CSPC FUNDING SOURCES
... The Bradley, Olin, Sarah Scaife and Smith Richardson (now called Randolph) Foundations “are often called the ‘Four Sisters’ for their tendency to fund similar projects, publications and institutions[te1] .” Phil Wilayto, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation (Mar 21, 2000), at http://www.mediatransparency.org/funders/bradley_foundation.htm;
see also PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY FOUNDATION, BUYING A MOVEMENT 3, available at
http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=2052
(discussing that these foundations, plus the Adolph Coors Foundation (now Castle Rock) stand out from the other Foundations for their funding for “far-right programs, including some of the most politically charged work of the last several years.”)
I. THE LYNDE AND HARRY BRADLEY FOUNDATIONA. Background
The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation was founded in Milwaukee in 1942 but did not become a major factor outside Milwaukee until 1985. See THE LYNDE AND HARRY BRADLEY FOUNDATION, About the Foundation, at
http://www.bradleyfdn.org/about.html;
Phil Wilayto[1], The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation (Mar 21, 2000), at
http://www.mediatransparency.org/funders/bradley_foundation.htm
(noting that sale of the Allen-Bradley Company for $1.651 billion raised the funds in the foundation from $14 million to $290 million.) “Although [the Foundation] has no direct ties to the Allen-Bradley Company, the purpose of the Foundation is to commemorate Lynde and Harry Bradley by preserving and extending the principles and philosophy by which they lived and upon which they built the company.” Id.; see also See THE LYNDE AND HARRY BRADLEY FOUNDATION, About the Foundation, at
http://www.bradleyfdn.org/about.html.
This is interesting for two reasons: (1) While women worked at the Allen-Bradley plant from 1918 onward, they weren’t paid the same as male workers until a federal court held that the Allen-Bradley discriminated against women regarding pay.
See Pozorski v. Allen-Bradley Co., 377 F.Supp 1288, 1290 (E.D. Wis. 1974); and (2) Allen-Bradley was one of the last major Milwaukee employers to create a racially integrated workforce. Phil Wilayto, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation (Mar 21, 2000), at
http://www.mediatransparency.org/funders /bradley_foundation.htm.
By 1968, the company had 7,000 workers, including only thirty-two African-Americans and fourteen Latinos. Id. After public pressure was applied, the company eventually adopted an affirmative action plan in 1969. Id.; see also, James Groppi, Campaign Against Allen-Bradley Company (1969) (I have not been able to check this document since it is in a Milwaukee library).
The majority of this memo’s information on the Bradley Foundation is based on the work of Phil Wilayto. Mr. Wilayto is currently the head of Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality, in Richmond, VA. See generally DEFENDERS FOR FREEDOM, JUSTICE & EQUALITY, at
http://defendersfje.tripod.com/index.html.
While the Bradley Foundation has been critical of Mr. Wilayto’s work, see Fn. 1, his efforts in examining details of the Foundation have been unusually extensive and seemingly thorough. Furthermore, his overall view of the importance of the Bradley Foundation for conservative ideas and their standing as a major factor for conservatives is reinforced by other sources. The People For the American Way’s report, BUYING A MOVEMENT, echoes Mr. Wilayto’s view that the Bradley Foundation is the major conservative Foundation. See PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY FOUNDATION, BUYING A MOVEMENT 16-17, available at http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=2052;
see generally DAVID BROCK, THE REPUBLICAN NOISE MACHINE: RIGHT-WING MEDIA AND HOW IT CORRUPTS DEMOCRACY 64-66 (2004).
The overall goal of the foundation is to return “to the days before governments began to regulate Big Business, before corporations were forced to make concessions to an organized labor force.” Phil Wilayto, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation (Mar 21, 2000), at
http://www.mediatransparency.org/funders /bradley_foundation.htm.
The Foundation gives considerable money to various organizations within Milwaukee, “most of which are not political in character.” Id. However, the national grants are to “organizations and individuals that promote the deregulation of business, the rollback of . . . social welfare programs, and the privatization of government services.” Id. “[T]he list of Bradley grant
recipients reads like a Who’s Who of the U.S. Right,” including the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute. Id. The American Enterprise Institute is the “literary home” of Charles Murray (author of The Bell Curve) and Robert Bork.After the influx of money from the 1985 sale of Allen-Bradley, the Foundation “strategically funded the authors and writers who could set the terms for national debate on key issues of public policy, the think tanks that could develop specific programs, the activist organizations that could implement those programs, and the legal offices that could defend those programs in court.” Id. To these ends, the Foundation is a major funding source for various entities that are focused on conservative causes.
