Independence Institute

The Independence Institute is a free-market, libertarian think tank based in Golden, Colorado. Its president is Jon Caldara. Health policy director is Linda Gorman.

The Independence Institute's "Center for the American Dream" opposes zoning in cities, and argues against Colorado's rail public transit initiative called "Fastracks," saying that "rail transit reduces the livability of every urban area in which it is found."

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council
The Independence Institute has ties to ALEC through membership in "task forces." Barry Poulson, a senior fellow at the institute's Fiscal Policy Center, is an advisor to ALEC's Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force. Mr. Poulson participates in the Public Pension Reform Working Group. He gave a report on their behalf to the task force at the 2011 Annual Meeting.

Another senior fellow, Rob Natelson, is member of the International Relations Task Force. He is listed as an "advisor" to the Federal Relations Working Group on the agenda from the ALEC Nation and State Policy Summit in 2010, where he spoke about convening an Article 5 convention. At ALEC's 38th Annual Meeting in 2011, Natelson gave another presentation to the Federal Relations Working Group titled "Where’s the Line? How States Protect the Constitution," along with Representative Ken Ivory (UT).

Ben DeGrow, a public policy analyst at the Independence Institute, represents the think tank on on ALEC's Education Task Force. He sponsored amendments to ALEC’s “Open Enrollment Act” and gave a presentation entitled “Collective Bargaining Transparency” at the 2010 States and Nation Policy Summit.

The institute also has ties to ALEC through its membership with the State Policy Network which itself is a member of ALEC.

Please see SPN Ties to ALEC for more.

Funding
The Independence Institute is not required to disclose its funders. Its major foundation funders, however, can be found through a search of the IRS filings of those foundations.

Partial List of 1995-2011 Funders
According to the American Bridge 21st Century Foundation, the Independence Institute was funded by the following major foundations:


 * Donors Capital Fund: $1,525,000 (2005-20110
 * Jaquelin Hume Foundation: $487,911 (2000-2011)
 * The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation: $715,000 (2004-2011)
 * William H. Donner Foundation: $258,000 (1998-2011)
 * The Roe Foundation: $262,500 (1998-2011)
 * DonorsTrust: $202,000 (2010-2011)
 * State Policy Network: $122,113.18 (2002-2011)
 * Windway Foundation: $5,000.00 (2010)
 * The Vernon K. Krieble Foundation: $85,500 (2001-2009)
 * JM Foundation: $95,000 (1997-2009)
 * Castle Rock Foundation: $760,000 (1995-2008)

Partial List of 1985-1990 Funders
According to a 1991 report by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, the Independence Institute was funded in part by the following corporations, organizations, and foundations from 1985 to 1990:


 * Corporations & Organizations:
 * Amex Corp.
 * American Furniture Warehouse
 * Arapahoe Community College
 * Arco Coal
 * Automated Business Services
 * Bailey Companies
 * Ball Corp.
 * Benson Mineral Group
 * Caim Companies
 * Calcon Constructors
 * Captiva Corp.
 * Celtech Corp.
 * Chevron Oil
 * Ciruli Associates
 * Colorado Association of Commerce & Industry
 * Colorado Association of School Executives
 * Colorado Bar Association
 * Colorado Interstate Gas Co.
 * Colorado National Bankshares, Inc.
 * Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce
 * Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph
 * Columbine Venture Fund, Ltd.
 * Cooley Gravel Company
 * Coopers & Lybrand
 * Custom Envelope Corp.
 * David, Graham & Stubbs
 * Deloitte Haskins & Sells
 * Denver Technological Center
 * Denver West, Inc.
 * Dixon Paper
 * DTM Products
 * Duncan Cattle Company
 * Embassy Suites Hotel
 * Equity Syndication
 * Flatiron Companies
 * D.E. Frey and Co.
 * Frontier Oil and Refining
 * G.E. Johnson Construction
 * General Motors
 * Gerald Phipps Inc.
 * Great Southwest Construction Co.
 * Greater Denver Chamber of Commerce
 * Hewlett Packard
 * High Valley Group
 * Home Builders Association of Metro Denver
 * Hyatt Regency Denver
 * Ideal Basic Industries
 * Jostens Inc.
 * Kelmore Association
 * Keystone Resort Inc.
 * King Soopers
 * Koelbel and Co.
 * Louisiana Pacific Corp.
 * Lucas Oil and Gas
 * Martin Marietta
 * Marriott Hotels
 * Mobil Oil Corp.
 * Mountain States Employers Council
 * North Central Life Insurance Co.
 * Oklahoma Publishing
 * One Source Management
 * Peat Marwick Main & Co.
 * Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co. of Denver
 * Phelps, Inc.
 * Gerald Phipps Inc.
 * [Potential Inc.] (illeg.)
 * Presto Print
 * Public Service Co. of Colorado
 * The Pueblo Chieftain
 * Ralston Purina Co.
 * Ready-Mixed Concrete
 * Ridgewood Realty
 * Robinson Dairy
 * Roche Constructors
 * Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Association
 * Rocky Mountain Orthodontics
 * Saunders Construction
 * Shuck Corp.
 * Security Life of Denver
 * Step Thirteen
 * Stock Imagery Inc.
 * Storage Technology
 * True Oil
 * United Banks of Colorado, Inc.
 * United Bank of Denver
 * U.S. West Communications
 * Vail Association
 * Vessels Oil and Gas Co.
 * Welbourne Co.
 * Woodford Manufacturing
 * Foundations:
 * Amoco Foundation
 * Anschutz Foundation
 * Atlas Foundation
 * Howard W. Callaway Foundation
 * Adolph Coors Foundation
 * Dobbins Foundation
 * El Pomar Foundation
 * Farley Foundation
 * Garvey Kansas Foundation
 * Gates Foundation
 * G.D. Searle Charitable Trust
 * Hawkins Foundation
 * JM Foundation
 * [Mon Foundation] (illeg.)
 * Powell Family Foundation
 * Rawlings Foundation
 * Ruth and Vernon Taylor Foundation
 * White Foundation

