Freedom Foundation

The Freedom Foundation, formerly known as the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, is a libertarian think tank based in Olympia, Washington, whose mission is "to advance individual liberty, free enterprise, and limited, accountable government," according to its website. The organization maintains offices in California, Ohio, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. In 2021, the Freedom Foundation announced it was officially expanding "its battle against government unions into all 50 states."

The Evergreen Freedom Foundation was founded in 1991 by former Washington State Rep. Bob Williams and Lynn Harsh as a think tank championing free-market, limited government policy. According to the Freedom Foundation's website, the organization shifted towards an anti-union focus under the leadership of Tom McCabe, who became the CEO in 2014.

ExposedbyCMD has called the Freedom Foundation the "most aggressive anti-union groups working to get Americans to leave their unions."

The organization is a member of the State Policy Network (SPN), a web of 167 far-right nonprofit organizations in 48 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom.

News and Controversies

Teaching Teachers to Bust Unions

Freedom Foundation held the second annual "Teacher Freedom Summit" in July 2024, a gathering of hundreds of American public school teachers for the purpose of teaching them how to decertify their unions. Taking place in Denver, the summit aimed to provide public school teachers with "intensive leadership training" and workshops on how to undercut their unions, according to reporting by The Center for Media and Democracy.

Anti-Union Activity in Florida

A major bill that placed onerous burdens on unions in Florida was signed into law in May 2023. The passage of this bill, "Employee Organizations Representing Public Employees," led to more than 50,0000 public-sector workers losing union representation. According to Exposed by CMD, the Freedom Foundation claimed that it "worked tirelessly with Florida lawmakers" to enact the law. In addition, the Freedom Foundation developed a new association in Miami-Dade County called the Miami-Dade Education Coalition (MDEC) as a means to siphon teachers away from the American Federation of Teachers-affiliated union. Freedom Foundation CEO Aaron Withe called the approach a "massive ground campaign" in a promotional video," and explained in an op-ed published in the Miami-Herald, "The Freedom Foundation stands with local teachers and their commitment to serving students and against UTD [United Teacher of Dade] and its radical political agenda."

A CBS investigation suggests that the fake alternative union was proposed by the Freedom Foundation at the first annual "Teacher Freedom Summit." CBS reporting also uncovered that the Freedom Foundation was paying for MDEC's website and all of their legal expenses.

Arkansas' Teacher Paycheck Protection Bill

In April 2023, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed SB 473 into law, which prohibits union dues from being automatically deducted from public school teachers' salaries. The Freedom Foundation lobbied for the bill, and claimed it as its "first successful legislation." According to Rusty Brown, the organization's Southern Director, "this new law will immediately help teachers keep even more of their hard-earned money by stopping automatic union dues payments out of their paychecks."

Freedom Foundation Hosted Planning Meeting for Armed Breach of Oregon Capitol

Freedom Foundation senior fellow and Republican Representative Mike Nearman used the Freedom Foundation office to coach supporters on how to breach the Oregon Capitol days before Nearman opened the door to armed protestors during a December 21, 2020 special legislative session. "A video shows Nearman, a Republican from outside Independence, walking constituents through the step by step process of where to stand, how to text him and what help he would provide that would allow them to break the rules and get into the Capitol during the Dec. 21 special legislative session," OregonLive reported. Nearman referred to the plans, caught on video and published on YouTube by the "Black Conservative Preacher, "Operation Hallpass."

In the video, Nearman says, "We’re talking about setting up Operation Hall Pass, which I don’t know anything about and if you accuse me of knowing something about, I’ll deny it. But there would be some person’s cell phone which might be” and he gives a phone number beginning with 971. That phone was Nearman's cell phone number.

Anti-Union Freedom Foundation and Buckeye Institute Share 11 Common Funders

"A CMD investigation found that the two groups, the Buckeye Institute and the Freedom Foundation, received more than $9 million from 11 common out-of-state funders between 2014-18." Those funders are included in the funding sections below.

