Parents in Charge Foundation

Parents in Charge Foundation (formerly known as the LEAD Foundation).

Funding

"Records show that the LEAD Foundation received $405,000 in grants or other contributions from five tax-exempt organizations:

• $125,000 from the Alliance for School Choice, Inc., of Phoenix, for undisclosed purposes. The organization describes itself as “the nation’s vanguard organization for promoting, implementing and enhancing K-12 educational choice.”
• $100,000 from the Kern Family Foundation, of Waukesha, Wisconsin, for “general support.” The foundation was established by Robert D. Kern, who until recently was the chairman and chief executive officer of Waukesha-based Generac Power Systems, Inc., a manufacturer of generators and small engines. It awards grants for “systemic solutions in education at the K-12 level” and other projects.
• $80,000 from the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation, of Indianapolis, for undisclosed purposes. The Friedman Foundation was established by Milton Friedman, the economist known for his advocacy of laissez-faire capitalism and support of various libertarian policies. The foundation says that it “strives to educate parents, public policy makers, and organizations about the desperate need for a shift of power to the disenfranchised parents of America who have limited choices and voices in the education of their children.” Rich is a long-time member of the foundation’s board of directors.
• $50,000 from the Doug and Kaisa Levine Family Support Foundation, of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, “to support education.” The foundation was established by Douglas Levine, an entrepreneur who sold his chain of Crunch Fitness centers to Bally and now runs an online fitness business.
• $50,000 from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, of Milwaukee, “to support the South Carolina [school] choice project.” The Bradley Foundation says that it supports limited government and is “devoted to strengthening American democratic capitalism and the institutions, principles, and values that sustain and nurture it.” The Bradley Foundation’s chairman, Thomas L. Rhodes, is a director of Club for Growth State Action, a tax-exempt organization that in 2004 was located at the same Illinois address as the ALG Foundation and the LEAD Foundation. Rich is the president of Club for Growth State Action." [1]

External links

• Jim Morris and Robert Brodsky, "Following the Money (Part 1)", The Center for Public Integrity, November 1, 2006.
• Jim Morris and Robert Brodsky, "Following the Money (Part 2)", The Center for Public Integrity, November 2, 2006.