In June, Atlas teamed up with the State Policy Network to host another workshop in the co-sponsored Leadership Development series. This Southwestern Regional Seminar – State Budgets in Crisis: Strategies for Reform, was held in the heart of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Nearly 50 state think tank leaders gathered at the Hotel Plaza Real for the two-day program.
On day one, seasoned think tank leaders offered best practices on the issue of budgets and taxation. Bob Williams, president of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, set the stage for the discussions by discussing the foundation’s ongoing programs in “Defining Government’s Core Functions.” This common sense approach delivers the simple message: Until we take the time to explore and understand the functions of governments, we can’t know what we are trying to achieve through the public sector.
Following Williams, program speakers delivered a litany of strategies for effective taxation policy: Jon Caldara (Independence Institute, Colorado) spoke on the Taxpayers Bill of Rights; Russ Walker (CSE of Oregon) shared experiences in leading the grassroots against tax increases; Kevin Avram (founder of the Canadian Taxpayer Federation) shared strategies of mobilizing the grassroots in Canada; and Matt Kibbe (president, Citizens for a Sound Economy) discussed ways to create committed constituencies.
Looking ahead to battlegrounds in the upcoming year, Geoff Segal (Reason Foundation) and Scott Hodge (Tax Foundation) offered ways to expand effectiveness of strategies consistent with the free society by using the resources available within our networks including Heritage’s Center for Data Analysis and Tax Freedom Day programs.
Dinner speaker Grover Norquist (Americans for Tax Reform) shared another basic message: until we wean elected officials from using tax increases to “solve” every problem, we will not engage in serious policy reform.
The second day of the program was largely devoted to the favorite topic of think tankers: fundraising. Paul Guppy (Washington Policy Center) and John Ostronic (Altria) helped enhance understanding of corporate markets. Ashley Landress (South Carolina Policy Council) and Margaret Ann Hoenig (Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs) showed how to effectively turn solid public policy programs into fund raising successes.
At the concluding dinner, long time Atlas and SPN allies, Bridgett Wagner (Heritage Foundation) introduced one of the movement’s leading fundraising experts, Robert Russell (Robert Russell & Associates) who provided an in-depth discussion about philanthropy. He asked “What is philanthropy?” and “How can we learn from proven successes?”
These summaries of the program do little to capture the beauty of the regional programs. By hosting short, two-day programs in small, informal venues, Atlas and SPN seeks to provide a relaxed, but very focused opportunity to share experiences and learn from each other. Based on feedback from our participants, we feel confident in to say that this has been our most successful joint venture to date. Keep tuned for future workshops in this leadership series.
“Thanks so much for an excellent program, and the opportunity to attend. It was exhilarating to be around so many like-minded people and to get everyone’s feedback and ideas. No one who toils in the think-tank world should miss the chance to be a part of conferences like that one! I hope I can be at many more in the future. It was fabulous and very productive, and I am so glad I got to meet you in person. Thanks again so much, and stay in touch with us!” — Ashley Landress, South Carolina Policy Council
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