Freedom Foundation Uses Coronavirus Pandemic to Advocate for Defunding of Unions

"On March 27, the Freedom Foundation used the coronavirus pandemic in the state as an opportunity to advocate for defunding of Ohio public unions through a 'three-month suspension on public-sector dues collections from employee paychecks.' Ignoring the work unions do to obtain fair wages, quality healthcare, and benefits for its members, Freedom Foundation CEO Tom McCabe stated, 'Gov. DeWine has a great opportunity here to take immediate action that would help a lot of people in need.'

McCabe also asked the Governors of California, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington, as well as the federal government to do the same.

Then, on May 1, International Workers’ Day, Freedom Foundation delivered 462 letters to Gov. DeWine on behalf of public employees who want to resign from their unions and stop having union dues deducted from their paychecks," David Armiak wrote for ExposedbyCMD.

Post-Janus Billboards, Mailers, and Canvassing to Undermine Unions

Freedom Foundation Bill Board

The Freedom Foundation boasts on its website that it is reaching thousands "every day" via mailers, e-mails, and door-to-door canvassing in order to break "through to those still trapped within the unions’ cone of deceit." The Freedom Foundation claims that they "pioneered another approach" by placing billboards in Salem, Oregon. One of the billboards the group highlights reads "Public employees save thousands by opting out of union dues" (Emphasis taken from source). The billboard then directs viewers to Optouttoday.com which encourages workers to stop paying union dues. The efforts of the Freedom Foundation, both via billboards and other methods are a part of the coordinated legislative and legal strategy to dismantle unions being advanced in a systematic manner by an interlocking group of right-wing funders and state-based groups.

Aggressively Campaigned to Undermine Unions in California

In 2017, according to the Orange County Register, the Freedom Foundation took their anti-union attacks to California, targeting United Domestic Workers (UDW). Serving California’s large aging and disabled population who would otherwise have to be placed in nursing homes and institutions, UDW represents 97,000 caregivers out of the state’s total 460,000. Almost all of California’s domestic workers make a $10.50 per hour minimum wage through the state’s In-Home Supportive Services program, begun under then-governor Ronald Reagan, which allows them to care for the elderly and disabled at homes rather than in institutional settings. UDW has fought to protect this program from budget cuts and ensure that domestic caregivers are paid enough hours to look after those in need, often a 24-hour job.

Freedom Foundation launched a media blitz on UDW trying to convince its members to opt out of paying union dues. The group started in Orange County, a location they feel is strategic because “O.C. has a base of people sympathetic to our cause. People here dislike public sector unions,” according to California Director Sam Han. The media campaign came only after the Freedom Foundation was denied in its request for names and addresses because caregivers are exempt from the California Public Records Act. Attack ads featured messages such as “the union hasn’t helped us, and we’re better off without them. Learn more today at OptOutToday.com” delivered by a mother next to a wheelchair-bound son.

The Freedom Foundation's representatives in California have not hidden the fact that their attacks on UDW are driven by politics. Executive Vice-President Brian Minnich stated that unions like UDW are “a huge political operation in California.” Describing their methods, Minnich said “we do a frankly political operation. We ruffle feathers…. We’re not your grandmother’s think tank.” Despite statements like these, Minnich responded to an IRS complaint filed by 19 labor groups seeking to revoke the Freedom Foundation’s tax exempt status for engaging in partisan political activities as “an intimidation tactic.”

Aggressively Campaigned to Undermine Unions in Washington and Oregon

Opt Out Form

A March 2016 Article from The Guardian reports how the Freedom Foundation has sponsored efforts to undermine unions in Washington and Oregon. The Freedom Foundation, according to the article, organized a campaign of activists to visit over 10,000 homes of workers from the child and home care professions in order to inform them of their ability to opt-out of union dues pursuant the two-year-old USSC ruling.” Additionally, the Freedom Foundation "has made public records requests to numerous counties to obtain the names and addresses of home-care and childcare aides..." and "does podcasts that rail against unions and sponsors a website, optouttoday.com, telling public-sector workers they can quit their unions."

A fundraising letter from August 2015 stated that "The Freedom Foundation has a proven plan for bankrupting and defeating government unions through education, litigation, legislation and community activation ... we won’t be satisfied with anything short of total victory against the government union thugs.” In a January 2016 speech to Americans for Prosperity, Oregon Director Anne Marie Gurney stated that "Our No 1 stated focus is to defund the political left." Despite these statements, Freedom Foundation's CEO as of August 2016 Tom McCabe has stated that his goal is simply "to provide freedom to union members and to give them a choice about whether or not they want to belong to a union."

In December 2015 a group of labor unions wrote a letter to the IRS requesting that the Freedom Foundation be stripped of its 501(c)(3) status, arguing that "The Freedom Foundation is operated for the private benefit of the Republican Party and other conservative and libertarian groups..."

Freedom Foundation Materials Reveal Electoral Nature of Attack on Unions

The Freedom Foundation's goal of destroying unions as a means of making electoral gains was made explicit in its fundraising letters and brochures. One 2014 letter obtained by the Guardian reads, “The Freedom Foundation has a proven plan for bankrupting and defeating government unions through education, litigation, legislation and community activation.”

A Freedom Foundation-produced brochure obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy, titled “Undue Influence: Public Unions’ Cycle of Power, Electioneering,” shows multiple charts and graphs on union spending in campaigns and elections. The graph “Democrats’ Dependence on Union Funds” lists 31 Washington state Democratic legislators and their union campaign contributions. The accompanying text argues that “the problem associated with union electioneering” could be solved by weakening unions and eliminating fair share fees.

Freedom Foundation Given Award for Its Attacks on Unions

SPN Award for "Best Issue Campaign"

In public, State Policy Network “think tanks” claim to be “independent,” “non-partisan,” “charitable organizations.” Behind closed doors, it's all politics. SPN’s secret campaign to get rid of public sector unions was exposed by the Center for Media and Democracy and the Guardian in 2017 as part of a political effort to deal a “mortal blow” to the “American left” and the Democratic Party.

“A network of conservative think tanks with outposts in all 50 states has embarked on a ‘breakthrough’ campaign designed to strike a ‘mortal blow’ against the American left. The aim is to ‘defund and defang’ unions representing government employees as the first step towards ensuring the permanent collapse of progressive politics,” writes the Guardian‘s Ed Pilkington.

The Freedom Foundation was given an award for its anti-union campaigning by the State Policy Network at their August 2017 meeting. A photo of the presentation (see side bar) indicates the award was for "Best Issue Campaign, Union Opt Out Campaign, Washington Freedom Foundation."

The type of “opt-out” campaign was listed as one of four ways to dismantle unions in the secret State Policy Network union busting tool kit obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy and revealed in the Guardian. You can access the toolkit here.

Accused of Violating Washington Campaign Finance Laws

In October 2015 Washington's Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the Freedom Foundation, accusing them of breaking state campaign finance laws. The Seattle Times reported that Washington AG had accused the foundation of failing "to properly disclose independent expenditures in support of anti-union ballot measures in the towns of Sequim, Chelan and Shelton." In a victory for the Freedom Foundation the judge rejected the Attorney General's lawsuit.

Anti-LGBT Positions

The Freedom Foundation is closely aligned with the Alliance Defending Freedom, an religious right organization listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Employees and staff members of the Freedom Foundation have received financial support in the form of fellowships from the Alliance Defending Freedom.

Another financial backer of the Freedom Foundation is the Murdock Charitable Trust. This donor was recently exposed for its funding of a group promoting “gay conversion therapy,” the anti-LGBT Alliance Defending Freedom.

Regressive Stance on Climate Change

Various chapters of the Freedom Foundation have pushed back against policy attempting to prevent climate change. In Washington, the Freedom Foundation filed a lawsuit against the state to invalidate an executive order from Governor Christine Gregoire. The executive order sought to implement provisions of a climate change bill that had failed in the state legislature. The Evergreen Freedom Foundation’s lawsuit claimed the governor overstepped her legal authority. Another Freedom Foundation chapter in Minnesota has attacked local environmental groups, claiming “the climate change debate has been hopelessly politicized by organizations like Environment Minnesota that distort science in order to advance a narrow political agenda.”

