Free the People
Free the People is a libertarian, Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2016 by Matt Kibbe and Terry Kibbe.[1]
The organization "specializes in video production, creative storytelling, and social media engagement" and plans to create "a community of people who believe in the values of freedom, entrepreneurship, individual responsibility, choice, and peaceful cooperation."[1]
Free the People is an associate member of the State Policy Network, a group of rightwing think tanks and other politically-active nonprofits.
Contents
News and Controversies
Co-Founders and Other Employees Connected to FreedomWorks
Several Free the People employees, including the organization's co-founders Matt and Terry Kibbe, formerly worked at FreedomWorks.[1]
Ties to the State Policy Network
Free the People is an associate member of the 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.[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]
Funding
Free the People
- Peterson Family Foundation: $1,000 (2017)
- QXZ: $100,000 (2016)
Free the People Foundation
- Armstrong Foundation: $25,000 (2017-2018)
- Atlas Network: $20,000 (2017)
- Chase Foundation of Virginia: $5,000 (2018)
- David L Smith Foundation: $50,000 (2018)
- Donors Capital Fund: $106,450 (2018-2019)
- DonorsTrust: $30,000 (2017, 2018)
- Ed Uihlein Family Foundation: $200,000 (2018-2019)
- Foundation for Individual Liberty: $15,000 (2016, 2018)
- Garvey Kansas Foundation: $2,000 (2017-2018)
- New Venture Fund: $25,000 (2016)
Core Financials
Free the People
2017[6]
- Total Revenue: $1,771
- Total Expenses: $18,303
- Net Assets: $46,030
2016[7]
- Total Revenue: $40,772
- Total Expenses: $36,957
- Net Assets: $62,562
2015[8]
- Total Revenue: $107,097
- Total Expenses: $48,350
- Net Assets: $58,747
Free the People Foundation
2017[9]
- Total Revenue: $1,180,425
- Total Expenses: $1,204,433
- Net Assets: $257,473
2016[10]
- Total Revenue: $911,052
- Total Expenses: $794,365
- Net Assets: $281,110
2015[11]
- Total Revenue: $692,154
- Total Expenses: $527,899
- Net Assets: $164,255
Personnel
Staff
As of 2021:[1]
- Matt Kibbe, President And Chief Community Organizer; former President and CEO, FreedomWorks
- Terry Kibbe, Chief Executive Officer; former Senior Advisor, FreedomWorks
- Kara Pally, Chief Technology Officer; former Director of Web and Technology, FreedomWorks
- Matt Battaglia, Executive Producer; former Creative Manager, FreedomWorks
- Logan Albright, Head Writer And Sound Engineer; former Research Analyst, FreedomWorks
- Sam Martin, Creative Director
- Joel Davis, Social Media Coordinator
- Meghan Garofolo, Executive Assistant
Board of Directors
As of 2017:[6]
Contact
Articles and Resources
Related SourceWatch
- 501(c)(3)
- Atlas Network
- Chase Foundation of Virginia
- Contributions of the Ed Uihlein Family Foundation
- Donors Capital Fund
- DonorsTrust
- DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund Grant Recipients
- Ed Uihlein Family Foundation
- FreedomWorks
- Matt Kibbe
- New Venture Fund
- SPN Members
- State Policy Network
- Terry Kibbe
IRS Form 990 Filings
Free the People
2017
2016
2015
Free the People Foundation
2017
2016
2015
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Free the People, About, organizational website, accessed Febuary 4, 2021.
- ↑ 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 Free the People, 2017 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, September 4, 2019.
- ↑ Free the People, 2016 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, date censored.
- ↑ Free the People, 2015 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, September 5, 2017.
- ↑ Free the People Foundation, 2017 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, September 10, 2019.
- ↑ Free the People Foundation, 2016 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, date censored.
- ↑ Free the People Foundation, 2015 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, September 5, 2017.