Examples of funded sources include the Center for Individual Rights, which brought the lawsuit that eventually ended affirmative action at the University of Texas Law School. Hopwood v. State of Texas, 236 F.3d 256 (5th Cir. 2000); see also Phil Wilayto, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation (Mar 21, 2000), at
http://www.mediatransparency.org/funders/bradley_foundation.htm.
The Foundation also funded the National Association of Scholars, which played a key role in the 1996 anti-affirmative action referendum in California. See Phil Wilayto, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Mar 21, 2000, at
http://www.mediatransparency.org/funders/bradley_foundation.htm.
As noted above, the Foundation also funds authors. In 1992, the Foundation gave $11,850 to author David Brock for the publication of The Real Anita Hill: The Untold Story, which attacked Hill’s credibility, along with the aforementioned Charles Murray who published Losing Ground when “working out of the Bradley-funded Manhattan Institute in New York City.” Id. The premise of Losing Ground is that poverty is not a result of plant shutdowns, periodic recession or discrimination, but of individual failings. Id. Therefore, Murray argues, government-sponsored anti-poverty programs are ill-conceived and should be eliminated. Id. From 1986-89, Murray received an annual grant of $90,000 from the Foundation. Id. “By 1991, [the Foundation] was paying Murray $113,000 per year.” Id. In response to criticism of Losing Ground, the president of the Foundation (who has subsequently retired) said, “Charles Murray, in my opinion, is one of the foremost social thinkers in the country.” Id. After the publication of The Bell Curve, the Foundation “raised Murray’s annual grant to $163,000.” Id. For the reply of the Bradley Foundation to Mr. Wilayto’s report, see Michael S. Joyce, Statement, at http://www.educationforthepeople.org/ (denying the accusations completely). For further information regarding this dispute, see PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY FOUNDATION, BUYING A MOVEMENT 18, available at
http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=2052.
An example of a think tank supported by the Foundation is a $175,000 grant to the Hudson Institute “to support a study of welfare reform in Wisconsin.” Id (citing the Foundation 1995 annual report). This study resulted in the 1996 passing of “Wisconsin Works,” a welfare replacement plan. This plan slashed welfare rolls by ninety percent. Id. However, while a few women have found better jobs and income, “many more have found themselves strapped into a life of low-wage, dead-end jobs.” Id. Meanwhile, “privately operated [Wisconsin Works] agencies have made huge profits, while local businesses and ‘non-profits’ have found free labor for their enterprises.” Id.
Finally, the former president of the Bradley Foundation believed that “investment in academia is vital to the long-term success of the conservative movement, and [ ] directed millions toward academic research and program development.” PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY FOUNDATION, BUYING A MOVEMENT 18, available at
http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=2052.
To this end, the Foundation “has helped pay for the work of approximately 600 graduate students over the years.” Id. The former president said of this strategy, "That's like building a wine collection." Id. When “explaining the reason Bradley concentrates its money on programs at prestigious universities, [the former president] stated: ‘Elite opinion is formed in America at the top of a pyramid...elite institutions [are] important in the shaping of public policy.’” Id.
B. Court Cases
As far as I have been able to discover, the Foundation has only been a named party in one reported case. This case arose from the sale of stock in the Allen-Bradley Company, in which the Foundation became one of the trustees for a portion of the proceeds. The court held that the trustees had broad powers and did not abuse those powers regarding the distribution of income and principal amounts. In re Jane Bradley Uihlein Trust, 142 Wis.2d 277 (Wis. Ct. App. 1987).
C. Finances
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Allen-Bradley Company to Rockwell International provided the bulk of funding for the Foundation in 1985. Phil Wilayto, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation (Mar 21, 2000), at
http://www.mediatransparency.org/funders /bradley_foundation.htm.
As of December 2003, the Foundation had assets of $578 million and granted various organizations $25 million during the year. See THE LYNDE AND HARRY BRADLEY FOUNDATION, 2003 ANNUAL REPORT 34, 40 (2003), available at http://www.bradleyfdn.org /publications.html (last visited Apr 2, 2005) (asset accounting provided by Deloitte & Touche). The asset value fluctuates due to investment gains or losses; its grants have historically remained around $25-30 million per year. See Phil Wilayto, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation (Mar 21, 2000) at
http://www.mediatransparency.org/funders /bradley_foundation.htm;
c.f. THE LYNDE AND HARRY BRADLEY FOUNDATION, ANNUAL REPORTS, available at
http://www.bradleyfdn.org/publications.html;
(showing asset values of $476 million in 2002 and $579 million in 1998). The Foundation gave $345,000 to CSPC in 2003, $350,000 in 2002, and $975,000 in 2001. Id. (the annual report for 2001 is not online, the 2001 figure was derived from a different source on the Foundation’s website, see THE LYNDE AND HARRY BRADLEY FOUNDATION, 2001 List of Grants, at
http://www.bradleyfdn.org/01AR/~GrantsFrameSet01.html.