Fighting Policies to Help Working Families

Across the country, the Freedom Foundation has taken action against a variety of policies which would improve the lives of the working families, including increases in minimum wage, paid sick days and education funding. In Washington, the Freedom Foundation released a report "Promises Made, Promises Broken: The Failure of Washington's Minimum Wage Law." The report argued that previous increases in the minimum wage have done nothing to decrease poverty and urged, “state and local voters and policymakers should seriously consider the potential consequences before enacting further, unprecedented increases in the minimum wage."

In opposition to laws mandating paid sick leave, the Freedom Foundation issued a separate report condemning the policy. Their paper stated, "overall, mandatory paid sick leave laws consistently have moderate negative consequences for affected businesses…At the same time, such laws do not produce the benefits promised by supporters. Government sick leave mandates even fail to prevent employees from coming to work sick, ostensibly the most basic goal of such requirements.”

Anti-Choice Stance

The Freedom Foundation has long been an opponent of Planned Parenthood. Oregon Coordinator Anne Marie Gurney stated about Planned Parenthood on Facebook, “For all those who say ‘they do mammograms and they do medical care.’ No they don't. If you actually find one of the little clinics that do any of those services, it is an anomaly. They refer out for those services. Seriously, they are a baby killing, body part brokering, government money consuming machine.”

Ties to the Bradley Foundation

Between 1998 and 2022, the Freedom Foundation received $4,817,500 from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.

Bradley detailed the grants from 2014-2016 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.

2015-2016 (Barder Fund): $1.5 million over 3 years to expand its Union Transparency and Reform Project and to open an office in Portland. Freedom Foundation is “encouraged to work with” SPN members the Washington Policy Center and Cascade Policy Center.

2014: $100,000 to support the Union Transparency and Reform Project. CEO Tom McCabe wanted to expand Freedom Foundation’s capacity to “expose how the Big Labor agenda hurts state taxpayers…at both state and municipal levels.” Specifically, it wanted to “aggressively educate the public and policymakers about the effects of state level proposals” to:

• End the exemption from the Open Public Meetings Act for state employee collective bargaining sessions;
• Curb the practice of overcharging employees who opt out of a union and pay only a representation fee;
• Extend the time window for workers to decertify an unwanted union;
• Require the state to compile and maintain an online library of collective bargaining agreements; and
• Force public sector unions to make basic financial information accessible to the public, just as private sector unions have to do.

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.

Bradley Funds Washington's Freedom Foundation "Think Tank" to Dismantle Unions

It is funding the Freedom Foundation in Washington State to "defund Big Labor" because "Washington State's liberal labor laws have long allowed it to be a net exporter of union dollars to other parts of the country" as reported by the Center for Media and Democracy in 2017.

Bradley documents obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy show that the foundation recommended a $1.5 million grant to the Freedom Foundation, an SPN member, for union-busting activities in Washington and Oregon. (California and New York were considered for further expansion.) The group had received $840,000 from Bradley previously the documents indicate.

Bradley lauds the charitable “think tank” for finding a new way of attacking and undermine unions. After a lengthy court battle, in September 2016 the Freedom Foundation obtained a list of some 30,000 SEIU union members in the state of Washington. The group then launched a Harris vs. Quinn “opt-out campaign for health care workers, based on the 2014 U.S. Supreme Court case ruling that a narrow group of public workers could opt out of paying union dues.

Bradley describes what happened next: "As of this writing the Freedom Foundation has hired 30 canvassers who have knocked on 1,400 doors and spoken to 762 SEIU member health care service providers. One hundred forty-one opted out of the SEIU. It also filmed, produced, and is now airing another in a series of television advertisements featuring a government-union member bullied by his or her union"

Bradley wants to expand these hard-core union-busting techniques to further states. In Oregon, the Freedom Foundation is using Bradley money to "educate union workers themselves about their rights—which, if and when exercised, would defund Big Labor"

In 2016, Bradley was looking at giving New York's Empire Center for Policy Research a litigation center and further funding to "reduce the influence" of unions by targeting day care center workers paying dues to American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the United Federation of Teachers and getting them to opt out of the union or withhold dues. Empire Center has "the stomach for implementing the overall strategies and confrontational tactics of the Freedom Foundation in pursuing Bradley's programmatic employee rights goals."

And the purpose of all this union busting is clear. In a recent opinion piece in The Hill, the Freedom Foundation's Jeff Rhodes attributes Trump's 2016 election to the destruction of unions in key states and calls upon Congress to implement union-busting legislation nationwide..

Bradley hailed the work of the Freedom Foundation as a "national model" and touted the skills of its "pugilistic" leader Tom McCabe. "Under McCabe, the Freedom Foundation has expanded its own activities to include almost all of the weapons in the arsenal of any good conservative state infrastructure—whether done by several separate entities or, as in this case, by one."

McCabe is one of many Bradley grantees to leave his work as a political operative to turn a tax-exempt charitable organization into a weapon of the right. McCabe worked in the Reagan administration as a young man, then went on to head up the Building Industry Association of Washington, turning the trade association into a GOP juggernaut whose "brass knuckled" tactics resulted in a $242,000 fine in 2008 for failing to properly disclose all its spending.

McCabe denies his goal is to defund the left or unions, but one of his staffers gave a speech to the Koch's Americans for Prosperity group, declaring: "Our No 1 stated focus is to defund the political left," and his organization fundraises off the same message.

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council

Bob Williams, founder of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation and a Senior Fellow as of August 2016, was formerly the private sector chair of the Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). He is also on the ALEC Board of Scholars as of August 2016. In August 2011, he received ALEC's Private Sector Member of the Year Award.

Williams has been active in sponsoring model legislation and presenting it to the task force on behalf the Freedom Foundation. In 2010, Williams sponsored the "Defined Contribution Pension Reform Act" at the States and Nation Policy Summit. At the 2011 Spring Task Force Summit, Mr. Williams presented "Broken Budgets in the States" and the "Unfunded Pension Liabilities Accounting Act." His Freedom Foundation colleague, Amber Gunn, sponsored the "State Agency Lobbying Reform Act" at the same meeting. At the 2011 ALEC annual meeting, Williams presented on "State Budget Solutions."

Trent England, former Vice President of Policy and Adjunct Fellow at the Freedom Foundation as of August 2016, was on the ALEC Public Safety and Elections Task Force as of the August 2011 Annual Meeting (the task force was later disbanded in April 2012). He gave a presentation on the Electoral College at ALEC's 2010 States and Nation Policy Summit. Mr. England also participated in a debate (“Electoral College v National Popular Vote”) against Ray Haynes of the National Popular Vote at the 2011 Annual Meeting.

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 ExposedbyCMD.org site.

Ties to the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity

The Freedom Foundation 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. The Franklin Center funds reporters in over 40 states. Despite their non-partisan description, many of the websites funded by the Franklin Center have received criticism for their conservative bias. On its website, the Franklin Center claims it "provides 10 percent of all daily reporting from state capitals nationwide."

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

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

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

Funding

The Freedom Foundation is not required to disclose its donors but here are some that have been identified through an analysis of IRS filings:

• Adolph Coors Foundation: $120,000 (2014-2018)
• America Online Giving Foundation: $54,431 (2019-2022)
• American Foundation for Charitable Support: $750 (2020-2022)
• Armrod Charitable Foundation: $5,000 (2021)
• Atlas Network: $20,000 (2016)
• Baron Foundation: $4,000 (2010-2011)
• Bradley Foundation: $4,817,500 (1998-2022)
• Bradley Impact Fund: $1,085,056 (2018-2022)
• Charles Koch Foundation: $275,000 (2017-2018)
• Charles M and Gloria F Parrish Foundation: $5,000 (2011)
• Chase Foundation of Virginia: $71,500 (2014-2019)
• Citizens to Protect Pennsylvania Jobs: $195,000 (2021-2022)
• Colorado Opportunity Foundation: $150,000 (2022)
• Crawford Family Foundation: $6,000 (2018-2023)
• Donors Capital Fund: $743,119 (2010-2021)
• DonorsTrust: $1,592,750 (2010-2022)
• Dunn Foundation: $40,000 (2022)
• Ed Uihlein Family Foundation: $180,000 (2018-2021)
• Edward A. & Catherine L. Lozick Foundation: $1,000 (2014)
• Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund: $6,139,778 (2016-2022)
• Gibson Family Foundation: $20,000 (2019-2022)
• Herbold Foundation: $4,000 (2010-2011)
• Innovia Foundation: $41,750 (2016, 2019-2020)
• Institute for the American Worker: $5,000 (2022)
• Jaquelin Hume Foundation: $472,405 (1999-2011)
• Land of the Free Foundation: $10,000 (2022)
• Lawrence M Shaw Foundation: $14,000 (2010-2012)
• M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust: $160,000 (2016-2017)
• Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust: $25,000
• National Christian Charitable Foundation: $1,002,870 (2012-2022)
• National Philanthropic Trust: $482,500 (2018-2022)
• New Majority: $137,500 (2020-2022)
• Orcas Bay Foundation: $29,000 (2010-2014)
• Oregon Community Foundation: $6,000 (2022)
• Oregon Pathfinder: $348,642 (2019-2022)
• Organ Alliance: $62,500 (2019)
• Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America: $30,000 (2018-2022)
• Pittsburgh Foundation: $20,000 (2021-2022)
• Prudential Foundation: $3,850 (2013-2014)
• Randolph Foundation: $20,000 (2007)
• Roe Foundation: $550,000 (1998-2020)
• Sarah Scaife Foundation: $1,750,000 (2017-2022)
• Schwab Charitable Fund: $895,300 (2014-2022)
• Searle Freedom Trust: $1,425,000 (2017-2022)
• Seattle Foundation: $452,500 (2014-2022)
• Servant Foundation: $25,750 (2018-2022)
• State Policy Network: $535,950 (2012-2022)
• Steve Mihaylo and Louis Mihaylo Foundation: $5,000 (2022)
• Strake Foundation: $10,000 (2021)
• The 85 Fund: $973,330 (2021-2022)
• Thomas W. Smith Foundation: $200,000 (2021)
• Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program: $5,445,700 (2018-2022)
• Vernon K. Krieble Foundation: $8,000 (2001-2010)
• Whitener Family Foundation: $9,615 (2013-2017)

Core Financials

2022

• Total Revenue: $12,381,107
• Total Expenses: $12,067,318
• Net Assets: $4,633,420

2021

• Total Revenue: $9,922,946
• Total Expenses: $8,298,893
• Net Assets: $4,403,976

2020

• Total Revenue: $6,409,171
• Total Expenses: $5,753,485
• Net Assets: $2,660,364

2019

• Total Revenue: $6,645,833
• Total Expenses: $6,478,516
• Net Assets: $1,831,846

2018

• Total Revenue: $5,995,598
• Total Expenses: $5,398,242
• Net Assets: $1,616,135

2017

• Total Revenue: $4,635,461
• Total Expenses: $5,189,630
• Net Assets: $1,043,149

2016

• Total Revenue: $4,056,180
• Total Expenses: $4,123,043
• Net Assets: $1,552,536

2015

• Total Revenue: $3,348,348
• Total Expenses: $2,809,323
• Net Assets: $1,539,702

2014

• Total Revenue: $2,170,285
• Total Expenses: $2,211,611
• Net Assets: $1,021,760

2013

• Total Revenue: $1,766,236
• Total Expenses: $2,263,750
• Net Assets: $1,061,786

2012

• Total Revenue: $3,240,143
• Total Expenses: $2,236,573
• Net Assets: $1,519,676

