Bradley Foundation

Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
Private charitable foundation
Founded 1942
Headquarters Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Key people
Terry Considine
Chairman
David Vogel Uihlein, Jr.
Vice Chairman
Michael W. Grebe
President and CEO
Website www.bradleyfdn.org

The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a charitable foundation with more than $800 million U.S. dollars in assets. The Foundation supports arts, education and health organizations in Wisconsin with an increasing focus on the goals of American conservatism.[1]

History

The Foundation was established in 1942, shortly after the death of Lynde Bradley. However it was not until twenty years after the death of his brother Harry Lynde Bradley, in 1965, that the Foundation expanded in size and began to focus on public policy.[2] This was followed by the 1985 acquisition of Allen-Bradley by Rockwell International Corporation, with a significant portion of the proceeds going into the expansion of The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, which saw its assets rise from $14 million to over $290 million.[3] In 1986 the Foundation gave away $23 million, more than it had in the previous four decades.[2] Whereas in 1980 only 2.5% of grants were related to public policy, by 1990, under the leadership of Mike Joyce (formerly at the John M. Olin Foundation) it was 60%.[2]

The organization was founded in an attempt to preserve and extend the principles and philosophy of the Bradley brothers. According to them, "the good society is a free society. The Bradley Foundation is likewise devoted to strengthening American democratic capitalism and the institutions, principles and values that sustain and nurture it."[4]

The foundation supports limited government, conceived of as a dynamic marketplace where economic, intellectual, and cultural activity can flourish. It states that it defends American ideas and institutions. Next to that it recognizes that responsible self-government depends on informing citizens and creating a well informed public opinion. The foundation tries to accomplish that by financing scholarly studies and academic achievements, most especially by scholars coincidentally named Bradley.[5] The foundation does not limit its donations to organizations focused on domestic policy, but has also funded groups like the Center for Security Policy that focus on security and foreign policy.[6]

The Bradley Foundation's former president, Michael S. Joyce, was instrumental in creating the Philanthropy Roundtable. The goal of the Roundtable's founders was to provide a forum where donors could discuss the principles and practices that inform the best of America's charitable tradition. Currently, there are more than 600 Roundtable Associates.

Governance

Current members of the board of directors of the Bradley Foundation are:

Bradley Prize

The Bradley Prize is a major grant to individuals who are "innovative thinkers". According to the foundation the Bradley Prize is to "formally recognize individuals of extraordinary talent and dedication who have made contributions of excellence in areas consistent with The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation’s mission." As many as four Prizes of $250,000 each are awarded annually. Winners have included Roger Ailes,[8] Paul Clement, Mitch Daniels, and Yuval Levin.[9]

Grantees

Organizations awarded grants have included FreedomWorks,[10] Americans for Prosperity,[10] the Heritage Foundation,[11] the Hoover Institution,[11] the Black Alliance for Educational Options[11] and the SEED Foundation.[11]

See also

References

External links

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