Family recommendation: years to hmerfcah Cooservatfve Union Foundation, working
with Sutherland institute

Staff recommends a $1.250.000 Barder Fund grant to the American Conservative Union Foundation
(ACUF) in Washington. DC. to support the creation of a Family Prosperity initiative with the
Sutherland Institute in Salt Lake City. that will have strong research. analysis. communications,
education. policy. and advocacy capabilities and start a Family Prosperity Index.

ACUF is the 501(c)(3) sister organization to the American Conservative Union. Bradley's support of the
Jeane Kirkpatrick Academic Freedom Award that is annually given at the Conservative Political Action
Conference?s Ronald Reagan Dinner is through ACUF.

Sutherland is titah?s oldest conservative think tank. It espouses free-market solutions to public~policy
challenges. and it has a heavy social-conservative bent. Since last August. its chairman Stan Swim has
also served as its acting chief executive officer. Swim is president of the GFC Foundation, as well, which
is a philanthropic partner of Bradley on family issues.

Last year. Bradley modestly supported Sutherland's work on helping Salt Lake City host the World
Congress of Families IX this coming October.

FPI will be led by a team that includes young
economists Wendy Wareholik and J. Scott Moody. who
is also chief executive of?cer of State Budget Solutions.
Wareholik and Moody are both ACUF senior fellows.
Wareholik was a Bradtey Fellow when earning her 
at George Mason University (GMU). At GMU.
Watcholik studied under Jennifer Roback Morse. who
now runs the Bradley?supported Ruth Institute. Moody
is chief executive officer of State Budget Solutions,
which works well with conservative state think tanks
3; via around the country. They are co-creators of the

. Bradley-supported Tax Foundation?s State Business
wamho?rik Tax Climate Index, now a decade old.

 

With FPI, they want to numerically and reliably measure the dynamic relationship between economic and
social variables to show the impact of public policies on family health and translate that research into
helpful analysis. resources. training. and support that grassroots groups and activists can use to try
reversing the negative consequences of changing family structures.

As part of this effort. modeled on the tested State Business Tax Climate Index. the Family Prosperity
Index wiil set useful benchmark -- ones that more directly label and thus confront
issues underlying challenges to the structure of families. as opposed to the
sometimes-indirect euphemisms that too often allow social scientists to skirt thorn.
It is meant to be a vivid. clearly accessible portrait in numbers of the state of the
family in America.

 

There has not been a truly comprehensively prepared and presented package of
such benchmarks since William J. Bennett?s Index of Leading Cultural Indicators

from 1994-99. Warcholik and Moody are consciously trying to revive the concept.
with updates and improvements.

In consultation with an advisory board. they will compile state~level data on what
are preliminarily at least 29 variables from existing national sources and group
them into six categories that track key dimensions of family health and prosperity.
1994 These variables. as categorized. are listed at the top of the next page. The team