2011

• Total Revenue: $2,148,032
• Total Expenses: $2,908,106
• Net Assets: $502,865

2010:

• Total Revenue: $2,680,800
• Total Expenses: $2,676,198
• Net Assets: $1,262,939

2009:

• Total Revenue: $2,338,192
• Total Expenses: $2,686,930
• Net Assets: $1,249,633

Personnel

Staff

As of July 2024:

• Tom McCabe, Chairman of the Board
• Aaron Withe, Chief Executive Officer
• Brian Minnich, Executive Vice President
• Bob Wickers, Chief Financial Officer
• Michael Ciccio, National Director
• Rachel Maiorana, Deputy National Director
• Hunter Tower, East Coast Director
• Jason Dudash, West Coast Director
• Ross Purgason, Washington State Director
• Maxford Nelsen, Director of Research and Government Affairs
• Allison Beattie, Director of Labor Relations
• Ben Straka, Research and Government Affairs Associate
• Eric Stahlfeld, Chief Litigation Counsel
• James Abernathy, Senior Litigation Counsel
• Jim Johnson, Senior Legal Fellow
• Rebekah Millard, Oregon Litigation Counsel
• Shella Alcabes, Litigation Counsel
• Ravi Prasad, Litigation Counsel
• Timothy R. Snowball, Litigation Counsel
• Ben McLean, Paralegal
• Meggan Goudy, Advancement Associate
• Kacie Bowers, Paralegal
• Matthew Hayward, National Outreach Director
• Samuel Coleman, Director of Digital Outreach
• Rusty Brown, Director of Special Projects
• Erin Volz, Washington Outreach Director
• Dmitriy Sashchenko, Oregon Outreach Director
• Orlando Ibarra, California Outreach Director
• Ryan Horan, Ohio and Pennsylvania Outreach Director
• Ryan Brooks, Outreach Coordinator
• Rick Kelly, Outreach Analyst
• Ashley Adair, Public Employee Engagement Specialist
• Eloise Smith, Director of Teacher Engagement
• Randall Grayson, California Outreach Coordinator
• Lacey Clark, National Director of Public Records
• Jeff Rhodes, Vice President for News and Information
• Joey McCabe, Director of Marketing
• Mike Balascak, Chief Solutions Officer
• Jonathan Abel, Creative Director
• Maddie Dermon, Director of Communications
• Mary Hagberg, Graphic Designer
• Andrew Rankin, Online Video Editor
• Tom Bako, Vice President of Development
• Alec Sackett, National Advancement Director
• Sue Esser, Legacy Society Director
• Janell Boyd, Executive Assistant
• Aubrianne Trout, Development Officer
• Josh Floyd, Executive Assistant
• Ronda Moore, Fund Development Associate
• Andrea Snoke, Administrative Director
• Debbie Grant, Financial Administrator
• Karissa Elder, Executive Assistant
• Kelsy Hardy, Financial Administrator Assistant

