As testimony to the impact of these organizations, national magazines and journals have featured them in a number of articles. There are hardly any national news magazines or large–city newspapers that have not produced stories suggesting that state–focused free market research institutes are exerting increasing influence by virtue of sheer persistence and eloquence in expressing their ideas.
Michigan Governor John Engler credits the emerging success of these groups to a shift away from a faith in the federal government: "There's a disillusionment with Washington's ability to solve problems," he told Forbes magazine. "The real action is going to be at the state level."
As president of the largest state–focused think tank, I can speak from an insider's perspective. My organization, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, shares many common features with our sister think tanks in the other states. We focus all our attention on public policy issues in our state (Michigan). We are organized as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, which means that contributions to our organization are tax deductible.
Our Board of Directors consists of fifteen individuals from both the business and academic worlds. The Mackinac Center's 1999 budget of more than $2 million represents a greater than 100 percent increase over 1996. Growth of that magnitude speaks volumes about our visibility and credibility throughout Michigan. It also makes us one of the most effective state–based research institutes in the nation.
Because the state–based think tanks are so new, most live hand–to–mouth, and few have endowments in place. The option exists for interested organizations to make tax deductible contributions to current operating budgets, capital budgets, certain specific projects, or toward endowments.
The best opportunities for giving are to those research institutes that show a broad range and large number of contributors, with no single source comprising a dominant share of the organization's budget. That's what we've accomplished at the Mackinac Center, with the result being that our work is not "tainted" by the charge that it was "bought" by any particular interest group. Members of our staff as well as accomplished and credentialed academic specialists from respected private and state colleges and universities conduct research and produce policy studies that withstand any barrage of hostile scrutiny.
The Mackinac Center's work is aimed at influencing the climate of public opinion in a way that makes the needed changes in public policy possible. Depending upon the publication or the event, our audiences are legislators, media people, educators, students, clergy, the business community, and the public at large. A stream of incisive, well–researched and timely studies and commentaries – the staple products of every think tank – form the front lines of our challenge to prevailing wisdom. Many other programs carry our message directly to the audiences listed above.