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Searle Freedom Trust
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The Searle Freedom Trust, formerly called the D&D Foundation, is a conservative organization that funds Americans for Prosperity, the American Enterprise Institute, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the Heartland Institute, State Policy Network, and other right-wing groups. Kimberly O. Dennis is its executive director.[1]
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Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council
Searle Freedom Trust gave $125,000 to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in 2011.[1] The organization funded the research and publication of at least the 3rd and 5th editions of ALEC's Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index report.[2]
| About ALEC |
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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.
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Funding the Right Wing
Searle Freedom Trusts grantees in 2010 included a veritable who's who of right wing organizations and causes:[1]
- American Enterprise Institute $100,000 for "tax and public finance"
- ALEC $125,000 for "Rich States Poor States, 3rd Edition" (see above)
- Americans for Prosperity $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 for "financial regulation research/Cato papers in economics"
- Competitive Enterprise Institute $175,000 for "climate change"
- Donor's Trust $30,000 for "marketing" and over $1 million for other efforts[3]
- 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"
- Dick Armey's Freedomworks Foundation $60,000 for a "blogger conference"
- George Mason University $1,149,949 for a range of departments and projects
- Goldwater Institute $50,000 for the Center for Constitutional Litigation
- 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"
- Lucy Burns Institute $25,000 for "Ballotpedia"
- 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"
- 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"
- 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 its "Center for Tenth Amendment Studies"
Personnel
Trustees
Grant Advisors
Family Advisors
Staff
Kimberly O. Dennis
President and CEO
(202) 375-7822
kdennis -at- searlefreedomtrust.org
Courtney Myers
Program Officer
(202) 375-7834
cmyers -at- searlefreedomtrust.org
Richard Tren
Program Officer
(202) 375-7824
rtren -at- searlefreedomtrust.org
Gerard Alexander
Consultant
(202) 375-7826
galexander -at- searlefreedomtrust.org
Teresa Brown
Consultant
tbrown -at- searlefreedomtrust.org
Jennifer Eakle
Office Manager
(202) 375-7827
jeakle -at- searlefreedomtrust.org[4]
Contact
The address given on the organization's most recent (2010) IRS Form 990 is:[1]
303 W. Madison Ave., Ste. 1800
Chicago, IL 60606
However, the contact information given on the organization's website as of November 2012 is:[4]
1055 Thomas Jefferson St., NW, Suite L 26
Washington, DC 20007
Phone: 202-375-7820
Fax: 202-375-7821
Web: http://searlefreedomtrust.org/
Email: See above.
Articles and Resources
Related SourceWatch articles
- Kimberly O. Dennis
- Searle Freedom Trust
External Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Searle Freedom Trust, 2010 Form 990, organizational IRS filing, November 15, 2011.
- ↑ American Legislative Exchange Council, Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index, organizational report, July 2012.
- ↑ Paul Abowd, "Donors use charity to push free-market policies in states: Nonprofit group lets donors fly 'totally under the radar,' Center for Public Integrity, Feb 14, 2013.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Searle Freedom Trust, Contact Us, organizational website, accessed November 2012.
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