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{{#REDIRECT badges:AEX|SPN|CoalSwarm}}The '''Civitas Institute''' (formerly the John William Pope Civitas Institute) is a [[501(c)(3)]] tax-exempt nonprofit right-wing pressure group based in North Carolina and launched in 2005 to "facilitate the implementation of conservative policy solutions." It calls itself a "[[think tank]]." It gets most of its funding from North Carolina businessman and politician [[Art Pope]] (John William Pope 's son). A 2010 ''Facing South'' comparison of the tax records filed by the Civitas Institute and the [[John Williams Pope Foundation]] -- which Art Pope chairs -- reveals that Pope's backing has constituted [http://www.southernstudies.org/assets_c/2010/10/Pope%20Funding%20of%20Civitas%20Institute%20Chart.html more than 99 percent] of all the grants, donations and gifts that Civitas has received between 2005 and 2009. '''Civitas Action''' is its [[501(c)(4)]] sister organization, in which Pope is also a founding member.<ref name=ck>Chris Kromm, [http://www.southernstudies.org/2010/10/blessed-to-have-a-pope.html "Blessed to have a Pope"], ''Facing South'', October 14, 2010.</ref> According to its website, Civitas' vision is "of a North Carolina whose citizens enjoy liberty and prosperity derived from limited government, personal responsibility and civic engagement.<ref name="about">Civitas Institute, [http://www.nccivitas.org/about/ "About"], organizational website, accessed November 2012.</ref> The Civitas Institute is a member of the [[State Policy Network]] (SPN). __TOC__ {{About_SPN}} ==Civitas Action==Civistas Action, the Civitas Institute's [[501(c)(4)]] sister group that ran attack ads against 2010 Democratic state legislators that supported [[renewable energy]]. Art Pope is a founding board member of Civitas Action. According to State Board of Elections records, 72 percent of the money Civitas Action raised for the ads comes from Variety Wholesalers, the retail company Pope owns. The rest came from Americans for Prosperity, where Pope was a director and a leading donor.<ref name=ck/> ==Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council== The Civitas Institutehas ties to the [[American Legislative Exchange Council]] (ALEC), both through SPN and directly. An August 2013 ALEC board document obtained by ''The Guardian'' lists the Civitas Institute as a former member of the [[Public Safety and Elections Task Force]], which was shuttered in April 2012 after the death of Trayvon Martin, and lists it as intending "to change membership to Education," namely ALEC's [[Education Task Force]].<ref name="ALECboard">American Legislative Exchange Council, [https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/841593/alec-docs.pdf ALEC 40th Anniversary Annual Meeting Board Meeting packet], organizational documents, August 6, 2013, released by ''The Guardian'' December 3, 2013.</ref> '''See [[SPN Ties to ALEC]] for more.''' {{about_ALEC}}==Campaigning for Climate Skeptics== In October 2010, Civitas Action spent $5,750 on mailers targeting North Carolina House Speaker [[Joe Hackney]] and Senate leader [[Marc Basnight]], Democrats who have been supportive of efforts to address [[global warming]]. Hackney led the state's [[climate change]] commission for a time before appointing in his place Rep. [[Pricey Harrison]] (D), one of the legislature's strongest environmental advocates. Basnight has talked about his concern that global warming and associated sea rise could inundate the region and supports a move to [[clean energy]] sources. [[Frances De Luca]], president of the Civitas Institute and the former state director of the North Carolina chapter of [[Americans for Prosperity]], has said more mailers are planned.<ref name=ss>Sue Sturgis, [http://www.southernstudies.org/2010/10/a-pope-of-climate-denial.html "A Pope of climate denial"] Facing South, October 26, 2010.</ref> Running against 15-term Hackney is Cathy Wright, a nursing instructor who's also worked as a lobbyist for medical groups. Her campaign manager did not respond to Facing South's request for information about her position on climate change. But Wright does say she's a member of the [[Conservative Womens Forum]], which promotes a book calling global warming a "scam" and is critical of clean energy solutions from [[cap-and trade]] legislation to [[wind power]] to the promotion of compact-fluorescent light bulbs. Additionally, her campaign website links directly to both the [[John Locke Foundation]] and the Civitas Institute. Basnight's opponent is [[Hood Richardson]], a retired minerals geologist and commissioner for Beaufort County, N.C. Richardson calls global warming a "problem that has since been debunked as based on faulty science." He also criticizes Basnight for helping create the state climate change commission, saying it will "severely harm businesses." He cites the [[John Locke Foundation]] for his assertions.