Finally, the Bradley Foundation “has been accused of underreporting the grant amounts that it gives to many of the right-wing organizations that it supports.” PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY, Bradley Foundation, Lynde and Harry, at
http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=11219.
D. Conclusion
The Bradley Foundation “works in concert with a number of [other foundations] to develop, maintain and promote a right-wing intelligencia that can play a major role in the manipulation of public opinion and the formulation of public policy.” Phil Wilayto, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation (Mar 21, 2000), at
http://www.mediatransparency.org/funders /bradley_foundation.htm
While the Bradley Foundation is part of the “Four Sisters,” Bradley has the largest assets of the conservative foundations, plus national connections and a focused political agenda. Accordingly, the Bradley Foundation “plays a leading role in the conservative movement.” d. For an even more aggressive attack on the Bradley Foundation, see Salim Muwakkil, Neocon Convergences, IN THESE TIMES (Jun. 6, 2003), available at
http://www.inthesetimes.com/comments.php?id=216_0_3_0_C.
II. THE SARAH SCAIFE FOUNDATIONA. Background
The Sarah Scaife Foundation is chaired by Richard Scaife (formerly known as Richard Mellon Scaife). See Scaife Foundation, at
http://www.mediatransparency.org/funders /scaife_foundations.htm.
Richard Scaife also controls the Allegheny and Carthage Foundations. Id. In 2003, Richard Scaife was #224 on the Forbes list of the richest people in the world, with an estimated value of $1.1 billion. See The Forbes 400, FORBES MAGAZINE (Sept. 18, 2003), available at http://www.forbes.com/2003/09/17/rich400land.html.
The Sarah Scaife Foundation grants are “primarily directed toward public policy programs that address major domestic and international issues.” SARAH SCAIFE FOUNDATION, 2003 ANNUAL REPORT (2003), at
http://www.scaife.com/sarah03.pdf.
Like the Bradley Foundation, the list of grant recipients is heavily weighted toward conservative causes or organizations Id. Included in the 2003 grants are: $425,000 to Accuracy in Media, $700,000 to the Free Congress Research and Education Foundation, and $800,000 to the Heritage Foundation. Id.
B. Lawsuits
The Sarah Scaife Foundation has not been involved in any reported lawsuits.
C. Finances
The Sarah Scaife Foundation had assets of $288 million at the end of 2003. SARAH SCAIFE FOUNDATION, 2003 ANNUAL REPORT (2003), at http://www.scaife.com/sarah03.pdf.
The major investments are stock ($191 million) and government securities ($77 million). Id. In 2003, the Sarah Scaife Foundation gave $14 million in grants, including $250,000 to CSPC. Id. Additionally, the Scaife Foundation gave $125,000 to CSPC in 2002 and $300,000 in 2001. SARAH SCAIFE FOUNDATION, 2002 ANNUAL REPORT (2002), at
http://www.scaife.com/sarah02.pdf.;
SARAH SCAIFE FOUNDATION, 2001 ANNUAL REPORT (2001), at
http://www.scaife.com/sarah01.pdf.
The Carthage Foundation had assets of $24 million, primarily in stock, at the end of 2003. THE CARTHAGE FOUNDATION, 2003 ANNUAL REPORT (2003), at http://www.scaife.com/cartha03.pdf. In 2003, the Carthage Foundation gave a total of $5 million in grants, including $125,000 to CSPC, along with $125,000 in 2002. Id.; THE CARTHAGE FOUNDATION, 2002 ANNUAL REPORT (2002), at
http://www.scaife.com/cartha02.pdf.
The Foundation is did not give money to CSPC in 2001. See THE CARTHAGE FOUNDATION, 2001 ANNUAL REPORT (2001), at
http://www.scaife.com/cartha01.pdf.
The Allegheny Foundation had assets of $39 million, almost entirely in stock, at the end of 2003. THE ALLEGHENY FOUNDATION, 2003 ANNUAL REPORT (2003), at
http://www.scaife.com/allegh03.pdf.
In 2003, the Allegheny Foundation gave a total of $1.36 million in grants, including $50,000 to CSPC, with another $50,000 to CSPC in 2002. Id.; THE ALLEGHENY FOUNDATION, 2002 ANNUAL REPORT (2002), at
http://www.scaife.com/allegh02.pdf.
The Allegheny Foundation did not give money to CSPC in 2001. See THE ALLEGHENY FOUNDATION, 2001 ANNUAL REPORT (2001), at
http://www.scaife.com/allegh01.pdf
In total, Richard Scaife-controlled foundations gave $425,000 to CSPC in 2003, and $300,000 per year in 2001 and 2002. ...
Continued:
http://www.aaupuc.org/horowitz.htm
