Evergreen Freedom Foundation

The Freedom Foundation, formerly known as the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, is a libertarian think tank based in Olympia, Washington, whose mission is "to advance individual liberty, free enterprise, and limited, accountable government" by, for example, filing suit against Washington Governor Chris Gregoire for refusing "to turn over public records on more than 500 occasions in the last four years." Freedom Foundation is a member of the State Policy Network (SPN).

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council
Bob Williams, founder of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, was the private sector chair of the Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) as of 2011. He is also on the ALEC Board of Scholars as of 2011. In August 2011, he received ALEC's Private Sector Member of the Year Award.

Williams has been active in sponsoring model legislation and presenting it to the task force on behalf the Freedom Foundation. In 2010, Williams sponsored the "Defined Contribution Pension Reform Act" at the States and Nation Policy Summit. At the 2011 Spring Task Force Summit, Mr. Williams presented "Broken Budgets in the States" and the "Unfunded Pension Liabilities Accounting Act." His Freedom Foundation colleague, Amber Gunn, sponsored the "State Agency Lobbying Reform Act" at the same meeting. At the 2011 ALEC annual meeting, Williams presented on "State Budget Solutions."

Trent England, Vice President of Policy of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, was on the ALEC Public Safety and Elections Task Force as of the August 2011 Annual Meeting (the task force was later disbanded in April 2012). He gave a presentation on the Electoral College at ALEC's 2010 States and Nation Policy Summit. Mr. England also participated in a debate (“Electoral College v National Popular Vote”) against Ray Haynes of the National Popular Vote at the 2011 Annual Meeting.

History
The Evergreen Freedom Foundation was founded in 1991 as a private, non-profit public policy think tank in Washington State. Its efforts center around public policy research and alternatives in these core areas: state budget and tax policy, education, labor policy, property rights, legal policy, and citizenship and governance. The Evergreen Freedom Foundation is, according to the Seattle Times, a libertarian think tank, based in Olympia, Washington, founded by Bob Williams, a former state legislator and gubernatorial candidate.

During Dino Rossi's failed attempt to gain the Washington State governorship through a court challenge to the recount process, the Evergreen Freedom Foundation provided strong ideological support. It pushed a "Voter Integrity Project," which focused on requiring voter ID to prevent voter fraud, and started a "Grassroots Washington" group.

The Evergreen Freedom Foundation neither solicits nor accepts funds from the government, according to its promotional materials. All programs and activities are funded by private donations and grants. Its funding comes from individuals, corporations, and numerous private foundations.

Funding
The Freedom Foundation's funders have included:


 * The Walton Family Foundation
 * The Indianapolis-based Milton and Rose Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, founded by leading national voucher advocate Milton Friedman
 * The Sarah Scaife Foundation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, controlled by national conservative figure Richard M. Scaife
 * The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, a leading financial supporter of the Milwaukee voucher program and controversial contributor to far-right causes
 * The Roe Foundation, founded by the late Thomas A. Roe, a prominent Heritage Foundation supporter and co-founder of the State Policy Network
 * Foundation for Partnerships Trust, funded and run by William Edgerly, CEO emeritus of State Street Bank and Trust of Boston
 * The Gilder Foundation, run by New York stockbroker Richard Gilder (the foundation supports conservative think tanks and voucher groups)
 * Jacquelin Hume Foundation of San Francisco, run by survivors of longtime California Reagan advisor Jacquelin Hume, including William Hume

Board of Directors
As of September 2012:


 * Hans Stoker, Chairman
 * Steve Neighbors, Co-Board Chairman
 * Jonathan Bechtle, CEO
 * Bill Conner, Trustee
 * Duane Alton, Trustee
 * Mary Jo Kahler, Trustee
 * Barbara Kenney, Secretary
 * Tim McMahon, Treasurer
 * Roger Bowlin, Trustee
 * Dr. Mathew Manweller, Trustee
 * Lou Novak, Trustee
 * Richard Rokes, Trustee
 * Alvin Starkenburg, Trustee
 * Harry Truitt, Trustee
 * Dr. John Vasko, Trustee

Staff
As of April 2013:

Executive Leadership

 * Jonathan Bechtle, CEO
 * Trent England, Executive Vice President

Policy and Fellows

 * Amber Gunn, Economic Policy Fellow
 * Jami Lund, Education Reform Fellow
 * Diana Moore, Senior Education Analyst
 * Glen Morgan, Property Rights Director
 * David Roland, Director of the Theodor L. Stiles Center for Liberty
 * Bob Williams, Founder and Senior Fellow

Former Staff

 * Bob Williams, former President
 * Lois Beard - Chief Operations Officer
 * Ryan Bedford - Legal Research Assistant
 * S. Alex Bohler - Policy Analyst
 * Denise Brandt - Volunteer Coordinator / Office Assistant
 * Bob Edelman - Director, Voter Integrity Project
 * Irene Endicott - Puget Sound Dev. Associate
 * Marie Giger - Office Manager
 * Lynn Harsh - Senior Vice President
 * Cheryl Hymes - Director, Health Care Reform Center
 * Gail Kramer - Financial Assistant
 * Kathy McDonald - Southwest Washington Development Associate
 * Juliana McMahan - Member Services Director / Executive Administrator
 * Jason Mercier - Senior Budget Analyst, Economic Policy Center
 * Kristen Mercier - Policy Analyst/Grant Writer
 * Michael Reitz - Director and Legal Analyst, Labor Policy Center
 * Marsha Richards - Director, Education Reform Center
 * Joel Sorrell - Multimedia Specialist
 * Booker T. Stallworth - Communications Director
 * Dan Steele - Multimedia Assistant

Core Financials
 2011 
 * Total Revenue: $2,148,032
 * Total Expenses: $2,908,106
 * Net Assets: $502,865

 2010  :
 * Total Revenue: $2,680,800.00
 * Total Expenses: $2,676,198.00
 * Net Assets: $1,262,939.00

 2009  :
 * Total Revenue: $2,338,192.00
 * Total Expenses: $2,686,930.00
 * Net Assets: $1,249,633.00

Contact Information
P.O. Box 552 Olympia, WA 98507 Telephone: 360-956-3482 Email: info@myfreedomfoundation.org Fax: 360-352-1874 Website: http://www.effwa.org

External Resources

 * Official site
 * HeraldNet, "State looks to you for traffic solutions"
 * Ballotpedia, "Evergeen Freedom Foundation"
 * ConservaBlogs, "Please Welcome the Evergreen Freedom Foundation to CB"
 * Seattle Times, "Court rules against unions in fee case"
 * Seattle Times, "Union fight reaches high court"
 * The Wall Street Journal, "Unions' Policy Test"
 * Education Week, "Supreme Court to Hear Case on Union Fees"
 * Komo TV, "Evergreen Freedom Foundation Details Boeing 7E7 Agreement"
 * Media Transparency, "Evergreen Freedom Foundation" background and funding.