Dunn Foundation
The Dunn Foundation, formerly Dunn's Foundation for Right Thinking, is the private foundation founded in 1993 by Florida multimillionaire William A. Dunn, president of Dunn Capital Management. According to the trust agreement, the Foundation aims to "advance the understanding and practice of classical liberalism, market capitalism, free enterprise, individual political and economic liberty and to reduce the impact of the use of threat of force by coercive organizations (both public and private) against the people of America and the world, principally through education and persuasion."[1] The Dunn Foundation is a major funder of national and state right-wing nonprofits.
Contents
Ties to the Koch Network
The Dunn Foundation has provided funding (see below) to Koch organizations including the Americans for Prosperity Foundation and Stand Together Trust.
| 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. |
Ties to the State Policy Network
Dunn Foundation is a major funder of the State Policy Network (See below). 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.[2] 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.[3]
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.'"[4]
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.[5]
Grants Distributed
2022[6]
- Alliance Defending Freedom: $175,000
- America First Inc: $250,000
- America First Legal Foundation: $100,000
- American Accountability Foundation: $25,000
- American Ideas Institute: $5,000
- American Moment: $25,000
- Americans for Fair Treatment: $500,000
- America's Future: $25,000
- Atlas Network: $260,000
- Atlas Society: $10,000
- Blexit Foundation: $200,000
- Cato Institute: $100,000
- Center for Race and Opportunity: $15,000
- Childrens Health Defense: $15,000
- Commonwealth Foundation: $250,000
- Competitive Enterprise Institute: $100,000
- Conservative Partnership Institute: $250,000
- County Citizens Defending Freedom USA Foundation: $200,000
- Daily Caller News Foundation: $10,000
- David Horowitz Freedom Center: $100,000
- DonorsTrust: $100,000
- Evergreen Freedom Foundation: $40,000
- Fairness Center: $250,000
- Federalist Society: $75,000
- Foundation for Economic Education: $125,000
- Foundation for Government Accountability: $1,000,000
- Foundation for Individual Rights in Education: $1,300,000
- Free the People Fight the Power Foundation: $5,000
- Free to Choose Network: $10,000
- FreedomWorks Foundation:$235,000
- Heartland Institute: $20,000
- Hillsdale College: $50,000
- Illinois Policy Institute: $10,000
- Independent Institute: $50,000
- Institute for Humane Studies: $10,000
- Institute for Justice: $150,000
- James Madison Institute: $100,000
- Kings Academy Inc: $80,000
- Leadership Institute: $35,000
- Liberty Counsel: $12,000
- Liberty Justice Center: $60,000
- Lucy Burns Institute: $50,000
- Mackinac Center: $15,000
- Moms for America: $200,000
- National Foundation for Gun Rights: $30,000
- National Taxpayers Union Foundation: $50,000
- Network of Enlightened Women: $10,000
- NRA Foundation: $20,000
- Pacific Legal Foundation: $100,000
- Philanthropy Roundtable: $100,000
- Policy Circle: $50,000
- Political Economy Research Center: $70,000
- Prager University Foundation: $200,000
- Real Clear Foundation: $50,000
- Reason Foundation: $125,000
- State Policy Network: $100,000
- Students for Liberty: $200,000
- Turning Point USA: $1,000,000
- Young Americans Against Socialism: $85,000
- Young Americans for Liberty: $40,000
- Young Voices: $25,000
2021[7]
- Alliance Defending Freedom: $100,000
- America First Inc: $150,000
- Americans For Fair Treatment Inc: $375,000
- Atlas Network: $355,000
- Blexit Foundation: $200,000
- Cato Institute: $100,000
- Center For Race And Opportunity: $30,000
- Commonwealth Foundation: $375,000
- Competitive Enterprise Institute: $100,000
- DonorsTrust: $130,000
- Fairness Center: $250,000
- Federalist Society: $100,000
- Foundation for Economic Education: $125,000
- Foundation for Government Accountability: $325,000
