Reason Foundation

The Reason Foundation is a self-described "libertarian" think tank. The Reason Foundation's projects include NewEnvironmentalism.org and Privatization.org, as well as Reason Magazine It is part of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation network.

The Reason Foundation is funded, in part, by what are known as the "Koch Family Foundations," and David Koch serves as a Reason trustee.

According to the Reason Foundation's 2009 Internal Revenue Source 990 return form, it took in $6 million in donation income against $6.7 million in expenses, with only $639,236 in subscription revenue and $113,575 in ad revenue.

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council
Dr. Adrian Moore, Vice President of Public Policy of the Reason Foundation, is an Advisor to the American Legislative Exchange Council's Commerce, Insurance & Economic Development Task Force. Reason Foundation representatives have also advised ALEC Task Forces on issues such as state budgets, and health reform.

The Reason Foundation's Director of Government Affairs, Mike Flynn, was previously policy director for ALEC.

Reason Foundation and Tobacco issues
Jacob Sullum is the senior editor of Reason,, a monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. Sullum's positions on tobacco issues have consistenly been supportive of the tobacco industry. The anti-tobacco Advocacy Institute, in their November, 1994 Directory of Tobacco Industry Spokespersons, Front Groups and their Allies, says,


 * The Reason Foundation received at least $10,000 from Philip Morris in 1993. He [Sullum] wrote an article for Forbes Media Critic which was later used in a week-long advertising series by Philip Morris; the report argued that the EPA findings on secondhand smoke were one-sided and represented the "corruption of science by the political crusade against smoking." He also wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal criticizing the EPA, claiming that the agency based its findings on ETS on "several controversial assumptions;" this op-ed was later featured in an RJR advertisement. Both of these articles cited the work of Dr.Gary Huber, a scientist funded by various tobacco companies, who had found the risks of ETS to be only minimal. The Media Critic article also cited the work of Alvan Feinstein, who received at least $700,000 from Brown &Williamson between 1985 and 1990. Sources:Extra, September/October 1994, p.18; Wall Street Journal,3- 24-94, p.A23.at Bates Page --4660]

Corporate Officers
As of April 2011:
 * William A. Dunn, chairman of the board; Dunn Capital Management; director of Cato Institute, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Property and Environment Research Center, etc
 * Robert W. Poole, Jr., Founder
 * David Nott, President
 * Jon Graff, Secretary and Treasurer
 * Mike Alissi, Vice President, Operations
 * Nick Gillespie, Vice President, Online
 * Adrian Moore, Vice President, Research
 * Matt Welch, Vice President, Magazine

Board of Trustees
As of April 2011: Dunn and:
 * Thomas E. Beach, Beach Investment Counsel, Inc.
 * Drew Carey
 * Derwood S. Chase, Jr., VA; Virginia Institute for Public Policy, Fraser Institute, and the Chase Foundation of Virginia
 * James R. Curley, Financial Consortium International, LLC
 * Richard J. Dennis, Dennis Trading Group
 * David W. Fleming, Latham & Watkins
 * James D. Jameson, Rancho Santa Fe
 * Manuel S. Klausner, Law Offices of Manuel S. Klausner (Los Angeles); formerly Institute for Justice
 * David H. Koch, Koch Industries
 * James Lintott, Sterling Foundation Management, LLC and Institute for Justice
 * Stephen Modzelewski, Maple Engine, LLC and Institute for Justice
 * David Nott, Reason Foundation
 * George F. Ohrstrom, NY (International Policy Network, ACSH, Ohrstrom Foundation)
 * Robert W. Poole, Jr., Reason Foundation and Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow
 * Carol Sanders
 * Vernon L. Smith, Chapman University, George Mason University, Reason Public Policy Institute
 * Richard A. Wallace, Freedom Communications, Inc.
 * Fred M. Young, Jr., Former Owner, Young Radiator Company
 * Pierluigi Zappacosta, co-founder of Logitech; Sierra Sciences, Bruno Leoni Institute (member of Cooler Heads Coalition)
 * Frank Bond, Maryland, Trustee Emeritus for Reason and Cato Institute
 * Harry E. Teasley Jr., Chairman emeritus; former president and CEO of Coca-Cola Foods
 * Walter E. Williams, trustee emeritus; George Mason University professor on board of ~15 kindred groups

Funding
Between 1985 and 2009, the Reason Foundation received funding from the following sources, in the following amounts:


 * Armstrong Foundation	$35,000
 * Brady Education Foundation $1,000
 * Carthage Foundation $366,000
 * Castle Rock Foundation $160,000
 * Koch Family Foundations:
 * Charles G. Koch Foundation $57,000
 * Claude R. Lambe Foundation $857,000
 * David H. Koch Foundation $1,522,212
 * Earhart Foundation $10,000
 * Exxon Mobil $105,000
 * Gilder Foundation $22,500
 * Gordon and Mary Cain Foundation $20,000
 * JM Foundation $95,000
 * Jaquelin Hume Foundation $10,000
 * John M. Olin Foundation $276,500
 * Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation $962,500
 * Rodney Fund $135,000
 * Roe Foundation $185,000
 * Ruth and Lovett Peters Foundation $175,709
 * Sarah Scaife Foundation $2,016,000
 * Scaife Family Foundation $136,500
 * Smith Richardson Foundation $100,000
 * William E. Simon Foundation $90,000
 * William H. Donner Foundation $10,000

Contact
Media contact:
 * Chris Mitchell
 * Director of Communications
 * (310) 367-6109
 * mailto:chris.mitchell@reason.org

Government official contact:
 * Mike Flynn
 * Director of Government Affairs
 * (202) 427-2127
 * mailto:mike.flynn@reason.org

General:
 * Reason
 * 3415 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 400
 * Los Angeles, CA 90034
 * Phone: (310) 391-2245
 * Fax: (310) 391-4395
 * For any other questions, please call our offices at (310) 391-2245.
 * URL: http://www.reason.org

Contact info on Reason.org: http://www.reason.org/contactus.shtml

Related SourceWatch articles

 * American Legislative Exchange Council
 * Civil Justice Task Force
 * Climategate