets: $26,376

2012[14]

  • Total Revenue: $279,151
  • Total Expenses: $286,741
  • Net Assets: -$18,304

2011[15]

  • Total Revenue: $259,018
  • Total Expenses: $277,803
  • Net Assets: $32,094

2010[16]:

  • Total Revenue: $306,376.00
  • Total Expenses: $298,312.00
  • Net Assets: $50,869.00

2009[17]:

  • Total Revenue: $224,363.00
  • Total Expenses: $266,545.00
  • Net Assets: $42,815.00

Personnel

Staff

As of September 2018:[18]

Board

As of September 2018:[19]

  • Michael W. Thompson, Chairman and President
  • Randal C. Teague, Secretary, Treasurer and Counsel
  • John Alderson
  • William W. Beach
  • James Beamer
  • W. Stephen Cannon
  • Stephan Q. Cassaday
  • Tom Davis
  • Rebecca Donatelli
  • James W. Dyke, Jr
  • John Hager
  • Robert v. L. Hartwell
  • Alan I. Kirshner
  • Joseph Ragan
  • John Rust
  • John G. Ryan
  • Robert W. Shinn
  • Dr. Robert F. Turner

Former Directors

  • Keith Fulton
  • Jay Poole
  • Mr. Todd A. Stottlemyer
  • Robert W. Woltz, Jr.

Contact Information

Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy
9035 Golden Sunset Lane
Springfield, VA 22153
Phone: (703) 440 9447
Fax: (703) 455 1531
Email: info@thomasjeffersoninst.org
Website: http://thomasjeffersoninst.org

Articles and Resources

Related SourceWatch Articles

Related PRWatch Articles

External Resources

References

  1. Thomas Jefferson Institute, Staff Scholars, organizational website, accessed December 8, 2011.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Thomas Jefferson Institute, Mission, organizational website, accessed December 2012.
  3. Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, GuideStar.org, accessed April 2013.
  4. Ben Jervey, The Trump Administration Is Filling Up With Koch Allies, the energy collective, December 22, 2016.
  5. Lee Fang, He Waged Intimidation Campaigns Against Climate Scientists; Now He’s Helping Trump Remake the EPA, The Intercept, December 9, 2016.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Sheldon Whitehouse, "Senators Call Out Web of Denial Blocking Action On Climate Change," Office of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, July 15, 2016.
  7. Except where noted: American Bridge 21st Century, Recipient: Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, Bridge Project" conservative transparency website, accessed March 2014.
  8. NFIB Research Foundation, 2012 Form 990, annual organizational IRS filing, May 7, 2013, p. 22.
  9. NFIB Research Foundation, 2011 Form 990, annual organizational IRS filing, May 10, 2012, p. 23.
  10. Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, [phttps://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/510280185/201732269349301613/IRS990 2016 Form 990], annual organizational IRS filing, Sept 18, 2017
  11. Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, [paper copy 2015 Form 990], annual organizational IRS filing, August 10, 2016.
  12. Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, 2014 Form 990, annual organizational IRS filing, August 13, 2015.
  13. Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, 2013 Form 990, annual organizational IRS filing, August 7, 2014.
  14. Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, 2012 Form 990, annual organizational IRS filing, August 12, 2013.
  15. Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, IRS Form 990, 2011, organizational tax filing, August 13, 2012.
  16. Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, 2010. GuideStar.
  17. Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, IRS form 990, 2009. GuideStar.
  18. Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, Staff and Scholars, Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, 2017.
  19. Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, Board of Directors, Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, 2017.