Young America’s Foundation

Young America’s Foundation is an associate member of the State Policy Network, a coalition of free-market state-level policy organizations. ³

History

Young Americans for Freedom was founded in 1960 as a conservative student organization with the help of National Review founder William F. Buckley, Jr. In 1962, