[ARLINGTON, VA – October 15, 2019] The U.S. Investors Summit for Liberty, a competitive grant opportunity that will give ten pre-selected, U.S.-based organizations a platform to compete for grants of up to $75,000, will be held on Friday, November 8, 2019 at the Crowne Plaza Times Square Hotel in New York City.
In collaboration with successful private capital investors, Atlas Network has modeled this first-of-its-kind event on venture capital investor summits where a curated selection of capital seekers pitch their “undervalued” companies to high-capacity investors during one concentrated networking event. The ten public policy organizations, which Atlas Network is calling “2020 Smart Bets,” will pitch their plans to a small group of supporters who have an expressed interest in advancing innovative and scalable efforts to promote ideas and policies that encourage individual freedom, free enterprise, and prosperity.
The ten Atlas Network 2020 Smart Bets featured at this year’s U.S. Investors Summit for Liberty are Beacon Center of Tennessee, Becket, Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy, Center for Economic Accountability, Georgia Center for Opportunity, Libertas Institute, Property and Environment Research Center, Taliesin Nexus, The Center for the Philosophy of Freedom at the University of Arizona, and Yankee Institute for Public Policy. All ten organizations are members of Atlas Network’s extensive partner network, which currently includes more than 180 U.S.- based organizations.
“Our partners in the United States act as models for what civil society organizations can achieve—in spite of having small teams and limited resources,” said Casey Pifer, Director of Institute Relations at Atlas Network. “For that reason, we are thrilled to put the spotlight on ten American organizations we believe are ‘punching above their weight,’ and, with the right amount of investment and recognition, are likely to make important strides for the future of freedom in the United States.”
After their pitches, at least $500,000 in dedicated grant funds will be divided among the participants by Atlas Network, with each receiving a minimum grant of $25,000. Liberty-minded donors in attendance will have the chance to ask questions and pledge additional support. Atlas Network currently provides in excess of $5 million annually in project funding to partners, with roughly $1 million directed to groups in the U.S. and Canada in 2019. Particular areas of emphasis for grantees have been reforming the criminal justice system, removing occupational licensing barriers, monitoring regulatory red tape, and advancing school choice for children and families.
The U.S. Investors Summit for Liberty is the first event held by Atlas Network’s new Center for the U.S. and Canada, which builds on the organization’s proven strategy for improving the effectiveness of think tanks and other players in the freedom movement. By leveraging Atlas Network's strengths in training programs, competitive grants, media outreach, and events, and by building new capacity through coalition engagement, the Center is engaging a peer-to-peer network that is advancing innovation and idea diffusion. Atlas Network is well-positioned to work with local civil society groups that are addressing complex issues with home-grown solutions that focus on local needs.
For more information, please visit AtlasNetwork.org.
About Atlas Network
Atlas Network advances opportunity and prosperity by strengthening a global network of independent civil society organizations that promote individual freedom and remove barriers to human flourishing. We cultivate a network of partners—currently more than 490 in 93 countries—that share a vision of a free, prosperous and peaceful world where the rule of law, private property, and free markets are defended by governments whose powers are limited.
Atlas Network’s vision is to create greater opportunity for individuals to use their talents freely and contribute to increasing levels of peace, civility, and prosperity, and we invest in civil society organizations that are working toward a free society. Through a unique “Coach, Compete, Celebrate” model, Atlas Network provides training and mentorship designed to improve the efforts of free-market organizations, and encourages friendly competitions that elevate performance and celebrate achievement. The Doing Development Differently initiative is helping partners around the world advance, implement, and market locally-grown solutions to poverty that improve established measurements of economic freedom, and regional centers in Latin America, Africa, and the United States and Canada are focusing international attention on the political, social, and economic challenges of free-market reforms.