Capital Research Center

The Capital Research Center offices located in Washington, D.C.

Capital Research Center (CRC) is an American conservative non-profit organization located in Washington, DC. It was founded in 1984 by Willa Johnson "to study non-profit organizations, with a special focus on reviving the American traditions of charity, philanthropy, and voluntarism." The group opposes the growth of government-welfare programs and promotes private sector alternatives. It discourages donations by corporations to non-profits supporting what it sees as anti-business or liberal policies. Often described as "conservative", the Capital Research Center is sometimes described as "right wing" or as being part of the "New Right".

Policy stances

Capital Research Center is highly critical of animal rights activists and the environmental movement. In 2006 it published The Green Wave: Environmentalism and Its Consequences, a book by Dr. Bonner Cohen. In 2007 it published the third edition of The Great Philanthropists and the Problem of “Donor Intent” by Martin Morse Wooster, senior fellow at the Center. In 2008 it published Guide to Nonprofit Advocacy, by James Dellinger. The CRC says Al Gore's campaign to control carbon emissions is motivated by the likelihood that he will make an "immense fortune" if laws are passed to control them; argues that organized labor is bad for America; and has criticized government efforts to weaken intellectual property protection of prescription medications.

History

CRC was founded in 1984 by Willa Johnson, former Senior Vice President of the Heritage Foundation, Deputy Director of the Office of Presidential Personnel in the first Reagan administration, and a legislative aide in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. CRC's current president is Terrence Scanlon, a former chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission who served during the Reagan administration.

Journalist and author Marvin Olasky previously served as a senior fellow at the CRC.

In 2010 the CRC boycotted the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) because it allowed GOProud, a gay Republican group, to attend.

Funding

Politico reports that the CRC has received millions of dollars of funding from conservative philanthropies over the years. The philanthropies include foundations run by the Koch family, the Scaifes, and the Bradleys. As of 2005 CRC had received $115,000 from ExxonMobil.

Criticism

The Capital Research Center came under fire in the 1990s for publishing studies highly critical of charities which engaged in anti-tobacco lobbying efforts. These charities include the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association and the American Cancer Society. It was later revealed that tobacco giant Philip Morris provided $50,000 in funding to the Capital Research Center.

See also

• Alexis de Tocqueville Institution
• Think tank

External links

• Capital Research Center Official Site
• Capital Research Center's online radio show, "Organization Watch"
• Organizational Profile – National Center for Charitable Statistics (Urban Institute)