- Foundation for Individual Rights in Education: $135,000
- FreedomWorks Foundation:$460,000
- Future Of Freedom Foundation Inc: $5,000
- Hillsdale College: $50,000
- Illinois Policy Institute: $10,000
- Independent Institute: $45,000
- Institute for Humane Studies: $25,000
- Institute for Justice: $142,000
- James Madison Institute: $100,000
- Judicial Watch: $20,000
- Kings Academy Inc: $120,000
- Liberty Justice Center: $60,000
- Mackinac Center: $50,000
- Moving Picture Institute: $10,000
- National Foundation for Gun Rights: $50,000
- National Taxpayers Union Foundation: $60,000
- Network of Enlightened Women: $5,000
- NRA Foundation: $50,000
- Objectivist Center: $10,000
- Pacific Legal Foundation: $115,000
- Philanthropy Roundtable: $100,000
- Policy Circle: $27,500
- Political Economy Research Center: $100,000
- Reason Foundation: $100,000
- Seminar Network Inc - Stand Together Trust: $5,000
- State Policy Network: $100,000
- Students for Liberty: $200,000
- Turning Point USA: $1,279,000
- Young Americans Against Socialism: $87,500
- Young Americans for Liberty: $105,000
- Young Voices: $20,000
2020[8]
- Accuracy in Media: $125,000
- American Enterprise Institute: $50,000
- Americans for Prosperity Foundation: $5,000
- Atlas Network: $245,000
- Barry Goldwater Institute for Public Policy Research: $7,500
- Blexit Foundation: $250,000
- Cato Institute: $100,000
- Commonwealth Foundation: $400,000
- Competitive Enterprise Institute: $100,000
- Daily Caller News Foundation: $100,000
- David Horowitz Freedom Center: $100,000
- DonorsTrust: $200,000
- Federalist Society: $50,000
- Foundation for Economic Education: $20,000
- Foundation for Government Accountability: $250,000
- Foundation for Individual Rights in Education: $100,000
- Free to Choose Network: $100,000
- FreedomWorks Foundation: $285,000
- Hillsdale College: $20,000
- Illinois Policy Institute: $5,000
- Independent Institute: $15,000
- Institute for Humane Studies: $30,000
- Institute for Justice: $100,000
- James Madison Institute: $50,000
- Judicial Watch: $30,000
- Kings College: $40,000
- Leadership Institute: $15,000
- Liberty Justice Center: $50,000
- Mackinac Center: $50,000
- Moms for America: $15,000
- National Foundation for Gun Rights: $50,000
- NRA Foundation: $20,000
- Objectivist Center: $10,000
- Pacific Legal Foundation: $100,000
- Philanthropy Roundtable: $60,000
- Policy Circle: $25,000
- Political Economy Research Center: $250,000
- Prager University Foundation: $115,000
- Reason Foundation: $100,000
- Remember Honor Support: $5,000
- Stand Together Trust: $10,000
- State Policy Network: $50,000
- Students for Fair Admissions: $10,000
- Students for Liberty: $200,000
- Turning Point USA: $350,000
- Young Americans Against Socialism: $37,500
- Young Americans for Liberty: $285,000
- Young Voices: $15,000
2019[9]
- American Enterprise Institute: $100,000
- Atlas Network: $250,000
- Blexit Foundation: $250,000
- Cato Institute: $100,000
- Commonwealth Foundation: $225,000
- Competitive Enterprise Institute: $100,000
- Daily Caller News Foundation: $125,000
- David Horowitz Freedom Center: $110,000
- DonorsTrust: $522,500
- EdChoice: $40,000
- Fairness Center: $175,000
- Federalist Society: $100,000
- Foundation for Economic Education: $40,000
- Foundation for Government Accountability: $250,000
- Foundation for Individual Rights in Education: $100,000
- Frameworks of Tampa Bay: $75,000
- Franklin News Foundation: $10,000
- Free the People Fight the Power Foundation: $10,000
- Free to Choose Network: $125,000
- FreedomWorks Foundation: $200,000
- George Mason University Foundation: $10,000
- Hillsdale College: $21,000
- Illinois Policy Institute: $25,000
- Independent Institute: $25,000
- Institute for Humane Studies: $35,000
- Institute for Justice: $250,000
- James Madison Institute: $50,000
- Judicial Watch: $60,000
- Just Facts: $25,000
- Kings Academy: $65,000
- Kings College: $40,000
- Leadership Institute: $50,000
- Liberty Justice Center: $50,000