<ref name=ss/> ==Ties to the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity=={{Template:Franklin Ties 2}} ==Funding== Civitas' near-total reliance on funding from [[Art Pope]] makes it a "private foundation" in the eyes of the [[IRS]], a classification reserved for nonprofits that depend on a sole benefactor. Nationally, the majority of 501(c)(3) nonprofits are public charities; only six percent are private foundations. Pope used to also sit on the group's board of directors. Due to Civitas Institute being a private foundation, it must disclose its contributors to the IRS. Here they are as listed in IRS filings. ===2014<ref name="2014irs"/>===*[[John William Pope Foundation]]: $1,080,000*[[Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation]]: $160,000*[[State Policy Network]]: $10,000*[[JM Foundation]]: $40,000*Robert L. Luddy: $100,000*[[Roe Foundation]]: $20,000*Time Warner Cable: $5,000*Mr. and Mrs. Mark Cantin: $60,000*[[Blue Cross and Blue Shield]] of North Carolina: $25,000*Anthony and Co. DBA Colliers Int'l: $15,000*Education Freedom Alliance: $15,000*Garland Tucker: $12,488*The Roger Bacon Academy, Inc: $20,000*Drs Rosemary and David Stein: $7,500*[[Americans for Prosperity]] Foundation: $6,500*National Draft Ben Carson: $5,000*C. Theodore Hicks: $5,000*Coca Cola Bottling Co Consolidate: $5,000*J. Patrick Gavaghan: $5,000*Carolantic Reality: $5,000*Mr. and Mrs. Howard Shultz: $5,000 ==Core Financials== Filing as a private foundation: '''<big>2014</big>'''<ref name="2014irs"/>* Total Revenue: $1,906,327* Total Expenses: $2,091,529* Net Assets: $510,034 '''<big>2013</big>'''<ref>John William Pope Civitas Institute, [http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2014/202/454/2014-202454741-0b037177-F.pdf 2013 Form 990], organizational annual IRS filing, October 9, 2014.</ref>* Total Revenue: $1,703,881* Total Expenses: $1,537,092* Net Assets: $599,759 '''<big>2012</big>'''<ref>John William Pope Civitas Institute, [http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2013/202/454/2013-202454741-09f08672-F.pdf 2012 Form 990], organizational annual IRS filing, November 19, 2013.</ref>* Total Revenue: $1,861,191* Total Expenses: $1,722,789* Net Assets: $428,905 '''<big>2011</big>'''<ref>John William Pope Civitas Institute, [https://bulk.resource.org/irs.gov/eo/2012_12_PF/20-2454741_990PF_201206.pdf 2011 Form 990], organizational annual IRS filing, November 15, 2012.</ref>* Total Revenue: $1,583,410* Total Expenses: $1,489,622* Net Assets: $290,503 '''<big>2010</big>'''<ref>John William Pope Civitas Institute, IRS form 990, 2011. [http://www.guidestar.org/ GuideStar].</ref>:*Total Revenue: $1,384,584*Total Expenses: $1,599,000*Net Assets: $196,715 '''<big>2009</big>'''<ref>John William Pope Civitas Institute, IRS form 990, 2010. [http://www.guidestar.org/ GuideStar].</ref>:*Total Revenue: $1,384,584*Total Expenses: $1,599,000*Net Assets: $255,763 '''<big>2008</big>'''<ref>John William Pope Civitas Institute, IRS form 990, 2009. [http://www.guidestar.org/ GuideStar].</ref>:*Total Revenue: $1,066,592*Total Expenses: $1,551,161*Net Assets: $457,628 ==Personnel=====Staff===As of December 2016:<ref>Civitas Institute, [https://www.nccivitas.org/about/staff/ Staff], ''Civitas Institute'', 2016.</ref>*Francis X. De Luca, President (former director of the North Carolina branch of [[Americans for Prosperity]]) '''The employment status of the following at CI is currently unknown'''*Brian Balfour, Director of Policy and Operations*Dr. Robert Luebke, Senior Policy Analyst*Jim Tynen, Director of communications*Susan Myrick, Elections Analyst*Alexander Guin, Director of Development*Bill Gilbert, Director of Technology and Outreach*Cameron Harwick, Web Development and Media*Angela Height, Policy Analyst*Rhett Forman, Outreach and Development Assistant ===Board of Directors===As of January 2016:<ref name="2014irs">Civitas Institute, [http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2015/202/454/2015-202454741-0c356ccc-F.pdf 2014 IRS 990 Form], ''Civitas Institute'', January 7, 2016.</ref>*Francis X. De Luca, President*Brian Balfour, Treasurer*Robert Luddy*Jim Anthony*Howard Schultz*Garland Tucker III ==Contact Information==Civitas Institute<br>805 Spring Forest Rd., Ste 100<br>Raleigh, NC 27609<br>Phone: 919-834-2099<br>Website: https://www.nccivitas.org<br>Email: info@nccivitas.org<br>Twitter:https://twitter.com/NCCivitas<br>Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CivitasInstitute<br> ==Articles and Resources== ===Related SourceWatch Articles=== *[[Americans for Prosperity]]*[[Art Pope]]*[[Astroturf]]*[[Grassroots]]*[[John Locke Foundation]]*[[Patients First]]{{Template:SPN SW}} ===Related PRWatch Articles=== {{Template:SPN PRW}} ===External Resources===* StinkTanks.org, "[http://www.stinktanks.org/north-carolina/ SPN in Your State: Art Pope Attempts to Hijack North Carolina's Statehouse with the John Locke Foundation & the Civitas Institute]."* Matea Gold, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-nc-conservative-donor-art-pope-sits-at-heart-of-government-he-helped-transform/2014/07/19/eece18ec-0d22-11e4-b8e5-d0de80767fc2_story.html In N.C., conservative donor Art Pope sits at heart of government he helped transform], ''Washington Post'', July 19, 2014.* Saeed Shabazz, "[http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/National_News_2/article_101081.shtml Activists striking back against conservative legislative agenda in state of North Carolina]," ''The Final Call'', December 26, 2013.{{Template: SPN Ex}} ===References===<references/> [[Category:Global warming fronts]][[Category:Consumer fronts]][[Category:Web fronts]][[Category:Coal lobby]][[Category:ALEC Non-Profits]]