Non-profit

The Pegasus Institute

Tax ID:

81-3358989

Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Website:

pegasuskentucky.org

Location:

Louisville, KY

Formation:

2019

Type:

Non-Profit

Executive Director:

Josh Crawford

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

The Pegasus Institute is a non-partisan, millennial-led public policy think tank that advocates for individual liberty and responsibility, free enterprise, and limited and accountable government. The Institute aims to improve the lives of people in Kentucky by conducting research that support data-driven public policy solutions based on free-market principles. 1

The Pegasus Institute operates Centers for Justice, Academic Excellence, Self-Government, and Economic Advancement.

The Pegasus Institute is an affiliate member of the State Policy Network, a coalition of free-market state-level policy organizations. 2 While the Pegasus Institute is non-partisan, members of its staff and academic advisors have affiliations with the Republican Party.

Activity

The Pegasus Institute’s Center for Justice conducts research and advocates for policy addressing Louisville’s rising homicide rates. In August 2020, the Institute published a paper showing a correlation between an increase in self-initiated policing and a decrease in homicides. 3 Additionally, the Institute advocates for increased funding to the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) in order to hire more police officers nationwide through its Universal Hiring Program (UHP). The Pegasus Institute claims that an increase in police officers reduces crime and cites a 2015 report from the Brennan Center for Justice that found an increase in officers had a “downward effect on crime in the 1990s.” 4

The Pegasus Institute’s Center for Academic Excellence advocates for school choice. In January 2020, the Institute published a joint report with the Reason Foundation in support of publicly funded charter schools in Kentucky. The report claims that access to public charter schools increases academic achievement, improves public safety, reduces teen pregnancies, and may even reduce crime. The report further claims that the city of Louisville could see economic benefits such as saving $13 million annually in public education spending and $6 million in costs associated with crimes, while earning an additional $54 million from additional high school graduates and $138 million as a result of increases in academic achievement. 5

The Pegasus Institute’s Center for Economic Advancement advocates for tax reform in Kentucky. The Institute recommends eliminating the progressive income tax in favor of a flat income tax rate of 3% with a goal of ultimately removing the income tax. Additionally, the Institute recommends that the majority of Kentucky’s tax base should come from consumption taxes, as opposed to production taxes. The Pegasus Institute claims that the current corporate tax structure puts an undue burden on businesses, which prevents entrepreneurship, drives down wages, and ultimately limits opportunities. 6

The Pegasus Institute’s Center for Self-Government advocates for passing an anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) statute in Kentucky to protect freedom of speech against vexatious litigation. 7

Funding

The Pegasus Institute is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. While the Pegasus Institute does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from the Coalition for Public Safety ($57,500 in 2018), 8 Americans for Tax Reform ($15,000 in 2017), 9 and the Nicklies Foundation ($10,000 in 2018). 10

Financials

The Pegasus Institute self-reported $101,385 in contributions, grants, and gifts in 2017 to Guidestar. 11 As of late 2021, the group did not have any copies of tax returns posted at the IRS’s tax-exempt organizations search page. 12

People

Josh Crawford is a co-founder and executive director of the Pegasus Institute. Crawford is a former chair of the Young Republicans Club at Penn State University and a former fellow at the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation. 13

Jordan Harris is a co-founder and former executive director of the Pegasus Institute. Harris is a former fellow at the Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research and the Charles Koch Institute.  14

Erinn Broadus is the deputy director of criminal justice policy at the Pegasus Institute. Broadus formerly worked as an associate at the Pew Charitable Trusts, a policy analyst at the Reason Foundation, and an economic and policy analyst for the State of Florida. 15

John Garen is a senior fellow at the Pegasus Institute and the founding director of the Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise at the University of Kentucky. Garen is a former visiting scholar at the Mercatus Center and serves on the board of scholars at the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions. 16

Abigail Hall is a senior fellow at the Pegasus Institute and a research fellow at the Independent Institute. 17

Anne-Tyler Morgan is a senior fellow at the Pegasus Institute. Morgan formerly worked as a senior policy advisor for the Kentucky House of Representatives, as a deputy commissioner for the Kentucky Department for Medicaid Services, and as a senior advisor to the Secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. 18

Gary Houchens is a senior fellow at the Pegasus Institute and serves on the board of EdChoice Kentucky (not to be confused with EdChoice). 19

Academic Advisors

Harvey Mansfield is a professor of government at Harvard University and a former senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. 20

