National Center for Policy Analysis

The National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) is a free market think tank primarily funded by private foundations established by wealthy conservative business families and billionaires, including Charles and David Koch. NCPA's mission is to, "unleash the power of ideas for positive change by identifying, encouraging and aggressively marketing the best scholarly research and innovative solutions. We work to educate the public, the media and policy makers about ways to create an opportunity economy for all Americans." The NCPA website states, "Our goal is to develop and promote private, free-market alternatives to government regulation and control, solving problems by relying on the strength of the competitive, entrepreneurial private sector." NCPA is a former associate member of the right-wing State Policy Network (SPN). Several NCPA studies have been featured on SPN's website, including those on healthcare and tax reforms. SPN has also featured joint studies by NCPA and Beacon Hill Institute, which focused on the proposed tax plans of the 2016 presidential candidates.

Koch Wiki

Charles Koch is the right-wing billionaire owner of Koch Industries. As one of the richest people in the world, he is a key funder of the right-wing infrastructure, including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the State Policy Network (SPN). In SourceWatch, key articles on Charles Koch and his late brother David include: Koch Brothers, Americans for Prosperity, Stand Together Chamber of Commerce, Stand Together, Koch Family Foundations, Koch Universities, and I360.

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. 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.

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.'"

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.

News

On July 10, 2017 the NCPA announced that it would be closing due to financial problems.

Ties to the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation

NCPA events, studies, and analyses have been featured in the Bradley Foundation's monthly newsletters. At the end of each newsletter entry, the Bradley Foundation states, "The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation in Milwaukee substantially supports NCPA."

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.

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council

NCPA has ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). It has been a member of ALEC's Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force and its Health and Human Services Task Force. According to an August 2013 ALEC board document obtained by The Guardian, however, NCPA terminated its ALEC membership, at least temporarily, due to "budget cutbacks" on April 16, 2013.

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.

Publications

NCPA Policy Research publications include Policy Reports, Brief Analyses, Issue Briefs, Books, Special Publications, Policy Backgrounders, and Congressional Briefs.

Funding

Between 1986 and 2014 NCPA received $13,663,378 in donations.

Top donors, per Conservative Transparency:

• Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation - $2,682,500 (1986-2014) ; $25,000 (2015)

• Sarah Scaife Foundation - $2,285,000
• John M. Olin Foundation - $1,069,000
• The Gordon and Mary Cain Foundation - $1,000,000
• Hickory Foundation - $684,350
• Armstrong Foundation - $600,000
• Exxon Mobil - $520,000
• Donors Capital Fund - $500,000
• Carthage Foundation - $470,000
• Chase Foundation of Virginia - $467,820
• Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation - $460,000
• Gilder Foundation - $265,000
• David H. Koch Charitable Foundation - $260,000
• Dunn's Foundation for the Advancement of Right Thinking - $247,000
• Charlotte and Walter Kohler Charitable Trust - $230,000
• William H. Donner Foundation - $225,000
• Castle Rock Foundation - $185,000
• Holman Foundation - $180,384
• JM Foundation - $160,000
• Jaquelin Hume Foundation - $150,000
• Searle Freedom Trust - $130,000
• Earhart Foundation - $100,000
• Scaife Family Foundation - $100,000
• Lovett and Ruth Peters Foundation - $100,000
• DonorsTrust - $97,150

In 2009, the NCPA had $5,197,716 in assets and took in $4,222,443 in revenue.

Funders (and total estimated amounts given, according to MediaMatters):

• The Armstrong Foundation, $455,000
• Carthage Foundation $525,000
• Castle Rock Foundation $160,000
• Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation $7,000
• Charlotte and Walter Kohler Charitable Trust $230,000
• Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation $380,000
• David H. Koch Charitable Foundation $260,000
• Dick and Betsy Devos Foundation $4,500
• Earhart Foundation $100,000
• Exxon Mobil $520,000
• Gilder Foundation $265,000
• Gordon and Mary Cain Foundation $1,000,000
• Hickory Foundation $584,350
• JM Foundation $135,000
• Jaquelin Hume Foundation $150,000
• John M. Olin Foundation $1,069,000
• Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation $1,807,500
• Philip M. McKenna Foundation $70,000
• Roe Foundation $12,500
• Ruth and Lovett Peters Foundation $52,000
• Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation $80,000
• Sarah Scaife Foundation $1,935,000
• Scaife Family Foundation $100,000
• Shelby Cullom Davis Foundation $20,000
• Walton Family Foundation$25,000
• William H. Donner Foundation $225,000