Core Financials
 2011  :  2010  :  2009  :
 * Total Revenue: $1,965,509
 * Total Expenses: $1,963,635
 * Net Assets: $2,417,013
 * Total Revenue: $1,965,509
 * Total Expenses: $1,963,635
 * Net Assets: $2,417,013
 * Total Revenue: $1,469,690
 * Total Expenses: $1,527,047
 * Net Assets: $2,403,353

Board of Trustees

 * Jon Caldara, President
 * Jeffrey Coors
 * Joseph Ignat, Treasurer
 * Mike McCarty
 * Catherine Shopneck, Chairman
 * Joseph Smith
 * Katherine Whitcomb, Secretary
 * James MacDougald, Honorary Life Trustee

Staff

 * Jay Ambrose, Contributing Columnist
 * Pam Benigno, Education Policy Center Director
 * Christina "CJ" James Buchanan, Development
 * Jon Caldara, President
 * Ben DeGrow, Policy analyst, Education Policy Center
 * Marya DeGrow, Research Associate, Education Policy Center
 * Joanne D. Eisen, Senior Fellow, Criminal Justice
 * Susan Evans, Director of Major Gifts
 * Barry Fagin, Senior Fellow, Technology
 * Paul Gallant, Senior Fellow, Criminal Justice
 * Raaki Garcia-Ulam, Hispanic outreach coordinator, School Choice for Kids
 * Linda Gorman, Health Care Policy Center Director
 * J. Craig Green, Senior Fellow, Water Policy
 * Mark Hillman, Senior Fellow, Fiscal Policy Center
 * Fred Holden, Senior Fellow, Fiscal Policy Center
 * Krista Kafer, Senior Fellow, Education Policy Center
 * Dave Kopel, Research Director & Second Amendment Project Director
 * Mike Krause, Vice President of Operations & Justice Policy Center Director
 * Kait Lochner, Assistant to the Vice President of Operations
 * Justin Longo, Web Master
 * Mary MacFarlane, Development Associate
 * Julie Mallon, Vice President of Development
 * Robert Natelson, Senior Fellow, Constitutional Jurisprudence
 * Amy Oliver, Energy Policy Center Director
 * Randal O'Toole, Center for the American Dream Director
 * Penn Pfiffner, Fiscal Policy Center Director
 * Dennis Polhill, Senior Fellow, Public Infrastructure
 * Barry Poulson, Senior Fellow, Fiscal Policy Center
 * Paul Prentice, Senior Fellow, Fiscal Policy Center
 * Cherish Shaffer, Intern Coordinator
 * Brian Schwartz, Research Associate, Health Care Policy Center
 * Todd Shepherd, Investigative Reporter
 * Tracy Smith, Graphic Designer
 * William Yeatman, Policy Anaylst, Energy Policy Center
 * Karen Zuppa, Accountant

Notable Former Associates

 * Gale Norton - Secretary of the Interior. Former Senior Fellow and Board Member of the Independence Institute.
 * Donald Hodel - Secretary of the Interior, 1985-1989. Former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Independence Institute.
 * Tom Tancredo - Sixth Congressional District of Colorado. Former President of the Independence Institute.
 * John Andrews - Colorado State Senate Minority Leader and founder of the Independence Institute.
 * Rob Fairbank - Colorado House Republican Caucus Chair Third-ranking Republican in the Colorado House. Former Office Director.
 * Shawn Mitchell - Colorado State Representative - Chair, House Information and Technology Committee. Former Senior Fellow.
 * Ted Harvey - Colorado State Representative - Former Office Director.
 * Rick Grice - Director Governor's Office of Energy Management and Conservation. Former Senior Fellow
 * Jack McCroskey - Regional Transportation District Director. Former Senior Fellow.
 * Paul Danish - Boulder County Commissioner. Former Senior Fellow.
 * Bruce Benson - Republican nominee for Governor of Colorado, 1994. Former Board member.
 * Mike Rosen - News Radio 850 KOA talk show host and newspaper columnist. Former Board Member.
 * Greg Bledsoe - Colorado Counties. Legislative Liaison for agricultural, wildlife and rural affairs issues
 * Wendell Cox

Contact
Web site: http://www.i2i.org

Independence Institute 13952 Denver West Parkway, Suite 400 Golden, CO 80401 Phone: (303) 279-6536