- Mackinac Center: $100,000
- Manhattan Institute for Policy Research: $125,000
- Moving Picture Institute: $25,000
- Museum of the American Revolution: $10,000
- National Foundation for Gun Rights: $30,000
- Network of Enlightened Women: $5,500
- NRA Foundation: $25,000
- Objectivist Center: $10,000
- Pacific Legal Foundation: $250,000
- Philanthropy Roundtable: $110,000
- Policy Circle: $25,000
- Political Economy Research Center: $250,000
- Prager University Foundation: $200,000
- Reason Foundation: $100,000
- State Policy Network: $50,000
- Step Up for Students: $10,000
- Students for Fair Admissions: $20,000
- Students for Liberty: $200,000
- Taliesin Nexus: $100,000
- Turning Point USA: $350,000
- Young Americans for Liberty: $225,000
- Young Voices: $15,000
2018[10]
- Alzheimers Disease Research Foundation: $30,000
- Ashland University: $40,000
- Atlas Network: $300,000
- Cato Institute: $200,000
- Citizens for Self-Governance: $100,000
- Commonwealth Foundation: $225,000
- Competitive Enterprise Institute: $100,000
- David Horowitz Freedom Center: $106,000
- EdChoice: $80,000
- Fairness Center: $175,000
- Federalist Society: $100,000
- Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund: $25,000
- Foundation for Economic Education: $60,000
- Foundation for Government Accountability: $300,000
- Foundation for Individual Rights in Education: $100,000
- Franklin News Foundation: $25,000
- Free to Choose Network: $125,000
- FreedomWorks Foundation: $150,000
- George Mason University Foundation: $20,000
- Independent Institute: $10,000
- Illinois Policy Institute: $45,000
- Institute for Humane Studies: $25,000
- Institute for Justice: $100,000
- James Madison Institute: $50,000
- Judicial Watch: $50,000
- Leadership Institute: $50,000
- Liberty Justice Center: $50,000
- Mackinac Center: $250,000
- Manhattan Institute for Policy Research: $250,000
- National Center for the American Revolution: $10,000
- National Foundation for Gun Rights: $30,000
- Objectivist Center: $10,000
- Pacific Legal Foundation: $200,000
- Philanthropy Roundtable: $100,000
- Policy Circle: $25,000
- Political Economy Research Center: $250,000
- Project Veritas: $100,000
- Reason Foundation: $100,000
- State Policy Network: $50,000
- Students for Fair Admissions: $25,000
- Students for Liberty: $160,000
- Turning Point USA: $250,000
- Young Americans for Liberty: $50,000
2017[11]
- Atlas Network: $70,000
- Barry Goldwater Institute: $25,000
- Chapman University: $50,000
- Commonwealth Foundation: $250,000
- Competitive Enterprise Institute: $100,000
- David Horowitz Freedom Center: $100,000
- EdChoice: $80,000
- Federalist Society: $50,000
- Foundation for Economic Education: $55,000
- Foundation for Government Accountability: $200,000
- Foundation for Individual Rights in Education: $100,000
- Foundation for Liberty and American Greatness: $5,000
- Free to Choose Network: $30,000
- FreedomWorks Foundation: $100,000
- Future of Freedom Foundation: $10,000
- Heritage Foundation: $50,000
- Independent Institute: $25,000
- Institute for Humane Studies: $15,000
- Institute for Justice: $1,600,000
- James Madison Institute: $25,000
- Judicial Watch: $50,000
- Kings College: $10,000
- Law Enforcement Action Partnership: $40,000
- Leadership Institute: $50,000
- Liberty Justice Center: $50,000
- Mackinac Center: $10,000
- Marijuana Policy Project Foundation: $100,000
- NRA Foundation: $50,000
- Objectivist Center: $25,000
- Pacific Legal Foundation: $100,000
- Political Economy Research Center: $100,000
- Project Veritas: $75,000
- Reason Foundation: $125,000
- Society of the Four Arts: $50,000
- State Policy Network: $40,000
- Students for Liberty: $60,000
- Turning Point USA: $150,000
- Young Americans for Liberty: $25,000
2016[12]
- Atlas Network: $50,000
- Bill of Rights Institute: $20,000
- Cato Institute: $50,000
- Commonwealth Foundation: $50,000
- Competitive Enterprise Institute: $150,000
- Conscious Capitalism: $25,000
- David Horowitz Freedom Center: $100,000
