Indiana Policy Review Foundation

The Indiana Policy Review Foundation (IPR) is a right-wing pressure group that is an affiliate of the State Policy Network. IPR states as its mission "to marshall [sic] the best thought on governmental, economic and educational issues at the state and municipal levels" through exalting "the truths of the Declaration of Independence, especially as they apply to the interrelated freedoms of religion, property and speech," emphasizing "primacy of the individual in addressing public concerns," and recognizing "that equality of opportunity is sacrificed in pursuit of equality of results." IPR was co-founded by its board president, Byron S. Lamm, in 1989. Indiana Governor, former U.S. Representative, and former right-wing radio talk show host Mike Pence was its president from 1991 to 1994, and claimed at a campaign event in 2012 that he had helped found it.

In a speech to the Heritage Foundation in 2008, then-Representative Pence said, "I was part of, what we called the seed corn Heritage Foundation was spreading around the country in the state think tank movement. We actually called our little foundation in Indiana the Indiana Policy Review Foundation, very much as a homage to Policy Review Magazine of Heritage, and we modeled on the state level what Heritage had done before."

A small organization financially, IPR paid its executive director $100,471 of its $136,520 total revenue in 2011, while apparently no one else at the organization was paid that year. Its two "adjunct scholars," Andrea Neal and Cecil Bohanon, therefore make their income elsewhere: Neal was appointed by Governor Pence to the Indiana Board of Education in 2013, and Cecil Bohanon is a Koch-funded professor of economics at Ball State University.

Activities

Indiana Policy Review

The Indiana Policy Review Foundation publishes the Indiana Policy Review, a journal that describes its mission as, "to marshall the best thought on governmental, economic and educational issues at the state and municipal levels."

While Gov. Mike Pence was president of IPR, the journal published an article in August 1993 arguing against homosexuals serving in the military. Col. Ronald Ray wrote, "“homosexuals are not as a group able bodied. They are known to carry extremely high rates of disease brought on because of the nature of their sexual practices and the promiscuity which is a hallmark of their lifestyle.”. As Right Wing Watch points out, "The article went on to list what the author described as ‘gay sexual practices' in great detail. It then claimed that proponents of allowing gays to serve in the military ignore 'counter-espionage case histories involving homosexuals who became traitors through blackmail.' Finally, Ray attempted to link homosexuality to pedophilia by citing NAMBLA and quoting a publication which claimed that 'the love between man and boys is at the foundation of homosexuality.'"

Ties to the State Policy Network

IPR is an affiliate member of the State Policy Institute. SPN is a web of right-wing “think tanks” and tax-exempt organizations in 50 states, Washington, D.C., Canada, and the United Kingdom. As of April 2023, SPN's membership totals 163. 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.

Funding

The Indiana Policy Review Foundation does not disclose its donors, but some of its funding sources are known through other tax filings. IPR's known funders include:

• Jaquelin Hume Foundation: $23,000 (2004)
• Roe Foundation: $20,000 (2014-2018)

Core Financials

2018:

• Total Revenue: $94,158
• Total Expenses: $93,296
• Net Assets: $9,388

2017:

• Total Revenue: $105,158
• Total Expenses: $108,586
• Net Assets: $8,526

2016:

• Total Revenue: $95,865
• Total Expenses: $89,189
• Net Assets: $11,954

2015:

• Total Revenue: $131,105
• Total Expenses: $138,648
• Net Assets: $5,279

2014:

• Total Revenue: $140,078
• Total Expenses: $134,092
• Net Assets: $12,641

2013:

• Total Revenue: $134,166
• Total Expenses: $133,847
• Net Assets: $6,655

2012:

• Total Revenue: $132,420
• Total Expenses: $135,747
• Net Assets: $6,336

2011:

• Total Revenue: $136,520
• Total Expenses: $134,446
• Net Assets: $9,663

2010:

• Total Revenue: $114,700
• Total Expenses: $147,629
• Net Assets: $7,589

2009:

• Total Revenue: $153,231
• Total Expenses: $159,179
• Net Assets: $40,519

Personnel

Staff and Board of Directors

As of September 2018:

• T. Craig Ladwig, Executive Director
• Byron S. Lamm, President
• Charles S. Quilhot, Director

Scholars

As of September 2016 it is unclear if the following individuals are still employed at the IPR:

• Andrea Neal, adjunct scholar (Indiana Board of Education member and Indy Star columnist)
• Cecil Bohanon, Ph.D., adjunct scholar (Koch-funded Professor of Economics, Ball State University)

Contact Information

Indiana Policy Review
PO Box 5166
Fort Wayne, IN 46895
Phone: (260) 417-4094
Email: Director@inpolicy.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/the_ipr
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Indiana-Policy-Review-Foundation/133204346709432

Articles and Resources

IRS Form 990 Filings

2018

2017

2016

2015