2022-08-01T12:04:25-05:00 2021-12-31 363990892 Capin Crouse LLP 345 Massachusetts Avenue Suite 300 Indianapolis IN 46204 990 2021-01-01 382926822 Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty ACTO 6164543080 98 E Fulton St 101 Grand Rapids MI 49503 Kris Mauren President 6164543080 2022-08-01 1 Kris Mauren 999009999 Daren Daiga P01074795 5055022746 3 AAL1 IAL1 2021 2022-09-23 18:48:47Z Kris Mauren 98 E Fulton St 101 Grand Rapids MI 49503 15364788 0 X www.acton.org X 1990 MI To promote a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty 14 12 39 20 763390 662135 8177879 14007762 35580 200238 569891 866768 21531 -101452 8804881 14973316 360377 371076 0 0 3177818 3530016 0 23003 1059629 3547308 3863346 7085503 7787441 1719378 7185875 18578686 30417639 366961 3936524 18211725 26481115 X The mission of the Acton Institute is to promote a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles. 0 0 2221928 137374 110664 Education:The Education Department of the Acton Institute seeks to equip current and future leaders in business, education, and religion through quality educational programming to understand the moral basis for a free economy that creates an environment in which all have the opportunity to flourish. These programs are open to all who are interested, but special consideration is given to those with a proven track record of effectuating change and influencing those in their institutions, communities, and denominations both nationally and internationally.The Institute's educational programming includes both large and small conferences. Acton's flagship event, Acton University, an annual four-day conference that explores the foundations of a free society, drew over 1,000 participants from more than 60 nations in 2019. In 2020 and 2021, the event was held virtually due to COVID-19 with over 3,200 people from 86 countries participated. Many of those who attend Acton Institute conferences, including Acton University, receive financial support to cover expenses such as room and board, conference fees, and travel in cases of need. The staff of the Education Department also invests considerable time in cultivating ecumenical networks of religious leaders, students, educators, and businesspeople in order to expand the Institute's reach, develop strategic partnerships, and remain connected to the needs and demands of the Institute's constituencies. 1585809 80520 146714 General Education and Communications:The Institute reaches out to business leaders, policymakers, students, and religious and community leadership groups through lectures, media products, web and social media, and various writings. The 2021 annual dinner celebrating 31 years of the Acton Institute was held in Grand Rapids to promote outreach and to thank supporters for their partnership. The dinner and program festivities included discourse with prominent public speakers and Institute supporters. Over 800 participated, representing many states and several foreign countries. After a hiatus due to COVID-19 restrictions, our normal busy slate of activities and events resumed in our local facility for discussions of a variety of topics related to our work, including our flagship Acton Lecture Series. Acton Institute also operates a bookstore to promote and sell its own publications, in addition to outside publications, related to our mission and program outreach areas. These educational materials were sold, distributed and exhibited at a variety of events throughout the world.Our rich and robust web presence centers on the Acton website (www.acton.org), and includes other Acton sites such as the PowerBlog as well as a great deal of current and historical Acton-produced content. The Institute has a broad and growing presence in social media. This platform has steadily increased the scope and frequency of Acton's outreach to the general public.The Communications Department manages the growing family of Acton websites, blog, podcasts, and social media which use leading technology to integrate text, audio, and video content in easily accessible formats and venues to promote Acton's message to web users. It publishes the print and digital editions of Religion & Liberty, Acton Notes, and the weekly email newsletter, Acton News & Commentary. The Communications Department also connects Acton experts with print and broadcast journalists covering faith and policy issues. 1317019 153182 23810 Research:The Institute's academic investigations are conducted by its Research Department. This work centers on political economy, theology, economics, philosophy, and history, among other topics. Additionally, the materials and research produced at the Acton Institute are delivered locally in Grand Rapids as well as at national and international conferences with the goal of reaching the scholarly community at large.The Research Department publishes books, journals, monographs and occasional papers, and its staff regularly publishes books with external publishing houses. The Journal of Markets & Morality is a semi-annual refereed journal that provides a forum for scholars from many disciplines to engage issues concerning the morality of the marketplace. The Christian Social Thought Series examines, in each volume, a key economic issue facing Christians. Non-Christians have also written articles and books addressing relevant themes of interest to the Acton Institute. The Research Department also manages Acton's academic scholarship programs. Fellowships are awarded to provide financial assistance, in the form of academic fellowships and travel grants, to promising doctoral candidates, graduate students, and seminarians who are advancing an understanding of the connection between economic liberty and religious values. The annual Novak Award recipient is presented with a prize to acknowledge and reward new research on the relationship between religion, economic freedom, and the free and virtuous society.Lastly, the Research Department manages a number of programs, including (1) small specific conferences for scholars and graduate students that mostly are held in Grand Rapids, (2) larger conferences for scholars, graduate students, public intellectuals and leading religious figures, and (3) overseeing the scholarly and programmatic outreach of Acton's Rome office.Internationally, we have held conferences on various topics such as economic liberty, economic history, poverty and development, Catholic social teaching, Protestant social thought, Judaism and the economy, property rights, monetary policy, and limited government. Our office in Rome also hosts regular lectures and small conferences at the office. 796324 Media:The Media Department promotes Acton's message through various media products and outlets. The distribution of our feature-length films continued across the U.S. and internationally, including translation into several languages. Acton's media products were distributed with a focus on digital platforms. They can be found on familiar platforms such as Amazon, Netflix, and iTunes. A curriculum and related website about enterprise solutions to poverty in the developing world (PovertyCure) continued to be promoted. Many schools and universities have incorporated this resource into their curriculums. The project seeks to build a network of likeminded organizations as well as to promote a proper understanding of the human person and society. The media projects will encourage solutions that create opportunity and unleash the entrepreneurial spirit. Acton's documentary Poverty, Inc. has earned more than 45 film festival awards to date, including the $100,000 Templeton Freedom Award. The film has screened more than 500 times in 28 countries.Production on Acton's newest documentary film The Hong Konger commenced in 2021 with scheduled completion and release for 2022. 796324 5921080 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 118 0 1 39 1 1 1 1 IT 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 14 12 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 AK AL AR CO CT FL IL KS KY MA MD ME MI MN MS NC NH NJ NM NV OH OK OR PA RI SC TN UT VA WA WI WV X X Tom Vogt 6164543080 98 E Fulton St 101 Grand Rapids MI 49503 Kris Mauren President 50.00 X X 263210 0 29828 Rev Robert A Sirico President Emeritus 50.00 X X 269800 0 4000 David Humphreys Chairman 1.00 X X 0 0 0 Frank Hanna III Vice Chairman 1.00 X X 0 0 0 JC Huizenga Secretary 1.00 X X 0 0 0 John Kennedy III Treasurer 1.00 X X 0 0 0 Michael Muraski Director 1.00 X 0 0 0 Nathaniel Fischer Director 1.00 X 0 0 0 John Crowe Director 1.00 X 0 0 0 Kyle Bode Director 1.00 X 0 0 0 Leslie Graves Director 1.00 X 0 0 0 David A Durell Director 1.00 X 0 0 0 Nathan Bond Director 1.00 X 0 0 0 Rick DeVos Director 1.00 X 0 0 0 Tom Vogt Director of Finance 50.00 X 99208 0 26550 Stephen Barrows Chief Operating Officer 50.00 X 166912 0 27295 Alejandro Chafuen Managing Director of International 50.00 X 168130 0 27770 Sam Gregg Director of Research 50.00 X 172646 0 4454 Eric Kohn Director of Communications 50.00 X 122006 0 21949 Michael Miller Director of Media 50.00 X 109410 0 29028 1371322 0 170874 7 0 1 0 Bluewater Technologies Group Inc 30303 Beck Road Wixom MI 48393 Event Media Production 483171 Crossfire Productions Inc 3030 Maplevale Ct Grandville MI 49418 Film Production 249352 Iron Light Inc 300 S Riverside Plaza Suite 1625 Chicago IL 60606 Marketing & Promotion 166863 3 269782 253236 13484744 523977 14007762 Research 900099 66793 66793 Education 900099 65764 65764 Gen. Edu/Comm. 900099 23810 23810 43871 43871 200238 832614 763390 69224 8250 13262 -5012 -5012 -5012 160992 126838 34154 34154 34154 60650 269782 238040 -177390 -177390 94282 13332 80950 80950 14973316 281188 763390 -79024 X 289540 289540 20444 20444 61092 