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The Heritage Foundation (Opinion)

U.S. right (conservative think tank)

Owned byNot owned by a company or individual. It is an independent nonprofit (a 501(c)(3) think tank) based in Washington, D.C. A board of trustees governs it, and Kevin Roberts has been president since 2021. Its separate advocacy arm, Heritage Action for America, is a 501(c)(4).
FundingMainly tax-deductible donations from individuals, foundations and corporations, plus membership and some event and publication income. It does not take government funding. It has historically relied on large conservative donors and foundations. The mix of donors varies from year to year, and not every donor is publicly identified.
On the administrationbroadly supportive

Background

The Heritage Foundation was founded in 1973 in Washington, D.C. and became one of the most influential conservative policy institutions in the U.S. It was prominent in the Reagan administration, which drew heavily on its policy blueprint "Mandate for Leadership." It has since published several editions of that blueprint. Its commentary and research favor limited government, lower taxes, deregulation, a strong military, traditional social positions and, more recently, a more populist, nationalist approach. Kevin Roberts became president in 2021, and under him the group moved closer to the "America First" wing of the Republican Party. It led Project 2025, a 2023 transition plan for a conservative president that became a political flashpoint during the 2024 campaign. Trump publicly distanced himself from it then, and its director stepped down in July 2024. Since Trump's return to office in January 2025, Heritage has described its role as "institutionalizing Trumpism." It has said that about 53 percent of Project 2025's roughly 1,900 recommendations have been implemented. In late 2025, Roberts defended Tucker Carlson's friendly interview with Nick Fuentes, which led to heavy criticism from other conservatives. Several senior staff, scholars and board members then left, including a number who joined a Mike Pence-led organization. Roberts later told staff he had made a mistake. Heritage's opinion output is openly conservative advocacy, so it is best read as a partisan-aligned policy perspective, not as neutral reporting.

Sources

  1. Project 2025 (Wikipedia)
  2. Kevin Roberts (political strategist) (Wikipedia)
  3. Over Half of Project 2025 Now in Place, Heritage Foundation Says (Bloomberg Law)
  4. Top Heritage Foundation staffer departs after Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes controversy (The Hill)
  5. 2 additional Heritage Foundation board members leave amid Carlson-Fuentes fallout (The Hill)
  6. Heritage Foundation and Mike Pence (NPR)

Profile compiled 2026-10-31; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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