The Nashville-based Beacon Center of Tennessee on Wednesday announced that it has formed a new nonprofit that will serve as the free market think tank’s advocacy partner.
Called Beacon Impact, the new nonprofit was set up to promote reform at the state Capitol and within communities.
While the new entity is a 501(c)(4) organization, meaning it can endorse candidates as well as engage in unlimited lobbying, the nonpartisan Beacon Center has no plans to break with past practice and start promoting political candidates and parties. Instead, the nonprofit is charged with “focusing exclusively on advocating for the policy ideas developed by the Beacon Center,” according to a news release. The Beacon Center itself is a 501(c)(3) organization, meaning it has a limited ability to lobby.
Justin Owen, the CEO of both organizations, said in a statement:
The Beacon Center has a solid track record of developing policy solutions grounded in the principles of free markets, individual liberty, and limited government. We have also successfully shepherded many of these solutions into law. But it’s not enough. We need the ability to advocate for meaningful reform both inside and outside the state Capitol, in the halls of the legislature and local governments, and also on the ground in our communities. Beacon Impact will be our strategic partner to turn our ideas into action at all levels.
John Cerasuolo, chairman of both the Beacon Center and Beacon Impact, said:
We are tremendously proud of what the Beacon Center has been able to accomplish with a small staff, especially with such stringent limits on our ability to advocate for the policies we have formulated and that we know will make Tennessee freer and more prosperous. With the launch of Beacon Impact, we can now have an even larger imprint on the future of our great state.