Edwin Meese served as the seventy-fifth U.S. attorney general. Meese is a distinguished fellow and holds the Ronald Reagan Chair in Public Policy at the Heritage Foundation and is a former distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution. 21

John Sivolella is a senior fellow in law and policy at the Pioneer Institute. Sivolella is a member of the Massachusetts State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and formerly served on the “Better Government” transition team for Governor Charlie Baker (R-MA). 22

References

  1. “Our Vision.” Pegasus Institute, 2019. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://www.pegasuskentucky.org/.
  2. “The Network: Kentucky.” State Policy Network, 2021. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://spn.org/directory/#KY.
  3. Crawford, Josh and Block, Dr. Corrie. “New Analysis Shows that Increases in SelfInitiated Police Activity Reduce Homicides.” Pegasus Institute, August 2020. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://923c91f5-6c37-4af9-ac8a-aca1b179cc9c.filesusr.com/ugd/45f2de_87e36d5673ef4ff88100194d5d015394.pdf.
  4. Crawford, Josh. “The Case for COPS 3.0.” Pegasus Institute, March 2020. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://923c91f5-6c37-4af9-ac8a-aca1b179cc9c.filesusr.com/ugd/45f2de_527ac26577b844ba9a528575b2a529f8.pdf.
  5. DeAngelis, Corey A., Ph.D. “Economic Impacts of School Choice in Kentucky.” Pegasus Institute, January 2020. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://923c91f5-6c37-4af9-ac8a-aca1b179cc9c.filesusr.com/ugd/45f2de_d847380cd2ef4d04984a87159df20e4f.pdf
  6. [1] Harris, Jordan. “Two Bold Plans for Tax Reform.” Pegasus Institute. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://923c91f5-6c37-4af9-ac8a-aca1b179cc9c.filesusr.com/ugd/45f2de_637ecc06dcce4546881d0efc6e4f4eea.pdf.
  7. “Anti-SLAPP Legislation and the 1st Amendment.” Pegasus Institute, September 2020. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://923c91f5-6c37-4af9-ac8a-aca1b179cc9c.filesusr.com/ugd/45f2de_6e837af449c74f81af0b059970fe3b24.pdf.
  8. Coalition for Public Safety, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2018, Schedule I, Part II.
  9. Americans for Tax Reform, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2017, Schedule I, Part II.
  10. Nicklies Foundation inc, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2018, Part XV, Line 3a.
  11. [1] “Pegasus Institute Inc.” Guidestar, 2021. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/81-3358989.
  12. IRS Tax-Exempt Organization Search, Pegasus Institute Inc. (EIN 81-3358989), queries conducted December 1, 2021 https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/detailsPage?ein=813358989&name=Pegasus%20Institute%20Inc.&city=Louisville&state=KY&countryAbbr=US&dba=&type=CHARITIES,%20DETERMINATIONLETTERS,%20REVOCATION&orgTags=CHARITIES&orgTags=DETERMINATIONLETTERS&orgTags=REVOCATION
  13. [1] Loftus, Tom. “Millennials create conservative KY think tank.” Courier Journal, November 28, 2016. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/ky-general-assembly/2016/11/28/millennials-create-conservative-ky-think-tank/94290984/.
  14. [1] Loftus, Tom. “Millennials create conservative KY think tank.” Courier Journal, November 28, 2016. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/ky-general-assembly/2016/11/28/millennials-create-conservative-ky-think-tank/94290984/.
  15. “Erinn Broadus.” LinkedIn, 2021. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinnbroadus/.
  16. “John Garen PhD.” University of Kentucky, 2021. Accessed November 19, 2021. http://gatton.uky.edu/faculty-research/faculty/garen-john.
  17. “Abigail R. Hall Blanco.” Independent Institute, 2021. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://www.independent.org/aboutus/person_detail.asp?id=1641.
  18. “Anne-Tyler Morgan.” McBrayer, 2021. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://www.mcbrayerfirm.com/professionals-Anne-Tyler-Morgan.html.
  19. “Gary Houchens.” LinkedIn, 2021. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-houchens-9356a87/.
  20. “Harvey C. Mansfield.” Hoover Institution, 2021. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://www.hoover.org/profiles/harvey-c-mansfield.
  21. “Edwin Meese III.” Hoover Institution, 2021. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://www.hoover.org/profiles/edwin-meese-iii.
  22. “John Sivolella.” Pioneer Institute, 2021. Accessed November 19, 2021. https://pioneerinstitute.org/john-sivolella/.
  See an error? Let us know!

Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: September - August
  • Tax Exemption Received: September 1, 2019

  • Available Filings

    No filings available.