Steamboat Institute
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Learn more about how the State Policy Network aids ALEC and spins disinformation in the states. |
The Steamboat Institute is a right wing 501(c)(3) non profit that calls itself a "think tank". The organization's homepage reads "Here at The Steamboat Institute, we are Defenders of Freedom and Advocates of Liberty. We are admirers of the bravery and rugged individualism that has made this country great. We are admirers of the greatness and wisdom that resides in every individual."[1]
The group is listed as an associate member of the State Policy Network.[2]
Contents
State Policy Network
SPN is a web of right-wing “think tanks” and tax-exempt organizations in 48 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom. As of June 2024, SPN's membership totals 167. Today's SPN is the tip of the spear of far-right, nationally funded policy agenda in the states that undergirds extremists in the Republican Party. SPN Executive Director Tracie Sharp told the Wall Street Journal in 2017 that the revenue of the combined groups was some $80 million, but a 2022 analysis of SPN's main members IRS filings by the Center for Media and Democracy shows that the combined revenue is over $152 million.[3] Although SPN's member organizations claim to be nonpartisan and independent, the Center for Media and Democracy's in-depth investigation, "EXPOSED: The State Policy Network -- The Powerful Right-Wing Network Helping to Hijack State Politics and Government," reveals that SPN and its member think tanks are major drivers of the right-wing, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)-backed corporate agenda in state houses nationwide, with deep ties to the Koch brothers and the national right-wing network of funders.[4]
In response to CMD's report, SPN Executive Director Tracie Sharp told national and statehouse reporters that SPN affiliates are "fiercely independent." Later the same week, however, The New Yorker's Jane Mayer caught Sharp in a contradiction. In her article, "Is IKEA the New Model for the Conservative Movement?," the Pulitzer-nominated reporter revealed that, in a recent meeting behind closed doors with the heads of SPN affiliates around the country, Sharp "compared the organization’s model to that of the giant global chain IKEA." She reportedly said that SPN "would provide 'the raw materials,' along with the 'services' needed to assemble the products. Rather than acting like passive customers who buy finished products, she wanted each state group to show the enterprise and creativity needed to assemble the parts in their home states. 'Pick what you need,' she said, 'and customize it for what works best for you.'" Not only that, but Sharp "also acknowledged privately to the members that the organization's often anonymous donors frequently shape the agenda. 'The grants are driven by donor intent,' she told the gathered think-tank heads. She added that, often, 'the donors have a very specific idea of what they want to happen.'"[5]
A set of coordinated fundraising proposals obtained and released by The Guardian in early December 2013 confirm many of these SPN members' intent to change state laws and policies, referring to "advancing model legislation" and "candidate briefings." These activities "arguably cross the line into lobbying," The Guardian notes.[6]
Core Financials
2014[7]
- Total Revenue: $248,753
- Total Expenses: $264,916
- Net Assets: $37,089
2013[8]
- Total Revenue: $216,407
- Total Expenses: $190,709
- Net Assets: $53,252
2012[9]
- Total Revenue: $158,329
- Total Expenses: $131,766
- Net Assets: $27,554
Personnel
As of September 28, 2016:[10]
- Jennifer Schubert-Akin, CEO
- Angela Lieurance, Senior Development Consultant
- Kelly Seim, Special Events Coordinator
- Erica Arguello, Special Events Coordinator
- Amanda Cordsen, Graphic Designer
- Ericka Andersen, Senior Digital Consultant'
- Antonette DeLauro Smith
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors as of September 28, 2016:[11]
- Jennifer L. Schubert-Akin, Chair
- Rick Akin, Vice-Chair
- Gary Hofmeister, Treasurer
- Anne A. Lowe
- Bob Beauprez
- Allen Fuller
- Ron Lazof
- Jean Pierre Sagouspe
- Matthew Spalding
- Cheri Carsten
Contact
Employer Identification Number (EIN): 26-2096621
Steamboat Institute
P.O. Box 883037
Steamboat Springs, Colorado 80488
Website: www.steamboatinstitute.org
Phone: (970).846.6013
Email: info@steamboatinstitute.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steamboatinstitute/
Twitter: @Steamboat_Inst
References
- ↑ Steamboat Institute, Home, organizational website, accessed September 28, 2016.
- ↑ State Policy Network, Directory, organizational website, accessed September 28, 2016.
- ↑ David Armiak, State Policy Network and Affiliates Raises $152 Million Annually to Push Right-Wing Policies, ExposedbyCMD, September 30, 2022.
- ↑ Rebekah Wilce, Center for Media and Democracy, EXPOSED: The State Policy Network -- The Powerful Right-Wing Network Helping to Hijack State Politics and Government, organizational report, November 13, 2013.
- ↑ Jane Mayer, Is IKEA the New Model for the Conservative Movement?, The New Yorker, November 15, 2013.
- ↑ Ed Pilkington and Suzanne Goldenberg, State conservative groups plan US-wide assault on education, health and tax, The Guardian, December 5, 2013.
- ↑ Steamboat Institute, 2014 IRS Form 990, Internal Revenue Service, August 4, 2015.
- ↑ Steamboat Institute, 2013 IRS Form 990, Internal Revenue Service, August 15, 2014.
- ↑ Steamboat Institute, 2012 IRS Form 990, Internal Revenue Service, July 19, 2013.
- ↑ Steamboat Institute, Meet Our Team, organizational website, accessed September 28, 2016.
- ↑ Steamboat Institute, Board of Directors, organizational website, accessed September 28, 2016.