Foundations gave the following amounts to the National Center for Policy Analysis think tank in 2004:

• Gilder Foundation - $150,000
• Sarah Scaife Foundation - $125,000
• Gordon and Mary Cain Foundation - $25,000
• Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation - $45,000

Core Financials

2014

• Total Revenue: $2,629,925
• Total Expenses: $3,562,505
• Net Assets: $501,348

2013

• Total Revenue: $5,281,913
• Total Expenses: $4,544,953
• Net Assets: $1,433,928

2012

• Total Revenue: $3,828,486
• Total Expenses: $5,030,072
• Net Assets: $696,968

2011

• Total Revenue: $4,132,197
• Total Expenses: $4,924,654
• Net Assets: $1,898,554

2010

• Total Revenue: $4,831,246
• Total Expenses: $4,789,821
• Net Assets: $2,691,011

Founding

The NCPA began its existence in 1983 at the University of Dallas.

Its founding board members were:

• Wayne Calloway, President and CEO of Frito-Lay
• Jere Thompson, President and CEO of the Southland Corporation
• Robert Dedman, President and CEO of ClubCorp
• Russell Perry, President and CEO of Republic Financial Services
• Sir Antony Fisher, President and CEO of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation

Personnel

As of August 2017:

Experts

• Jacki Pick, Senior Fellow
• Pamela Villarreal, Senior Fellow
• John R. Graham, Senior Fellow
• Devon M. Herrick, Senior Fellow
• David A. Grantham, Senior Fellow
• Michael Bond, Senior Fellow
• Roy G. Boyd, Senior Fellow
• Bill Caruth, Senior Fellow
• William B. Conerly, Senior Fellow
• Michael L. Davis, Senior Fellow
• Brooks Hamilton, Senior Fellow
• N. Michael Helvacian, Senior Fellow
• Thomas A. Hemphill, Senior Fellow
• Estelle James, Senior Fellow
• Roger Koppl, Senior Fellow
• Laurence Kotlikoff, Senior Fellow
• Richard McKenzie, Senior Fellow
• John D. Merrifield, Senior Fellow
• Gerald Musgrave, Senior Fellow
• Phillip K. Porter, Senior Fellow
• R. David Ranson, Senior Fellow
• Andrew J. Rettenmaier, Senior Fellow
• Thomas R. Saving, Senior Fellow
• Greg Scandlen, Senior Fellow
• Barry J. Seldon, Senior Fellow
• David G. Tuerck, Senior Fellow
• Linus Wright, Senior Fellow
• Carole Hornsby Haynes, Contributing Fellow
• Cherylyn LeBon, Contributing Fellow
• E. Gaylon McCollough, Contributing Fellow
• Lawrence Pivnick, Contributing Fellow
• Senthil Thambidorai, Contributing Fellow
• Chris Wiley, Contributing Fellow
• Barry Asmus, Senior Economist

Staff

• James H. Amos, Jr., President & CEO
• Allen West, Executive Director & Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors
• Jacki Pick, General Counsel and Senior Energy Fellow
• Joe Barnett, Sr., Director of Policy Research
• Kristina E. Barton, Special Assistant to the President and CEO
• Alan Hamill, Development and Policy Associate
• Luke Twombly, Media Manager
• Brian Williams, Legislative Director

NCPA Board of Directors

• Steve Ivy, NCPA Chairman
• Allen West, NCPA Executive Director and Vice Chairman
• James H. Amos, Jr., NCPA President & CEO
• Larry Wedekind
• Michael Whalen

NCPA Emeritus Board of Directors

• Virginia James
• Don A. Buchholz
• Harlan Crow
• Pete du Pont
• Jere W. Thompson

