American Cornerstone Institute
The American Cornerstone Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that claims to be a "values-driven educational organization that focuses on identifying and implementing common-sense solutions to some of the problems currently hurting the country's most vulnerable citizens," and a "strong champion of free-market, self-reliance focused policy solutions to the real problems our nation faces".[1]
ACI was founded by former presidential candidate Dr. Benjamin Carson, who endorsed former president Donald Trump upon his withdrawal from the 2016 POTUS race.
ACI is part of a larger network of nonprofit spinoffs launched by the Conservative Partnership Institute that provide jobs for former Trump staff and political allies.[2]
The "cornerstone" values that guide ACI are "faith, liberty, community, and life".[3]
Contents
News and Controversies
Ben Carson Likens 'Little Patriots' Program to Soviet Indoctrination
The Little Patriots program is a project of ACI in which parents and educators can receive free teaching materials that promote a patriotic American history curriculum. MRT reported ACI president Ben Carson said, "That's why Vladimir Lenin said give me your children to teach for four years and the seed that I plant will never be uprooted." He further explained, "'We' need to utilize the same principles and try to make sure children have a solid foundation of understanding of who we are as a nation," MRT reports.[4]. In the same interview, Carson called Critical Race Theory "a bunch of garbage" and claimed the disproportionate shooting of Black citizens by police officers is a fallacy created by media spin.[4]
Funding
American Cornerstone Institute is not required to disclose its donors. However, the Center for Media and Democracy identified the following contributors through an analysis of tax filings:
- Ed Uihlein Family Foundation: $1,500,000 (2021)
Core Financials
Financial information for the American Cornerstone Institute is not currently available.
Personnel
Staff
As of January 2021:[1]
- Benjamin Carson, President
- Irving Dennis, CFO
Board of Directors
As of January 2021:[1]
- Benjamin Carson, Chairman
- Andrew Hughes, Executive Director
- Irving Dennis, Treasurer
- Michael Williams, Secretary
Contact Information
Employer Identification Number (EIN): 86-1545903
American Cornerstone Institute, Inc.
P.O. Box 354
611 Pennsylvania Avenue SE
Washinton, D.C. 20003
- Phone: 202-349-9634
- Website: https://americancornerstone.org/
- Email: contact@americancornerstone.org
- Facebook: American Cornerstone Institute
- Twitter: @ACI1776
- Instagram: @acornerstone1776
- YouTube: American Cornerstone
Articles and Resources
IRS Filings
Tax-Exempt Application
Articles
- Steven Lubet, Ben Carson's Unfortunate Cornerstone, "Tropics of Meta", April 26, 2021.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 American Cornerstone Institute, 501(c)(3) Application, "ACI", January 25, 2021.
- ↑ Sue Sturgis, How Mark Meadows' nonprofit benefited from Trump's 'Big Ripoff', "Facing South", June 24, 2022.
- ↑ American Cornerstone Institute, ACI Homepage, "ACI", accessed July 20, 2022.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Matt Stringer, Carson: American people are not each other's enemies, "MRT", March 30, 2022.
