This column was first published on February 15, 2024. Epoch Epoch.
Conservatives and moderates—individuals, corporations, and foundations—are the most avid donors to American universities. Recipient institutions often commemorate larger grants by naming classrooms, buildings, stadiums, and other facilities after donors.
But recent events have shed light on the ugliness that has pervaded campuses for decades, including the suppression of free speech, the indoctrination of harmful ideologies, racial and ethnic discrimination, and anti-Semitism. I am.
Therefore, I agree with commentator Dennis Prager that donations should be reduced. Why should we have to pay for the rope they use to hang us?
Of course, some naive donors try to get around the problem by placing legal limits on donations. But as I pointed out in Part 4 of my series “What's Wrong with Universities and How to Fix It,” university administrators are experts at circumventing such restrictions. They also know very well how to make us a soft soap.
What are the alternatives?
Fortunately, in addition to subscribing to The Epoch Times, there are ways to support the transmission and advancement of human learning while promoting “truth and tradition.” I've touched on this subject in at least one previous column, and now it's time to expand on it.
Over the past 50 years, a network of policy centers (commonly referred to as “think tanks”) has grown in the United States. (There are also Canadian equivalents, such as the Fraser Institute.) They carry out many of the teaching, research, and service activities traditionally performed by universities, while promoting freedom and traditional values. .
Policy centers such as universities in the United States typically qualify as charitable or educational organizations under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. This means your donation is generally tax deductible.
Also, like universities, they conduct research and publish their results. Most companies provide educational experiences to student interns, and many also engage in public service activities. Such public interest efforts are usually much more palatable than the bizarre causes supported by many university professors.
Unlike universities and universities, even the smallest and most conservative universities, these policy centers typically operate under financial constraints. That means it has to be efficient. Most organizations have little bureaucracy, allowing donors to get the most bang for their buck.
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Like universities, policy centers differ in many ways. The best known is the Heritage Foundation, a national conservative institution. The smaller Cato Institute also focuses on the state, but is strictly liberal. Some of its positions (such as support for same-sex marriage) are inconsistent with traditional values.
Similar divisions occur in other policy centers, but usually in a more moderate form. Some are more conservative and focus on family and cultural issues. One example is Colorado's Centennial Institute, which is affiliated with Colorado Christian University. The Goldwater Institute in Arizona (where I was a senior fellow) has a more liberal bent. But most of these policy centers, including Centennial and Goldwater, combine freedom and tradition to varying degrees.
The range of centers is also different. Some focus on a single subject area. For example, North Carolina's James Martin Center for Academic Renewal focuses solely on higher education. Montana's highly established Real Estate and Environmental Research Center (PERC) studies land and land use issues. Within its compass, PERC's scope is truly international.
The Heartland Institute (where I also served as a senior researcher) is a blend. Heartland City, based in Illinois, has traditionally focused on issues common to state government. But Heartland is also branching out into climate science. He is vigorously promoting facts to counter the left's “climate change” hysteria. Additionally, it recently released research analysis suggesting that President Donald Trump may have been the true winner of the 2020 presidential election.
Other think tanks, such as the Vibrant New Frontier Institute in Montana, study policies in only a single state.
Additionally, some combine single-state questions with questions that extend beyond state boundaries. The Goldwater Institute in Arizona studies Arizona policy, but also litigates constitutional cases in both state and federal states.
Let me now turn to my own policy center. I have been with the Independent Institute in Colorado for 30 years. It is the oldest state-based think tank. We mix Colorado issues with work on the U.S. Constitution. If you're a gun enthusiast, you may be familiar with my colleague and leading Second Amendment expert, Dave Kopel.
Additionally, there are differences in focus among state think tanks. The Independence Institute is a leader in school choice research and employs experts in state finance, energy and health issues. The John Locke Foundation in North Carolina also has an education center and an energy center, as well as the Civitas Center for Public Integrity, which focuses on ethics.
How do I know what to support?
To a limited extent, “progressives” have imitated conservative free market networks by establishing their own state-based policy shops. (John Caldara, president of the Independent Institute, once quipped that Colorado's left-wing organization should be called the “Addiction Institute.”)
However, in my experience, most “progressive” establishments are primarily fronts for political movements rather than permanent organizations. They are like balloons: when Soros and his supporters begin a campaign, they inflate with money and staff, but when the campaign ends, they deflate in name only. Adam Schrager and Rob Witwer's book The Blueprint provides insight into this process.
If you're looking for a genuine, permanent policy center that promotes free markets and traditional American ideals, check out the State Policy Network (SPN) website. Most of these policy centers are “affiliates” of SPN.
The features of the website are map of usa, click on a state to see which SPN affiliates are in that state. So if you click on the Pennsylvania map, you'll find the Commonwealth Foundation and the Freedom Foundation (Pennsylvania). Some states may have more than one policy agency. For example, there are three in California and four in Wisconsin. Examining an organization's website can usually tell you what the organization focuses on.
Of course, you should research beyond the organization's website before donating money.
SPN lists other institutions as “partners.” These include both new think tanks, political action groups, and organizations that organize educational programs or engage purely in litigation.
