Commonwealth Foundation

The Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives is a right-wing pressure group based in Pennsylvania that calls itself a "think tank." Commonwealth says that it "crafts free-market policies, convinces Pennsylvanians of their benefits, and counters attacks on liberty." The Commonwealth Foundation is a member of the State Policy Network (SPN). An August 2013 ALEC board document obtained by The Guardian lists Commonwealth as a "former SPN member," but the SPN website still lists Commonwealth as a full member as of December 2013, and a July 2013 Commonwealth fundraising proposal to Searle Freedom Trust was included in a packet of SPN proposals in August 2013.

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council
The Commonwealth Foundation has ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council through its membership in various ALEC "task forces." Director of Policy Analysis for Commonwealth, Nathan Benefield, is a member of the Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force. Senior Fellow, Rick Dreyfuss, is a member of the Health and Human Services Task Force and policy analyst, Elizabeth Stelle, is a member of the Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force. SPN, of which Commonwealth is a member, is also an ALEC member and has strong historical ties to ALEC -- several historical documents even indicate that ALEC founded SPN. According to an August 2013 ALEC board document obtained by The Guardian, Commonwealth terminated its ALEC membership on March 9, 2013 because, according to an ALEC note, it was considered a "former SPN member... - would like to join again if can fit in budget."

Please see SPN Ties to ALEC for more.

Ties to the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity
The Commonwealth Foundation started the Pennsylvania Independent, a "statehouse news" publication, in 2010 and transitioned to the ALEC-connected Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity in January 2011. The Franklin Center screens potential reporters on their “free market” views as part of the job application process. The Franklin Center funds reporters in over 40 states. Despite their non-partisan description, many of the websites funded by the Franklin Center have received criticism for their conservative bias. On its website, the Franklin Center claims it "provides 10 percent of all daily reporting from state capitals nationwide."

Franklin Center Funding
Franklin Center Director of Communications Michael Moroney told the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) in 2013 that the source of the Franklin Center's funding "is 100 percent anonymous." But 95 percent of its 2011 funding came from DonorsTrust, a spin-off of the Philanthropy Roundtable that functions as a large "donor-advised fund," cloaking the identity of donors to right-wing causes across the country (CPI did a review of Franklin's Internal Revenue Service records). Mother Jones called DonorsTrust "the dark-money ATM of the conservative movement" in a February 2013 article. Franklin received DonorTrust's second-largest donation in 2011.

The Franklin Center also receives funding from the Wisconsin-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, a conservative grant-making organization.

The Franklin Center was launched by the Chicago-based Sam Adams Alliance (SAM), a 501(c)(3) devoted to pushing free-market ideals. SAM gets funding from the State Policy Network, which is partially funded by The Claude R. Lambe Foundation. Charles Koch, one of the billionaire brothers who co-own Koch Industries, sits on the board of this foundation. SAM also receives funding from the Rodney Fund.

Lobbying Activities
According to a report published by Keystone Progress and the Center for Media and Democracy, the Commonwealth Foundation has not reported any lobbying activity "with the commonwealth of Pennsylvania," however they did report "over $87,000 in total lobbying expenditures to the Internal Revenue Service from 2008 to 2011, including $55,655 in 'grassroots lobbying.'" The report also states that according to Matthew Brouillette, President of Commonwealth Foundation, the organization, "lobbies 'indirectly' through research, and advocates for broad issues, rather than for specific policy."

Funding
Keystone Progress and the Center for Media and Democracy reported in November 2013 that Commonwealth Foundation is largely funded by anonymous donors via DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund. These funds create accounts for donors and allow them to manage their money "by telling the organization which non-profits to fund."

According to Keystone Progress and the Center for Media and Democracy, CF received the following contributions from DonorsTrust and Donors Capital funds between 2008 and 2011:

In 2011:
 * Donors Capital Fund -$35,000.00, "for news bureau match"
 * Donors Capital Fund -$25,000.00, "for direct mail program"
 * Donors Capital Fund -$50,000.00, "for direct mail efforts"
 * Donors Capital Fund -$25,000.00, "for participation at ALEC meeting"
 * DonorsTrust -$40,000.00, "for general operations"
 * DonorsTrust -$40,000.00, "for general operations"
 * DonorsTrust -$500.00, "for general operations"

In 2010:
 * Donors Capital Fund -$25,000.00, "for a matching grant"
 * Donors Capital Fund -$40,000.00, "for direct mail efforts"
 * Donors Capital Fund -$15,000.00, "for direct mail efforts"
 * Donors Capital Fund -$125,000.00, "for the organization's transparency project"
 * Donors Capital Fund -$25,000.00, "for the organization's transparency project"
 * Donors Capital Fund -$110,000.00, "for capacity building"
 * Donors Capital Fund -$30,000.00, "for the organization's communications initiative"

In 2009:
 * Donors Capital Fund -$30,000.00, "for direct mail activities"
 * Donors Capital Fund -$100,000.00, "for journalism project"
 * Donors Capital Fund -$60,000.00, "for news bureau project"
 * Donors Capital Fund -$10,000.00, "for transparency project"
 * Donors Capital Fund -$130,000.00, "for transparency project"
 * Donors Capital Fund -$10,000.00, "for health care project"
 * DonorsTrust -$34,000.00 "in support of John Lott's projects"

In 2008:
 * DonorsTrust -$40,000.00, "in support of John Lott's projects"
 * Donors Capital Fund -$97,000.0, "for transparency project"
 * Donors Capital Fund -$100,000.00, "for TABOR [Taxpayer Bill of Rights]Organization"

Other identified funders include:


 * Allegheny Foundation -$40,000.00 (1991-1994)
 * Castle Rock Foundation -$25,000.00 (2011)
 * Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation -$90,916.00 (2007-2011)
 * Claws Foundations -$65,000.00 (2001-2005)
 * Donors Capital Fund -$1,242,800.00 (2005-2011)
 * DonorsTrust -$254,500.00 (2009-2011)
 * Jaquelin Hume Foundation -$292,561.00 (2002-2011)
 * JM Foundation -$100,000.00 (1995-2012)
 * Philip M. McKenna Foundation -$1,481,830.00 (1996-2011)
 * Scaife Family Foundation -$2,692,000.00 (1995-2011)
 * State Policy Network -$149,000.00 (2002-2011)
 * The Carthage Foundation -$10,000.00 (1995)
 * The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation -$187,000.00 (1990-2009)

Core Financials
 2011 
 * Total Revenue: $1,951,566
 * Total Expenses: $1,671,566
 * Net Assets: $709,983

 2010  :
 * Total Revenue: $1,369,386.00
 * Total Expenses: $1,247,489.00
 * Net Assets: $429,983.00

 2009  :
 * Total Revenue: $1,032,887.00
 * Total Expenses: $1,125,595.00
 * Net Assets: $308,086.00

Staff

 * Matthew J. Brouillette, President and CEO
 * Charles F. Mitchell, Vice President and COO
 * Nathan A. Benefield, Director of Policy Analysis
 * Jay Ostrich, Director of Public Affairs
 * Amy J. Grimm, Director of Operations
 * Katrina Anderson, Senior Policy Analyst and Director of Government Affairs
 * Dawn Meling, Director of Community Relations
 * Cindy Hamill-Dahlgren, Director of Strategic Communications
 * Priya Abraham, Senior Policy Analyst
 * Elizabeth Stelle, Policy Analyst
 * John Bouder, Policy Analyst and Communications Officer
 * Bob Dick, Policy Analyst
 * Abhi Samuel, Senior Community Liason
 * Tom Bako, Senior Community Liason
 * Bethany Wilston, Manager of First Impressions
 * Richard C. Dreyfuss, Senior Fellow
 * Hon. Robert W. O'Donnell, Senior Fellow
 * Hon. Jeff Coleman, Senior Fellow
 * Dr. Victoria C. G. Coates, Senior Fellowa

Board of Directors

 * Michael W. Gleba, Chairman
 * Matthew J. Brouillette, President and CEO
 * Jane Leader Janeczek, Treasurer
 * David E. Barensfeld, Secretary
 * T. William Boxx
 * W. Kirk Liddell
 * Glen T. Meakem

Directors Emeritus

 * Frederick W. Anton III
 * Dr. Allan H. Meltzer
 * Hon. William W. Scranton III
 * Hon. Patrick J. Toomey

Contact Information
225 State Street, Suite 302 Harrisburg, PA 17101 Phone: 717.671.1901 Fax: 717.671.1905 Email: Info(at)CommonwealthFoundation.org