Beacon Center of Tennessee

The Beacon Center of Tennessee (BCT, formerly the Tennessee Center for Policy Research) describes itself as "an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan research and educational institute dedicated to providing concerned citizens, the media and public leaders with expert research and timely free market policy solutions to public policy issues in Tennessee." BCT is a member of the State Policy Network (SPN).

Ties to the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity
As the publisher of TennesseeWatchdog.org,

Personnel
According to BCT's website as of April 2013, the following are organizational personnel:

Staff

 * Drew Johnson, President
 * Kellie Garretson, Administrative Assistant
 * Trent Seibert, Director of Government Accountability (bio)
 * Nicole Williams, Vice President of Operations (bio)
 * Douglas Kurdziel, Research Fellow
 * Trapper Michael, Research Fellow
 * Daniel Phillips, Research Fellow
 * Troy Senik, Research Fellow
 * Luci Stephens, Research Fellow

"Scholars"

 * Dale Bails, PhD, Christian Brothers University
 * Robert Berry, MD, PATMOS EmergiClinic
 * J.C. Bowman, PhD, Florida State University
 * J.R. Clark, PhD, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
 * Larry M. Hall, PhD, Belmont University
 * Martin D. Kennedy, PhD, Middle Tennessee State University
 * Sally Kilgore, PhD, Modern Red Schoolhouse Institute
 * Shaka L.A. Mitchell, JD, Institute for Justice
 * John Stone, PhD, Education Consumers Clearinghouse
 * Amy H. Sturgis, PhD, Belmont University
 * Charles Van Eaton, PhD, Bryan College
 * Marilyn Young, PhD, Belmont University

Funding
The BCT is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, but does not disclose the sources of funding on its website. Its major foundation funders include:

￼￼* DonorsTrust/Donors Capital Fund: $1,123,500 (￼2005-2011} ￼* The Roe Foundation: $115,000 (2007-2011) ￼* Searle Freedom Trust: $80,000 (￼￼2007) ￼* State Policy Network: $52,588 (2007) ￼* Jaquelin Hume Foundation: $33,750 (2008-2009) ￼* JM Foundation: $20,000 (2005) ￼￼* Castle Rock Foundation: ￼￼$10,000 (2009)

Core Financials
 2012 
 * Total Revenue: $481,990
 * Total Expenses: $458,311
 * Net Assets: $302,890

 2011  :
 * Total Revenue: $527,219.00
 * Total Expenses: $536,835.00
 * Net Assets: $279,211.00

 2010  :
 * Total Revenue: $608,125.00
 * Total Expenses: $360,582.00
 * Net Assets: $283,244.00

 2009  :
 * Total Revenue: $463,320.00
 * Total Expenses: $583,135.00
 * Net Assets: $35,701.00

Website
According to a WHOIS search, TENNESSEEPOLICY.ORG was created October 13, 2004, and registered to Drew Johnson at P.O. Box 121331, Nashville, TN 37212.

The website debuted online the week of March 8, 2005.

Contact Information
P.O. Box 121331 Nashville, TN 37212 Phone: 615 383-6431 Fax: 615 383-6432 Email: info AT tennesseepolicy.org Website: http://www.tennesseepolicy.org/

External Resources

 * "Wash. Post reported "think tank's" charge against Gore, omitted its anti-environmental background", Media Matters of America, March 1, 2007.
 * "The Smearing of Al Gore," Tumeke Blogspot, March 1, 2007.
 * mrs panstreppon, "Al Gore's Electricity Bills: Tennessee Center For Policy Research," TPM Cafe, February 28, 2007. Article and comments include significant research data on BCT.
 * "Headline News' Stouffer called 'free market' group that attacked Gore an 'environmental group'," Media Matters for America, February 27, 2007.
 * Carpetbagger, "Conservative smear machine targets Gore (again)," The Carpetbagger Report, February 27, 2007.
 * Mark Memmott, "Charges, countercharges flying over Gore's electric bill," On Deadline Blog/USA TODAY, February 27, 2007.
 * egalia, "Tennessee Center For Policy Research: Rightwing Smear Machine," Tennessee Guerilla Women Blogspot, February 27, 2007.
 * Dave Johnson and James Boyce, "A Far Too Convenient $mear: Part One - Updated - Rush Update," Seeing the Forest, February 26, 2007; also posted at The Huffington Post.
 * Report: "Al Gore’s Personal Energy Use Is His Own 'Inconvenient Truth'. Gore’s home uses more than 20 times the national average," BCT, February 26, 2007. Article link posted by State Policy Network. re Al Gore and An Inconvenient Truth
 * John Rodgers, "Dept. of Revenue says conservative think tank 'not a legitimate group'," Nashville, TN's The City Paper Online, February 16, 2007.
 * John Rodgers, "Dept. of Revenue says conservative think tank 'not a legitimate group'," Nashville, TN's The City Paper Online, February 16, 2007.
 * Anne Malinee, "From Beltway to Bible Belt. Drew Johnson's Tennessee Center for Policy Research, a state-based, free market think tank, is up and running," The Vanderbilt Torch, December 15, 2005 (cache file).
 * Legal Listings, Nashville, TN The City Paper Online, April 27, 2005.
 * Mary Katherine Ham, "Thinking in Tennessee," The Insider Online Blog, March 8, 2005.