Heritage Foundation Budget Reaches $14.3 Million - Scale of Corporate Policy Investment

By 1987, the Heritage Foundation’s annual budget had reached $14.3 million, representing a doubling from $7.1 million in 1981 and demonstrating the massive scale of corporate investment in conservative policy infrastructure. The foundation would reach $14.6 million by 1988, establishing Heritage as the largest and best-funded conservative think tank in America.

The dramatic funding growth was driven primarily by two major donors: Joseph Coors, who provided the initial $250,000 seed money in 1973, and Richard Mellon Scaife, who became the primary donor through the Scaife Family Charitable Trust, contributing tens of millions over two decades. Additional corporate support came from trustees affiliated with Chase Manhattan Bank, Dow Chemical, General Motors, Mobil, Pfizer, Sears, and other major corporations.

Heritage’s budget expansion paralleled its growing political influence. Following the success of the 1981 “Mandate for Leadership” - which saw nearly two-thirds of its 2,000+ recommendations implemented by the Reagan administration - Heritage had proven the return on investment for corporate policy funding. The foundation demonstrated that coordinated think tank operations could effectively translate corporate priorities into government policy.

The $14 million+ annual budget enabled Heritage to maintain a large professional staff, conduct extensive research, publish policy briefs and reports, coordinate with other conservative organizations, provide expert testimony to Congress, and maintain constant communication with policymakers and media. This level of sustained funding created a permanent policy operation that could outlast any single administration or election cycle.

Heritage’s trustees from major corporations ensured that policy recommendations aligned with corporate interests while maintaining the appearance of independent scholarly research. The foundation’s funding model showed how concentrated corporate wealth could build parallel governing infrastructure that shaped policy outside democratic processes.

The scale of Heritage’s 1987 budget, combined with similar growth at AEI, Manhattan Institute, and other Powell Memo institutions, demonstrated that the conservative movement had successfully built a comprehensive policy development apparatus funded by corporate America and wealthy donors, capable of coordinating across federal, state, and local levels to advance systematic capture of governing institutions.