Heritage Foundation Founded as Conservative Think Tank Implementing Powell Strategy

The Heritage Foundation is officially founded by Paul Weyrich, Edwin Feulner, and Joseph Coors, implementing the strategic vision outlined in the Powell Memorandum. Coors provides the crucial seed funding of $250,000 to establish what becomes one of the most influential conservative think tanks in American politics. The organization is conceived as a conservative counterpart to the Brookings Institution, designed to provide intellectual ammunition for conservative policy positions and counter liberal academic influence. Weyrich serves as the first president, while Feulner becomes a founding trustee and later president. The foundation’s creation represents a direct response to Powell’s call for organized, well-funded conservative intellectual infrastructure to shape public policy and political discourse. This marks the beginning of systematic conservative think tank proliferation that will fundamentally alter American political debate.