Former Staff

• John C. Goodman, President
• Jeanette N. Goodman, Chief Development Officer
• Richard Walker, Senior Vice President
• Joe Barnett, Director of Publications
• Ron Lyon, Director of Online Operations
• Tab Boyles, Director of Events
• Sharyn L. Casey, Director of Development
• Eileen Resnik, Senior Development Officer
• Barry Asmus, Senior Economist
• H. Sterling Burnett, Senior Fellow
• Sean R. Tuffnell, Director of Communications
• Devon M. Herrick, Senior Fellow
• Brian Williams, Legislative Director

Former Board Members

• Pete du Pont, Former Governor of Delaware
• John C. Goodman, President, NCPA
• W. Mike Baggett, Chairman & CEO, Winstead Sechrest & Minick PC
• Don A. Buchholz, Chairman of the Board, SWS Group, Inc.
• William J. Gedwed, President and CEO, HealthMarkets®
• Harlan Crow, Chairman, Crow Holdings
• John Victor Lattimore, Jr., President and Chairman of the Board, Lattimore Properties, Inc.
• Fred Meyer, Investments
• Henry J. Bud Smith, Chairman Bud Smith Organization
• James Cleo Thompson, Jr., Chairman of the Board, Thompson Petroleum Corporation
• Jere W. Thompson, President, The Williamsburg Corporation
• Michael L. Whalen, President & CEO, Heart of America Restaurants & Inns
• Raymond E. Wooldridge, Private Investor
• Robert J. Wright, President, TWG, Inc.

NCPA Projects

NCPA Project include National Security, Health Care, Taxes, Retirement, Energy, and Youth Programs.

NCPA’s Environment Team (E-Team)

• Alexandra Liddy Bourne, Vice President for Policy and Strategy for The Heartland Institute
• Baruch Feigenbaum, Policy Analyst at Reason Foundation
• Brian Seasholes, Policy Fellow at PERC, Policy Analyst at Reason Foundation, Director of Endangered Species Project at Reason Foundation
• Christopher C. Horner, Senior Fellow at Competitive Enterprise Institute
• Daniel R. Simmons, Director of the Natural Resources Task Force at the American Legislative Exchange Council
• David Deming, Professor at the University of Oklahoma in Norman
• David R. Legates, Professor at the University of Delaware
• Dennis Avery, Former Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute and Director of the Center for Global Food Issues
• Don Leal, Senior associate at PERC
• Henry I. Miller, Robert Wesson Fellow in Scientific Philosophy and Public Policy at the Hoover Institution
• Jeffery A. Green, Esq., Founder of the Strategic Material Advisory Council
• Jo Kwong, Director of Economic Opportunity Programs at Philanthropy Roundtable
• Joel Schwartz, Professor of Environmental Epidemiology at Harvard University's Center for the Environment
• John Baden, Founder and Chairman of the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment
• John D. Merrifield, Senior Fellow at the National Center for Policy and Analysis
• Kenneth P Green, Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, and Senior Director, Center for Natural Resource Studies at the Fraser Institute
• Larry Bell, Endowed Professor of Space Architecture at the University of Houston, and associate of the Heartland Institute
• Larry Foulke, specialist in nuclear science and technology
• Marlo Lewis Jr., Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute
• Max Borders, Policy Analyst at the Civitas Institute
• Michael De Alessi, Director of Natural Resource Policy at Reason Foundation
• Pete Geddes, Managing Director of the American Prairie Reserve
• Robert L. Bradley Jr., CEO and Founder of the Institute for Energy Research, and Adjunct Scholar at the Cato Institute
• Robert J. Michaels, Adjunct Scholar at the Cato Institute, an associate of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and Professor of Economics at California State University, Fullerton
• S. Fred Singer, atmospheric and space physicist, associate of the Heartland Institute
• Samuel Staley, co-founder of The Buckeye Institute
• Steven Hayward, Senior Resident Scholar at the Institute of Governmental Studies, Former F. K. Weyerhaeuser Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and Senior Fellow at the Pacific Research Institute
• Steven J. Milloy, Investment adviser to the Free Enterprise Action Fund, blogger at JunkScience.com and CSR Watch.com, adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute and Competitive Enterprise Institute
• Thomas Gale Moore, Senior Fellow, Emeritus at the Hoover Institution
• Todd Myers, Director, Center for the Environment at the Washington Policy Center
• Wendell Cox, Principal of Wendell Cox Consultancy (Demographia)