61092 888842 592084 145273 151485 2069652 1540894 148363 380395 168442 121441 16718 30283 216545 156121 21493 38931 186535 134486 18514 33535 5059 2041 3018 51922 4678 47244 23003 23003 1614181 1488321 15452 110408 184663 184663 401121 230718 22458 147945 166528 145630 12143 8755 189337 140989 30101 18247 196816 142342 27070 27404 124132 103865 15376 4891 378109 225159 107715 45235 22699 15959 4546 2194 Equipment 139818 120122 11991 7705 Tax on UBI 102740 102740 Meals and Entertainment 25192 20934 1567 2691 261029 179557 54950 26522 7787441 5921080 806732 1059629 4243436 4418188 312900 7457506 630011 3490817 62385 80063 77975 35410 187594 250974 9479295 3362983 6410561 6116312 3687424 4539969 2966400 4028400 18578686 30417639 366961 457633 0 3478891 366961 3936524 X 14272684 16330253 3939041 10150862 18211725 26481115 18578686 30417639 X 7185875 1413220 -329705 X 0 1 X 1 0 X 9563359 8877746 9603513 8177879 14007762 50230259 9563359 8877746 9603513 8177879 14007762 50230259 15013923 35216336 223184 259577 199598 76111 77474 835944 327546 361159 458077 405274 660649 2212705 119031 75075 58525 6310 60650 319591 53598499 2056941 0.65700 0.60730 X Schedule A, Part II, Line 10, Explanation of Other Income: Miscellaneous Revenue - 2017 Amount: $ 46,031. Special Events - 2017 Amount: $ 73,000. 2018 Amount: $ 75,075. 2019 Amount: $ 58,525. 2020 Amount: $ 6,310. 2021 Amount: $ 60,650. RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 643047 83354 21216 705185 572429 12809 79745 21936 643047 510261 72429 10261 572429 554319 -23107 20951 510261 502330 51989 554319 1.00000 0 0 1080000 1080000 6082839 1299064 4783775 1565580 1349287 216293 750876 714632 36244 6116312 Common Stock of Privately Held Corp. 4028400 F 4028400 Refundable advance 3478891 3478891 16562742 1413220 479317 26594 1919131 14643611 329705 329705 14973316 8293352 479317 26594 505911 7787441 0 7787441 Part V, Line 4: The intended use for the endowment fund is to support the Novak award. Part XI, Line 2d - Other Adjustments: Rental expense included on Part VIII, Line 6b 13,262. Cost of goods sold included on Part VIII, Line 10b 13,332. Part XI, Line 4b - Other Adjustments: Book to tax difference for UBTI reported on Schedule K-1 329,705. Part XII, Line 2d - Other Adjustments: Rental expense included on Part VIII, Line 6b 13,262. Cost of goods sold included on Part VIII, Line 10b 13,332. 1 Europe (Including Iceland & Greenland) 1 2 Program Services Education 182674 Europe (Including Iceland & Greenland) 0 0 Grants to Recipients 13092 South America 0 0 Grants to Recipients 48000 1 2 0 0 1 2 243766 0 243766 South America The Acton Institute has established relationships with several international affiliate organizations that share our mission and seek to promote ideas of the Acton Institute. The affiliates are independent organizations that work with Acton to promote the ideas of a free and virtuous society in their own countries and within their own cultural context. Acton provides these affiliates with small grants for conferences, publications, website maintenance, translation, and other activities. 26000 Electronic transfer 0 1 0 Education and travel assistance South America 2 22000 Wire Education and travel assistance Europe (Including Iceland & Greenland) 4 11020 Wire 0 0 0 0 0 0 Part I, Line 2: Grant recipients are required to submit a written report detailing how the grant funds were used. The reports are reviewed by Acton staff to verify proper use. Some grants relate to Acton sponsored events and can be verified internally. Grant funds may be revoked for use outside of grant purpose. Part I, line 3: Expenditures are accounted for using the accrual method of accounting. Part III Accounting Method: X X X X X 1 Optimize Consulting PO Box 660121 Austin TX 78766 Fundraising Consulting 0 0 23003 -23003 23003 -23003 AK AL AR CO CT FL IL KS KY MA MD ME MI MN MS NV NC ND NH NM OH OK OR PA RI SC TN UT WA VA WI WV Annual Dinner 330432 269782 60650 120684 117356 330432 269782 60650 120684 117356 238040 -177390 Schedule G, Part I, Line 2b, Column (v) The professional fundraising services were consulting in nature, no gross receipts were directly generated from the services provided. 