FreedomWorks Foundation is a national grassroots educational organization with a successful 22-year history of linking the principles of freedom to the hard work and hands-on focus required to translate good ideas into successful public policies that defend against government encroachment on economic liberties.

Our values are deeply rooted in the philosophy of freedom found in the works of our Founding Fathers, Adam Smith, Ayn Rand, Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, and Milton Friedman. Our strategic thinking is built on the public choice analysis of Nobel Laureate James Buchanan and decades of hands-on experience. Our organizational philosophy is guided by the understanding that the decentralization of personal knowledge is the best way to maximize the contribution of people, their talents, and the total productivity of any endeavor. Our commitment to overcome all obstacles is inspired by the leadership of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan.

We are led by one of the freedom movement’s most prominent leaders, former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey. A trained economist, Dr. Armey chaired the University of North Texas’ economics department before entering politics. Chairman Armey is joined on our leadership team by co-chairman C. Boyden Gray, former White House Counsel and Ambassador to the European Union; and vice chairman Steve Forbes, former presidential candidate and current President and CEO of Forbes, Inc. Matt Kibbe, a well-respected national public policy expert, serves as FreedomWorks Foundation’s president and chief executive officer.

But what makes us so unique is not our employees or our leadership. We are ultimately defined by our grassroots volunteers—a network of more than 1.3 million citizens unified in their defense of free markets, sound economic policy, and a constitutionally constrained government. Since 1989—prior to 2004 we were known as Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE)—we have effectively educated and organized a growing network of concerned citizens unified in defense of free markets and sound economic policy.

FreedomWorks Foundation, and our network of grassroots volunteers, has always been at the forefront of the most critical debates on economic policy and the appropriate role of government in a free society. In the 1990s, FreedomWorks Foundation led the fights against Al Gore’s infamous “BTU” tax on energy and the “HillaryCare” proposal to adopt a single-payer health care system. We ignited the public debate on fundamental tax reform that led to major tax rate cuts in 2001 and 2003. We were leaders in the fight against the Republican-controlled Congress’ expansion of entitlements through Medicare Part D, and were among the first to expose their excessive spending and addiction to wasteful “earmarks.” We have taken on the trial lawyers in defense of important tort law reforms, and we exposed the problems with Sen. Arlen Specter’s $140 billion asbestos trust fund that led to the plan’s ultimate defeat.

More recently, we garnered national attention for our principled and persistent opposition to the TARP bailout, ObamaCare, and the massive spending proposals of the current administration. FreedomWorks Foundation has also become a prominent source of logistical support for the Tea Party movement, offering organizational and strategic assistance to this important limited government and free market movement. We helped organize countless Tea Party rallies and town hall protests across the nation in 2009, culminating in our national sponsorship of the 9-12 Taxpayer March on Washington, the largest gathering of fiscal conservatives in history.

Our ultimate goal is to strengthen the constitutional republic our Founding Fathers set in motion over two hundred years ago. FreedomWorks Foundation connects the ideas of freedom to the political power that can only be produced by an educated network of citizens committed to economic liberty, trained in effective mobilization skills, and organized to drive the policy agenda. FreedomWorks Foundation then amplifies these efforts by working with legislative leaders who posses both the procedural and tactical skills necessary to control the debate and affect policy outcomes.