Transcend Together (formerly the Next Generation Freedom Fund) is a conservative, non-partisan, public policy think tank that advocates for poor and disadvantaged individuals in Utah. ¹ Transcend Together focuses on public policies related to family stability, economic mobility, equal opportunity, and human dignity in an effort to promote prosperity and self-reliance. ²

Transcend Together is an associate member of the State Policy Network, a coalition of free-market state-level policy organizations. ³ While Transcend Together is non-partisan, members of its board have affiliations with the Republican Party.

Activity

Transcend Together (formerly the Next Generation Freedom Fund) is a conservative, non-partisan, public policy think tank that advocates for poor and disadvantaged individuals in Utah. ⁴ Transcend Together focuses on public policies related to family stability, economic mobility, equal opportunity, and human dignity to promote prosperity and self-reliance. ⁵

Transcend Together advocates for struggling families and believes that families should be secure and self-reliant in their finances, housing, and health. ⁶ Transcend Together supports welfare reforms that would shift responsibility from the government to the community and away from entitlements and toward moral obligation. Transcend Together imagines a “marketplace of care,” which would include both public- and private-sector service providers as an inclusive way to efficiently provide services for anyone in need. ⁷

Transcend Together supports workers by advocating for policies that remove barriers to growth and opportunity. Transcend Together supports “returnships” in order to ease individuals back into the workforce, believes that individuals capable of working should not receive unemployment benefits, and supports laws that would expunge certain criminal convictions. ⁸

Transcend Together advocates for public policies that support equal opportunity for people no matter their race, ethnicity, gender, or citizenship. Transcend Together supports sealing criminal records when charges are dismissed, automatically removing individuals from the sex offender registry when qualifications are met, and treating youth who commit crimes proportionally to their age in order to give them a second chance. Transcend Together believes these policies allow individuals to become prosperous and self-reliant. ⁹

Transcend Together claims that impoverished people are treated poorly because of their economic status and advocates for public policies that support human dignity. ¹⁰

Funding

Transcend Together does not disclose its donors. In 2017, Transcend Together claimed total revenue of $58,572¹¹ and filed a form 990-N in tax years 2018 through 2020, claiming total revenue of less than $50,000. ¹²

People

Chair

Paul Mero is the founder and chair of the board of Transcend Together. Mero formerly served as CEO of the Leadership Project for America, president of the Sutherland Institute, and executive vice president of the Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society. Mero formerly worked in the U.S. House of Representatives as press secretary to former U.S. Rep. Bill Dannemeyer (R-CA), as chief of staff to former Congressman Bob Dornan (R-CA), and as a lobbyist. ¹³

Board of Directors

Becky Edwards is a former Republican member of the Utah House of Representatives. ¹⁴

Terry Grant sits on the Utah International Relations and Trade Commission and serves on the boards of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce Executive Roundtable, and the Utah Technology Council. ¹⁵

Derek Miller is the president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber and the former president and CEO of the World Trade Center Utah. Miller served as chief of staff to former Governor Gary Herbert (R), as managing director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, and as legal counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives. ¹⁶

Matthew Piccolo is the president and CEO of Transcend Together. Piccolo formerly worked as a law clerk at the Goldwater Institute, a policy analyst at the Sutherland Institute, a policy intern at the Pacific Research Institute, and a database administrator at the Heritage Foundation. ¹⁷

Stuart Reid is an honorary member of the board. Reid (R) is a former member of the Utah Senate. ¹⁸

William Duncan is an honorary member of the board and the director of the Marriage Law Foundation. Duncan formerly served as the director of the Marriage Law Project. ¹⁹

1. “Home.” Transcend Together, 2021. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://transcendtogether.org/.
2. “Blog: All Areas.” Transcend Together, 2021. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://transcendtogether.org/blog/.
3. “The Network: Utah.” State Policy Network, 2021. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://spn.org/directory/#UT.
4. “Home.” Transcend Together, 2021. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://transcendtogether.org/.
5. “Blog: All Areas.” Transcend Together, 2021. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://transcendtogether.org/blog/.
6. “Family Stability.” Transcend Together, 2021. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://transcendtogether.org/policy-areas/family-stability/.
7. “Reimagining Welfare (Part 2 of 2).” Transcend Together, March 5, 2019. Accessed May 28, 2021.  https://www.utahpoliticohub.com/reimagining-welfare-part-2-of-2/.
8. “Economic Mobility.” Transcend Together, 2021. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://transcendtogether.org/policy-areas/economic-mobility/.
9. “Equal Opportunity.” Transcend Together, 2021. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://transcendtogether.org/policy-areas/equal-opportunity/.
10. “Human Dignity.” Transcend Together, 2021. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://transcendtogether.org/policy-areas/human-dignity/.
11. Next Generation Freedom Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-EZ), 2017, Part I, Line 9.
12. “Transcend Together.” Internal Revenue Service, 2020. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/detailsPage?ein=472341631&name=Transcend%20Together&city=Herriman&state=UT&countryAbbr=US&dba=&type=CHARITIES,%20DETERMINATIONLETTERS,%20EPOSTCARD,%20COPYOFRETURNS&orgTags=CHARITIES&orgTags=DETERMINATIONLETTERS&orgTags=EPOSTCARD&orgTags=COPYOFRETURNS.
13. “Paul Mero.” LinkedIn, 2021. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-mero-1241866/.
14. “Becky Edwards.” Transcend Together, 2021. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://transcendtogether.org/bio-edwards/.
15. “Terry Grant.” Transcend Together, 2021. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://transcendtogether.org/bio-grant/.
16. https://transcendtogether.org/bio-miller/.
17. “Matthew C. Piccolo.” LinkedIn, 2021. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-c-piccolo-63aba677/.
18. “Stuart C. Reid.” Transcend Together, 2021. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://transcendtogether.org/bio-reid/.
19. “William C. Duncan.” Transcend Together, 2021. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://transcendtogether.org/bio-duncan/.