Former Staff

• Elena Ives, California Litigation Counsel
• Parker Hollingshead, Paralegal
• Ben Straka, Policy Analyst
• Gerrit Shilman, Director of Administration and Finance
• Meghan Rhodes, Administrative Assistant
• Bryanna Petrie, Development Associate
• Connor Hines, Ohio Outreach Director
• Robert Bouvatte, Litigation Counsel
• Karin Sweigart, Litigation Counsel
• Shella Sadovnik, Litigation Counsel
• Caleb Jon Vandenbos, Of Counsel
• Jennifer Matheson, Paralegal
• Isaac Helland, Paralegal
• Mariah Gondeiro, Litigation Counsel
• Mike Nearman, Senior Fellow
• Jami Lund, Senior Policy Analyst
• Parker Hollingshead, Policy Intern
• Lindsey Queen, Ohio Director
• Kirby Hartley, Regional Development Associate
• Meggan Goudy, Advancement Associate
• Lara Hastings, Advancement Director (Eastern Washington)
• Jennifer Kelly, Development Manager
• Jessica Mackley, Oregon Development Associate
• Renee Ward, Oregon Development Coordinator
• McKenzie Richards, California Development Associate
• Rebecca Taylor, Outreach Associate
• Hannah Cooksey, Paralegal
• Boaz Dillon, Policy Analyst
• Billie Ortega-Ortiz, Administrative Assistant
• Megan Heryet, Advancement Director, Oregon
• David Bramblett, Creative Director
• Boaz Crawford, Multimedia Designer
• Anne Marie Gurney, Oregon Director
• Samuel Han, California Director
• David Dewhirst, Litigation Counsel
• Kirsten Nelsen, Paralegal
• Ray Nhan, Litigation Counsel
• Stephanie Olson, Litigation Counsel
• Trent England, Adjunct Fellow (former Executive Vice President)
• Raimee Sluder, Labor Policy Analyst
• Billie Roberts, Administrative Assistant
• Vicki Kraft, Advancement Director (Southwest Washington)
• Scott Roberts, Vice President of Development
• Ron Valencia, Advancement Associate
• Judy Cook, Development Associate
• Karen Osborne, Litigation Counsel
• Greg Overstreet, Managing Attorney
• Lois Beard, Chief Operations Officer
• Ryan Bedford, Legal Research Assistant
• S. Alex Bohler, Policy Analyst
• Denise Brandt, Volunteer Coordinator/Office Assistant
• Bob Edelman, Director of the Voter Integrity Project
• Irene Endicott, Puget Sound Dev. Associate
• Marie Giger, Office Manager
• Lynn Harsh, Senior Vice President
• Cheryl Hymes, Director, Health Care Reform Center
• Gail Kramer, Financial Assistant
• Kathy McDonald, Southwest Washington Development Associate
• Juliana McMahan, Member Services Director/Executive Administrator
• Jason Mercier, Senior Budget Analyst, Economic Policy Center
• Kristen Mercier, Policy Analyst/Grant Writer
• Michael Reitz, Director and Legal Analyst, Labor Policy Center
• Marsha Richards, Director of the Education Reform Center
• Joel Sorrell, Multimedia Specialist
• Booker T. Stallworth, Communications Director
• Dan Steele, Multimedia Assistant
• Jonathan Bechtle, Chief Executive Officer
• Amber Gunn, Economic Policy Fellow
• Diana Moore, Senior Education Analyst
• Glen Morgan, Property Rights Director
• David Roland, Director of the Theodor L. Stiles Center for Liberty
• Lauren Bowen, Ohio Director
• Bob Williams, Founder and Senior Fellow
• Alek Skarlatos, Senior Fellow
• Sydney Phillips, Litigation Counsel
• Kristie Elder, Paralegal
• Grace Helland, Paralegal
• Joe Mandrusiak, Pennsylvania Outreach Director
• Skyler Number, Outreach Analyst
• Ashley Varner, Vice President of Communication and Federal Affairs
• Mark Dalan, Vice President of Development
• Emma Phillips, National Advancement Director
• William Petry, Development Associate

Board of Trustees

As of July 2024:

• Charlie Conner, Chair
• Richard Rokes, Vice Chair
• Lou Novak, Treasurer
• Jeff Cysewski, Secretary

Former Trustees

• Steve Neighbors, Chair
• Tim McMahon
• Charles Diesing
• Laurie Lyford
• Hans Stoker
• Michael Appleby
• John Hennesy
• Bill Conner
• Robert Jankelson
• Barbara Kenney
• Laurie Lyford
• Alvin Starkenburg
• Tracy Wilson
• Dr. John Vasko
• Elaine Chandler
• Charlie Conner
• Duane Alton
• Mary Jo Kahler
• Roger Bowlin
• Dr. Mathew Manweller
• Harry Truitt

Contact Information

Freedom Foundation
P.O. Box 552
Olympia, WA 98507

Phone: 360-956-3482
Fax: 360-352-1874
Website: freedomfoundation.com
Twitter: @FreedomFdtn
Facebook: Freedom Foundation

Articles and Resources

IRS Form 990 Filings

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

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