The Liberty Foundation of America (Liberty Foundation) is an organization that advocates for personal liberty and state primacy, especially as it relates to national public policy. The Liberty Foundation works with other like-minded state-level entities to share research, educate the public and lawmakers, and empower elected officials in support of competitive federalism. ¹

The Liberty Foundation is a former associate member of the State Policy Network, a coalition of free-market state-level policy organizations. ²

As of 2023 it was unclear if the Liberty Foundation was still operating, as its website is inactive and its last tax filing was an “e-postcard” from 2019, which reported less than $50,000 in revenue. ³

Activities

The Liberty Foundation of America advocates for competitive federalism, which would rebalance the power of federal and state governments. The Liberty Foundation claims that competitive federalism is not only more faithful to the Constitution but would ultimately provide citizens with the best value in government services by allowing competition between states over a broad range of issues. ⁴

The Liberty Foundation published four issues of The Torch magazine in 2015, featuring articles on collective bargaining, the coal industry, economic and political warnings, and the ineffectiveness of federal government. ⁵

Funding

The Liberty Foundation of America is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and businesses. While the Liberty Foundation does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from the Atlas Economic Research Foundation ($15,000 in 2014), ⁶ the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs ($7,700 in 2017), ⁷ and the William S. and Ann Atherton Foundation ($5,000 in 2016). ⁸

People

Leadership

Matt A. Mayer is a former COO of the Liberty Foundation and is the president of Opportunity Ohio. Mayer is a former columnist at U.S. News & World Report, a former visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a former visiting scholar at the Heritage Foundation, a former Lincoln Fellow at the Claremont Institute, and a former American Marshall Memorial Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Mayer formerly worked as a senior official at the Department of Homeland Security. ^{9 10} Paul Allen is the chair of the board of the Liberty Foundation and the co-founder of Advance Food Company. ¹¹

Board of Directors

Bill Buckner is a former president of the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and the Noble Research Institute. Buckner currently sits on the board of Wilbur-Ellis. ¹²

Michael Carnuccio is the founder and former president of the Liberty Foundation and is currently the president and CEO of E Foundation for Oklahoma. Carnuccio sits on the boards of Operation Homefront and the Fairness Center and is a former president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. ¹³

Trent England is a former vice president of the Liberty Foundation and is the founder and executive director of Save Our States. England is a former executive vice president of both the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs and the Freedom Foundation, a former legal policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, and a former Publius Fellow of the Claremont Institute. ¹⁴

William F. Whitsitt formerly worked as executive vice president for public affairs at Devon Energy Corporation, president of the American Exploration & Production Council, and vice president of worldwide marketing and public affairs at the Oryx Energy Company. ¹⁵

1. “About.” Liberty Foundation of America. Archived from the original March 5, 2016. Accessed July 14, 2023. http://web.archive.org/web/20160305051128/http://libertyfound.org/about.
2. “Directory: Oklahoma.” State Policy Network. Archived from the original February 23, 2017. Accessed July 14, 2023. http://web.archive.org/web/20170223133711/https://spn.org/directory/#OK.
3. “Liberty Foundation of America Inc.” Internal Revenue Service. Accessed July 14, 2023. https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/details/.
4. “Competitive Federalism Project.” Liberty Foundation of America. Archived from the original March 5, 2016. Accessed July 14, 2023. http://web.archive.org/web/20150910131747/http://www.libertyfound.org/competitive-federalism-project.
5. “The Torch Magazine – Past Issues.” Liberty Foundation of America. Archived from the original March 5, 2016. Accessed July 14, 2023. http://web.archive.org/web/20150911221458/http://www.libertyfound.org/the-torch-past-issues.
6.  Atlas Economic Research Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2014, Schedule I, Part II.
7. Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2017, Schedule I, Part II.
8. William S. & Ann Atherton Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2016, Part XV, Line 3.
9. “About Us.” Opportunity Ohio. Accessed July 14, 2023. https://www.opportunityohio.org/about-us/.
10. “Matt A. Mayer.” Heartland Institute. Accessed July 14, 2023. https://heartland.org/about-us/who-we-are/matt-a-mayer/.
11. “Paul Allen.” Oklahoma Hall of Fame. Accessed July 14, 2023. https://www.oklahomahof.com/hof/inductees/allen-paul-2018.
12. “William (Bill) Buckner.” Wilbur-Ellis. Accessed July 14, 2023. https://www.wilburellis.com/leadership/william-bill-buckner/.
13. “Michael C. Carnuccio.” E Foundation For Oklahoma. Accessed July 14, 2023. http://efoundationok.org/person/michael-c-carnuccio.
14. “Trent England.” Save Our States. Accessed August 1, 2023. https://saveourstates.com/about/staff/trent-england
15. “William F. Whitsitt, Ph.D.” Univeristy of Oklahoma. Accessed July 14, 2023. https://www.ou.edu/dam/price/Energy%20Program/files/BillWhitsitt_DevonEnergy_EVP_PA.pdf.