1 Donor's Trust Inc 1800 Diagonal Rd Ste 280 Alexandria VA 22314 522166327 501(c)(3) 149354 0 Organization support Better Way Detroit 1452 Hawthorne Dr Grosse Pointe Woods MI 48236 844915322 501(c)(3) 50000 0 Organization support Sacred Heart Parish 156 Valley SW Grand Rapids MI 49504 381366944 501(c)(3) 30000 0 Organization support Concordia University Wisconsin 12800 N Lake Shore Dr Mequon WI 53807 390833608 501(c)(3) 7500 0 Organization support Calvin University 3201 Burton SE Grand Rapids MI 49546 383071514 501(c)(3) 6000 0 Organization support 5 0 Novak Award 1 15000 Research, Fellowship 1 4970 Travel Scholarships 1 474 Part I, Line 2: Grant recipients are required to submit a written report detailing how the grant funds were used. The reports are reviewed by Acton staff to verify proper use. Some grants relate to Acton sponsored events and can be verified internally. Grant funds may be revoked for use outside of grant purpose. X 1 1 X X X X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Kris Mauren President 243210 0 20000 0 0 0 4000 0 26274 0 293484 0 0 0 Rev Robert A Sirico President Emeritus 244800 0 25000 0 0 0 4000 0 550 0 274350 0 0 0 Alejandro Chafuen Managing Director of International 160130 0 8000 0 0 0 4000 0 24271 0 196401 0 0 0 Stephen Barrows Chief Operating Officer 158912 0 8000 0 0 0 4000 0 23741 0 194653 0 0 0 Sam Gregg Director of Research 164646 0 8000 0 0 0 4000 0 1001 0 177647 0 0 0 Part I, Line 1a Kris Mauren utilizes the organization's membership with University Club for bona-fide business purposes to conduct offsite meetings with staff and donors. It is policy to have him reimburse the organization for any personal charges that are not considered bona-fide business expenses. This benefit is treated as nontaxable. Part I, Line 7 Non-fixed payments in the form of bonuses were given to the following individuals: Robert Sirico, President Emeritus Kris Mauren, President Michael Miller, Director of Media Alejandro Chafuen, Managing Director of International Eric Kohn, Director of Communications Stephen Barrows, Chief Operating Officer Samuel Gregg, Director of Research Tom Vogt, Director of Finance X 13 523977 Cost 0 0 1 0 Part I, Column (b): The number of contributions represent the number of contributions received, not the number of items donated. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, line 6 The corporation is organized on a membership basis. There are two classes of members: full members and associate members. Only full members are entitled to vote. The full members elect one or more members of the governing body, the Board of Directors. The original members were appointed in the founding documents of incorporation. New members may be added by a two-thirds vote of the full members. The Board of Directors, by unanimous action, may terminate the membership of any member who fails to comply with the bylaws or regulations. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, line 7a Members have the ability to elect or appoint one or more members of the organization's governing body, the Board of Directors. The bylaws grant members the power to fill vacancies or remove existing directors by a majority vote. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 11b The Form 990 is prepared by an independent CPA firm. It is reviewed in detail by the Director of Finance. A draft copy of the Form 990 is electronically provided to the members of the Board of Directors for review prior to filing. In addition, a copy of the Form 990 draft will be available in a secured part of the website. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 12c Officers and board members sign annual conflict of interest statements which are reviewed by the Director of HR and the President. Should any potential conflicts of interest be disclosed, the board member or officer would be asked to refrain from participation in any decision with regard to matters affected by the relationship. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 15 The Board, along with the Compensation Committee, investigates and determines the compensation package for the President and President Emeritus. The President and Human Resources determine the compensation for all other officers. The process includes comparison to similar organizations and salary surveys as well as analysis of responsibilities and performance. The approval process for the President, President Emeritus and all other officers is documented in the minutes. Form 990, Part VI, Section C, line 19 The organization's governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements are made available upon request. Form 990, Part IX, line 11g Contracted services: Program service expenses 522,804. Management and general expenses 6,797. Fundraising expenses 78,345. Total expenses 607,946. Other fees: Program service expenses 95,786. Management and general expenses 8,622. Fundraising expenses 16,271. Total expenses 120,679. Media Production Services: Program service expenses 593,506. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 593,506. Graphics and Design Services: Program service expenses 16,835. Management and general expenses 33. Fundraising expenses 15,042. Total expenses 31,910. Editorial Services: Program service expenses 121,025. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 750. Total expenses 121,775. Honorariums: Program service expenses 138,365. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 138,365. Form 990, Part XI, line 9: Book to tax difference for UBTI reported on Schedule K-1 -329,705.