The Heartland Institute is a 33-year-old national nonprofit research organization
dedicated to finding and promoting ideas that empower people.
Founded: Heartland was founded in Chicago in 1984.
Mission: Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems.
Staff: A full-time staff of 38, including 25 working in the Chicago office. Joseph Bast is president and CEO. Herbert Walberg is chairman of the board.
Policy Advisors: Approximately 270 academics and professional economists participate in its peer-review process, and more than 200 elected officials serve on its Legislative Forum.
Publications: Heartland sends four monthly public policy newspapers addressing the major domestic public policy issues to every national and state elected official in the U.S. and thousands of civic and business leaders. It also produces a constant stream books, policy studies, and booklets.
Communications: In 2016, we appeared in print and on television or radio more than 400 times, print media more than 500 times (with a total circulation of 102 million), and more than 3,600 times online. We host 15 Web sites which generated more than one million page views. We published 277 podcasts on iTunes in 2016 which were downloaded or listened to a total of 1.4 million times. Our Facebook page registers more than 100,000 fans and more than 2 million impressions in 2016, and we have 13,000-plus followers on Twitter.
Government Relations: Our government relations staff made more than 1.2 million contacts with elected officials in 2013. Of those contacts, 20,188 were one-on-one in person, by phone, or by one-to-one emails. These were virtually all educational contacts; The Heartland Institute only rarely lobbies for or against pending legislation.
Survey Results: A telephone survey conducted in 2014 found 77 percent of Republican state legislators and 72 percent of Democratic state legislators read one or more Heartland newspapers “sometimes” or “always.” Two-thirds of state legislators (70 percent of Republicans and 62 percent of Democrats) said they found Heartland’s newspapers a “useful source of information.” Thirty-nine percent of Republicans and 30 percent of Democrats reported a Heartland publication changed their opinion or led to a change in public policy. Approximately 160 elected officials — Democrats as well as Republicans — serve on Heartland’s Board of Legislative Advisors.
Funding: More than 5,000 supporters contribute to an annual budget of $6 million. Heartland does not accept government funding. Contributions are tax-deductible under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Contact information: 3939 North Wilke Road, Arlington Heights, IL 60004, phone 312/377-4000, email think@heartland.org.
Endorsements: Click here for endorsements of our work by leading figures in the free-market movement.
Videos: Watch the videos below to learn more about Heartland and see salutes from prominent folks on the occasion of our 25th anniversary in 2009.