- DonorsTrust: 35,000
- EdChoice: $50,000
- Federalist Society: $10,000
- Foundation for Economic Education: $50,000
- Foundation for Government Accountability: $100,000
- Foundation for Individual Rights in Education: $100,000
- Foundation for Liberty and American Greatness: $5,000
- Free to Choose Network: $50,000
- FreedomWorks Foundation: $100,000
- Future of Freedom Foundation: $25,000
- George Mason University Foundation: $50,000
- Heartland Institute: $100,000
- Independent Institute: $10,000
- Illinois Policy Institute: $50,000
- Institute for Humane Studies: $100,000
- Institute for Justice: $1,525,000
- James Madison Institute: $50,000
- Judicial Watch: $25,000
- Kings College: $10,000
- Law Enforcement Action Partnership: $100,000
- Mackinac Center: $50,000
- Marijuana Policy Project Foundation: $250,000
- NRA Foundation: $50,000
- Objectivist Center: $50,000
- Pacific Legal Foundation: $75,000
- Political Economy Research Center: $75,000
- Project Veritas: $50,000
- Reason Foundation: $100,000
- State Policy Network: $25,000
- Students for Liberty: $25,000
- Turning Point USA: $280,000
- Young Americans for Liberty: $20,000
Core Financials
2022[6]
- Total Revenue: $29,919,006
- Total Expenses: $9,779,269
- Net Assets: $104,501,535
2021[7]
- Total Revenue: $19,327,452
- Total Expenses: $7,088,469
- Net Assets: $101,821,057
2020[8]
- Total Revenue: -$1,236,780
- Total Expenses: $5,022,142
- Net Assets: $95,222,214
2019[9]
- Total Revenue: $11,332,081
- Total Expenses: $6,315,367
- Net Assets: $98,022,943
2018[10]
- Total Revenue: $1,457,386
- Total Expenses: $5,050,892
- Net Assets: $87,955,839
2017[11]
- Total Revenue: $4,401,490
- Total Expenses: $4,367,546
- Net Assets: $103,115,845
2016[12]
- Total Revenue: $287,474
- Total Expenses: $4,432,397
- Net Assets: $108,194,803
Personnel
Board of Directors
As of December 2022:[6]
- Tom Beach
- David Dreyer
- Rebecca Walter Dunn
- William A Dunn
Contact Information
Dunn Foundation
Foundation Source 501 Silverside Road
Wilmington, DE 198091377
Phone: 800-839-1754
EIN: 65-0415977
Articles and Resources
IRS Form 990 Filings
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
Articles
- Alex Kotch, The Dirty Dozen: The Biggest Nonprofit Funders of Climate Denial ExposedbyCMD, March 21, 2022.
- David Armiak, Turning Point USA Seeks $43 Million to Escalate the Right’s Culture War in American Schools, ExposedbyCMD, October 25, 2021.
- Alex Kotch, Coming Up Short in Hunt for Voter Fraud, Desperate Republicans Try to Pay For Evidence, ExposedbyCMD, November 13, 2020.
- Alex Kotch, Koch-Linked Charity Bankrolled Project Veritas as It Worked With Ex-Spies to Infiltrate Liberal Groups, ExposedbyCMD, March 17, 2020.
- Alex Kotch, YouTube Is Promoting Koch’s Climate Change Denial Network, ExposedbyCMD, February 20, 2020.
References
- ↑ Dunn's Foundation for the Advancement of Right Thinking, "Conservative Transparency," amended and restated trust agreement, March 9, 2011, accessed July 1, 2014.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Dunn Foundation, 2022 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, May 11, 2023.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Dunn Foundation, 2021 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, May 28, 2022.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Dunn Foundation, 2020 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, May 28, 2021.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Dunn Foundation, 2019 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, July 1, 2020.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Dunn Foundation, 2018 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, May 19, 2019.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Dunn Foundation, 2017 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, November 7, 2018.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Dunn Foundation, 2016 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, November 9, 2017.