Former Environmental Task Force

• Bruce N. Ames, Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of California at Berkeley
• Terry L. Anderson, Senior Associate, Political Economy Research Center
• Larry P. Arnn, President, Claremont Institute
• Barry Asmus, Senior Fellow, National Center for Policy Analysis
• Dennis T. Avery,senior fellow at Hudson Institute
• John A. Baden, Chairman, Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment
• C. Edwin Baker, Senior Fellow for Environmental Policy, Independence Institute, Golden, Colorado
• Joseph L. Bast, President, Heartland Institute, Chicago, Illinois
• Mikhail S. Bernstam, Senior Research Fellow, Hoover Institution
• Walter Block, Senior Research Fellow, Fraser Institute
• Clint Bolick, Director, Landmark Center for Civil Rights, Washington, D.C.
• Max Borders,Managing Editor of Technology-Commerce-Society Daily [1]
• Sandy Liddy Bourne, a task force director for the American Legislative Exchange Council
• James Bovard, Associate Policy Analyst, Cato Institute
• Robert L. Bradley, Jr., president of the Institute for Energy Research
• Sam Brunelli, Executive Director, American Legislative Exchange Council
• H. Sterling Burnett, senior fellow for the NCPA
• Eamonn Butler, Director, Adam Smith Institute, London, England
• John Carlson, President, Washington Institute for Policy Studies, Bellevue, Washington
• Alston Chase, Author: Playing God in Yellowstone
• Lucy Clark, Associate Director of the Judicial Studies Program, Manhattan Institute
• Kenneth Clarkson, Director, Law and Economics Center, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida
• Robert Allan Cooke, Director, Institute for Business Ethics, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois
• John W. Cooper, Executive Director, James Madison Institute, Tallahassee, Florida
• D. Allen Dalton, Director, Center for the Study of Market Alternatives, Caldwell, Idaho
• Michael De Alessi, a director at the Reason Public Policy Institute
• David Deming,associate professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Oklahoma in Norman
• William J. Dennis, Jr., Senior Research Fellow, The NFIB Foundation
• Tom DiLorenzo, Director, Center for Economic Education University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
• Becky Norton Dunlop, Former Assistant Secretary of the Interior
• Pete du Pont former governor of Delaware and columnist for the Wall Street Journal editorial page [2]
• Larry Foulke, board member of the American Nuclear Society
• Stephen Gold, Executive Director, Citizens for the Environment
• John C. Goodman, President, National Center for Policy Analysis
• Robert E. Gordon, Jr., Director, National Wilderness Institute
• Kenneth Green, Director of the Risk and Environment Policy Centre at The Fraser Institute
• Mark Greenfield, Executive Director, Heartland Institute, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Michael S. Greve, Executive Director, Center for Individual Rights, Washington, D.C.
• William M. H. Hammett, President, Manhattan Institute
• Stephen H. Hanke, Professor of Applied Economics, The Johns Hopkins University
• Robert Hawkins, President, Institute for Contemporary Studies
• Steve Hayward, Director, Golden State Center for Policy Studies, Claremont Institute, Sacramento, California
• John M. Hood, Publications and Research Director, John Locke Foundation, Raleigh, North Carolina
• Christopher C. Horner,a Washington, D.C. attorney on the executive committee of The [[Federalist Society and former federal government relations directorfor Enron
• Edward L. Hudgins, Deputy Director, Economic Policy Studies, Heritage Foundation
• Sherwood Idso, Adjunct Professor of Botany & Geography, Arizona State University
• Kent Jeffreys, Environmental Policy Analyst, Competitive Enterprise Institute
• Bruce Johnson, Research Director, The Independent Institute
• Barbara Keating-Edh, President, Consumer Alert, Modesto, California
• Jo Kwong, Director of Public Affairs, Atlas Economic Research Foundation
• Kathy Kushner, Research Fellow, Hudson Institute
• Donald Leal, Research Associate, Political Economy Research Center
• Dwight Lee, Adjunct Professor, Center for the Study of American Business
• David R. Legates,associate professor of geography, the University of Delaware
• Marlo Lewis, Jr., senior fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute
• Tex Lezar, President, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Dallas, Texas (died January 5, 2004 [3])
• Greg Lindsay, Executive Director, Centre for Independent Studies, St. Leonards, Australia
• Robert J. Michaels, professor of economics,California State University, Fullerton
• Henry I. Miller, fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University [4]
• James H. Miller, President, Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• A. Alan Moghissi,President of the Institute for Regulatory Science (RSI)
• Joseph A. Morris, President & General Counsel, Lincoln Legal Foundation, Chicago, Illinois
• William C. Myers, Executive Vice President, South Carolina Policy Council, Columbia, South Carolina
• Madsen Pirie, President, Adam Smith Institute, London, England
• Virginia Postrel, Editor of Reason, Reason Foundation
• Lawrence W. Reed, President, Mackinac Center, Midland, Michigan
• Scott J. Relan, President, Mississippi Center for Public Policy, Oxford, Mississippi
• David Riggs, adjunct scholar at the Competitive Enterprise Institute
• Michael Sanera, President Barry, Goldwater Institute for Public Policy Research, Flagstaff, Arizona
• Thomas R. Saving, Director Center for Education and Research in Free Enterprise, College Station, Texas
• Lynn Scarlett, Vice President of Research Reason Foundation
• William C. Schilling, Executive Director, Wyoming Heritage Society, Casper, Wyoming
• Joel Schwartz, former director of Reason Public Policy Institute
• Timothy Seibel, Director for Land Use and, Environmental Studies Claremont Institute, Montclair, California
• Jane S. Shaw, Senior Associate, Political Economy Research Center
• Daniel R. Simmons, a task force director for the American Legislative Exchange Council
• Randy T. Simmons, Director, Institute of Political Economy, Utah State University
• Julian L. Simon, Professor of Business Administration, University of Maryland (died February 8, 1998)
• S. Fred Singer, Director, Project on Science and Environmental Policy
• Joe M. Sloan, Jr., President, California Conservation Coalition, Whittier, California
• Fred L. Smith, President, Competitive Enterprise Institute
• Robert J. Smith, Director of Environmental Studies, Cato Institute
• Fritz S. Steiger, Executive Vice President & CEO, Texas Public Policy Foundation, San Antonio, Texas
• Jack Strayer, former NCPA staffer
• Richard L. Stroup, Senior Associate, Political Economy Research Center
• Martin J. Summers, Research Associate Institute of Economic Affairs, London, England
• Judy Swafford, Director Southwest Policy Institute, Edmond, Oklahoma
• Jerry Taylor, Legislative Director, American Legislative Exchange Council
• Robert Taylor, Fellow Institute for Humane Studies, Fairfax, Virginia
• David J. Theroux, President, The Independent Institute, Oakland, California
• Norman Ture, President, Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation
• Ronald Utt, Vice President, National Chamber Foundation
• Michael Warder, Executive Vice President, Rockford Institute, Rockford, Illinois
• William W. Weston, President, Foundation Francisco Marroquin, Stuart, Florida
• Elizabeth Whelan, President, American Council of Science and Health
• Aaron Wildavsky, Professor of Political Science & Public Policy, University of California at Berkeley

Contact

Employer Identification Number (EIN): 75-1804932

Dallas Headquarters:
14180 Dallas Parkway, Suite 350
Dallas, TX 75254
Phone: (972) 386-6272

Washington Office:
600 Pennsylvania SE, #310
Washington, DC 20003
Phone: (202) 830-0177

Web: http://www.ncpa.org/
Blogs: http://www.ncpa.org/ourblogs/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NCPA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NationalCenterforPolicyAnalysis
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-center-for-policy-analysis

Emails:
Allen West: allen@ncpa.org
Donor Relations: development@ncpa.org
Events: events@ncpa.org
Media: media@ncpa.org
Publications: publications@ncpa.org
Washington, DC Office: govrel@ncpa.org
Webmaster: online@ncpa.org

Articles and Resources

External Links

• Richard W. Stevenson, "In Sign of Conservative Split, a Commentator Is Dismissed", New York Tines, October 18, 2005.
• Greenpeace, Koch Industries: Secretly Funding the Climate Denial Machine, Greenpeace website, Accessed August 9, 2017.
• Charles Miller