Yankee Institute for Public Policy

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The Yankee Institute for Public Policy (YIPP) is a right-wing think tank in Hartford, Connecticut. According to their website, they have been "creating new ideas for lower taxes and smaller government in Connecticut since 1984."[1] The YIPP is a member of the State Policy Network. Yankee Action and the Yankee Charitable Foundation are both controlled by YIPP.[2]

In the 1990s, the Yankee Institute had an office on the campus of Trinity College.[3]

Ties to the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity

The Yankee Institute for Public Policy 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.[4] The Franklin Center funds reporters in over 40 states.[5] Despite their non-partisan description, many of the websites funded by the Franklin Center have received criticism for their conservative bias.[6][7] On its website, the Franklin Center claims it "provides 10 percent of all daily reporting from state capitals nationwide."[8]

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).[9] Mother Jones called DonorsTrust "the dark-money ATM of the conservative movement" in a February 2013 article.[10] Franklin received DonorTrust's second-largest donation in 2011.[9]

The Franklin Center also receives funding from the Wisconsin-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation,[11] a conservative grant-making organization.[12]

The Franklin Center was launched by the Chicago-based Sam Adams Alliance (SAM),[13] a 501(c)(3) devoted to pushing free-market ideals. SAM gets funding from the State Policy Network,[14] which is partially funded by The Claude R. Lambe Foundation.[15] Charles Koch, one of the billionaire brothers who co-own Koch Industries, sits on the board of this foundation.[16] SAM also receives funding from the Rodney Fund.

Activities

Yankee Action Targets Paid Sick Leave

The Yankee Institute's political advocacy group, Yankee Action, took out ads in newspapers opposing paid sick leave legislation.[3]

Funding

The Yankee Institute does not disclose its funding sources, but some of its funders are known through separate tax filings. YIPP's funders include:

Core Financials

2017[17]

  • Total Revenue: $1,497,731
  • Total Expenses: $1,480,140
  • Net Assets: $426,377

2016[18]

  • Total Revenue: $1,135,282
  • Total Expenses: $1,018,796
  • Net Assets: $408,856

2015[19]

  • Total Revenue: $815,112
  • Total Expenses: $644,820
  • Net Assets: $292,343

2014[2]

  • Total Revenue: $561,232
  • Total Expenses: $502,646
  • Net Assets: $122,051

2013[20]

  • Total Revenue: $440,812
  • Total Expenses: $596,046
  • Net Assets: $63,465

2012[21]

  • Total Revenue: $613,624
  • Total Expenses: $568,905
  • Net Assets: $218,699

Personnel

Staff

As of September 2019:[22]

  • Carol Platt Liebau, President
  • Elisabeth Kines, Executive Vice President
  • Suzanne Bates, Senior Fellow, former Director of Policy and Legislative Outreach
  • Scott Shepard, Director of Public Policy and Research
  • Isabel Blank, Senior Manager, External Affairs, former Manager External Affairs.
  • Marc E. Fitch, Investigative Reporter
  • Matthew Fox, Director of Operations

Former Staff

  • Zach Janowski, Director of External Affairs
  • Alisa Pulaski, Development Manager
  • Tamara Tragakis Barry, Director of Development
  • Fergus Cullen, Executive Director (former Chairman, New Hampshire Republican Party)[23]
  • Heath Fahle, Deputy Director
  • Jessica Buchanan, Operations Director

Board of Directors

As of September 2019:[24]

  • Daniel Gressel, Chairman
  • Gerald Gunderson
  • Carol Platt Liebau
  • Betsy McCaughey
  • Dave Pelizzon
  • Ken Boudreau, Treasurer
  • Penny Young

Former Directors

  • Tom Lasersohn
  • Andrew R. Jones, Chairman
  • Andrew J. Cowin
  • Robert R. Simmons, Chairman
  • Judi Freedman
  • George W. Schiele (president and CEO, 4003 Corporation)
  • Kevin North (founder and President, Talcott Realty Investors)

Contact Information

Yankee Institute for Public Policy
216 Main Street
Hartford, CT 06106
Phone: 860-282-0722
Website: http://www.yankeeinstitute.org
Email: Zach@YankeeInstitute.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/yankeeinstitute
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YankeeInstitute

Articles and Resources

Related SourceWatch Articles

Related PRWatch Articles

External Resources


References

  1. "Yankee Institute", organizational website, accessed October 2012
  2. 2.0 2.1 Yankee Institute for Public Policy, 2014 Form 990, organizational annual IRS filing, November 16, 2015.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 JC Reindl, Yankee Institute rises to challenge as conservative voice in Connecticut, the Day, July 31, 2011.
  4. Franklin Center, Franklin Affiliates in Your State, organizational website, accessed October 2012.
  5. The Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, Think tank Journalism: The Future of Investigative Journalism, organizational website, accessed August 19, 2011.
  6. Rebekah Metzler, "Watchdog" website puts a new spin on politics, The Portland Press Herald, October 2, 2010.
  7. Allison Kilkenny, The Koch Spider Web, Truthout, accessed August 19, 2011.
  8. Sara Jerving, Franklin Center: Right-Wing Funds State News Source, PRWatch.org, October 27, 2011.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Paul Abowd, Center for Public Integrity, Donors use charity to push free-market policies in states, organizational report, February 14, 2013.
  10. Andy Kroll, Exposed: The Dark-Money ATM of the Conservative Movement, Mother Jones, February 5, 2013.
  11. Daniel Bice, Franklin Center boss wants apology from Democratic staffer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 8, 2011.
  12. The Bradley Foundation. The Bradley Foundation. Organizational website. Accessed August 19, 2011.
  13. Sam Adams Alliance. Sam Adams Alliance Media Kit. Organizational PDF. Accessed August 19, 2011.
  14. Media Matters Action Network. Sam Adams Alliance. Conservative Transparency. Accessed August 19, 2011.
  15. Media Matters Action Network. State Policy Network. Conservative Transparency. Accessed August 19, 2011.
  16. Media Matters Action Network. Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation. Conservative Transparency. Accessed August 19, 2011.
  17. Yankee Institute for Public Policy, Form 990, organizational annual IRS filing, Nov. 15, 2018
  18. Yankee Institute for Public Policy, [paper copy 2016 Form 990], organizational annual IRS filing, Nov 15, 2017
  19. Yankee Institute for Public Policy 2015 Form 990, organizational annual IRS filing, August 9, 2016.
  20. Yankee Institute for Public Policy, 2013 Form 990, organizational annual IRS filing, October 23, 2014.
  21. Yankee Institute for Public Policy, 2012 Form 990, organizational annual IRS filing, November 8, 2013.
  22. Yankee Institute, Staff, organizational website, accessed October 2018.
  23. Fergus Cullen Communications, Biography, public affairs firm website, accessed November 2013.
  24. Yankee Institute, Board, organizational website, accessed October 2018.