The Heritage Foundation
Building an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity, and civil society flourish.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Now more than ever, the American people need a champion to preserve the great American experiment and everything good and just that it represents. That’s why The Heritage Foundation exists. We champion policy solutions that benefit all Americans. But Heritage is also much more than a think tank. Every day, Heritage works in our nation’s capital to build an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity, and civil society flourish. But unlike so many other organizations in Washington, D.C., The Heritage Foundation’s focus isn’t on putting more power into the hands of government—it’s on returning power to the people. That’s why we don’t work on behalf of any special interest or political party. Instead, our commitment is to the American people, which is why more than 500,000 members support our work.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Empower Parents to Make Education Choices
The education system is failing our children—from the scourge of woke ideas like critical race theory and radical gender ideology to the lack of accountability to parents and an absence of academic transparency. Parents, not bureaucrats, should be making teaching and learning decisions that align with their values. Taxpayer dollars should help students to succeed with a great education, not prop up failing school systems. The entire Heritage enterprise will spearhead reforms at the state level to protect parental rights and expand education choice and will work at the federal level to limit Washington’s intervention, ultimately driving a clarion call to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education.
Secure America’s Borders and Reduce Crime
Americans should be able to live peacefully without constant fear of crime or incursions across our borders. A strong justice system enforces existing U.S. law, prosecutes criminals, secures our borders, and preserves our national identity. America’s current border crisis and the level of crime in many cities are out of control, and the human costs are staggering. The Heritage enterprise will expose the threats posed by criminals and illegal immigrants and take steps at the federal and state levels to restore the rule of law.
Ensure Free and Fair Elections
The right to vote in a free and fair election is one of our most basic civil rights and is fundamental to maintaining a democratic republic. Americans can have confidence in election outcomes only if they can trust that the process is fair and honest. Legitimate voters should be able to vote in privacy without being harassed, secure in the knowledge that their vote will not be lost, stolen, altered, or negated by fraud, mistakes, and errors or a vote cast by an ineligible individual, such as a non-citizen or a felon.
Heritage will increase faith in elections and protect the right to vote for all Americans by advocating for commonsense reforms in the states, such as requiring voter ID, cleaning up inaccurate voter rolls, and ending the practice of vote trafficking of absentee ballots. And we will always oppose a federal takeover of our elections by Washington, D.C., elites.
Reverse the Growth of Regulations, Spending, and Inflation
Government spending, regulations, and inflation are a tax on all Americans, especially working families who struggle to make ends meet. Prudent fiscal decisions by government can enable American families to flourish without politicians and bureaucrats controlling their lives. The Heritage enterprise will advance a blueprint to reduce the size and scope of the federal government, ensure that government spends less of our money to save us from falling off the fiscal cliff, and stop the growth of federal regulations.
Counter the Threat of Communist China
The Heritage enterprise will expose China’s aggressive military buildup, growing cyber capabilities, gross violations of human rights, and rising use of global economic coercion. We will push for concrete actions—like resurrecting the Department of Justice China Initiative and barring members of the Chinese Communist Party from national security–related research funded by federal contracts and grants. To preserve our freedom, the Heritage enterprise will advance policy to confront China’s attack on American interests and values, develop a robust U.S. economy that is resistant to nefarious Chinese influence, and ensure that we have the necessary capabilities to defend the United States and its interests and allies abroad in an era of great-power competition.
Hold Big Tech Accountable
Big Tech often acts as an enemy of the people, actively undermining free speech and free and fair elections, using algorithms to manipulate users, exposing minors to dangerous and pornographic content, and leaving users’ private data vulnerable to cyber criminals and state actors. Tech giants and social media companies censor content with which they disagree, including objective fact-based opinions and reporting, collude with authoritarian governments like China, and side with woke elites to disproportionately silence conservatives.
The Heritage enterprise will put power back in the hands of the American people by holding Big Tech accountable, using antitrust and other laws and proposing new measures to end their abuses.
Protect Unborn Life and Family Formation
All children conceived deserve to be born to married mothers and fathers who will love, guide, and protect them throughout their lives, but family breakdown and rampant abortion have torn apart the soul of our country and sapped it of its strength and moral authority. Radical ideologies that deny social and biological truths about sexual embodiment, marriage, and unborn life have poisoned our courts, our culture, and our laws. The Heritage enterprise will mobilize and advance policies at the state and federal levels to restore the nuclear family to the center of American life and reduce both the demand for and availability of abortion at all stages of human development.
Where we work
External reviews

Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planHow we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
The Heritage Foundation
Board of directorsas of 04/04/2023
Barb Van Andel-Gaby
Nersi Nazari
Barb Van Andel-Gaby
Michael W. Gleba
Larry P. Arnn
John Coleman
Edwin J. Feulner
Robert P. George
Ryan Haggerty
Price Harding
Virginia Heckman
Mark A. Kolokotrones
Edwin Meese III
Rebekah Mercer
Abby Spencer Moffat
Anthony J. Saliba
Brian Tracy
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes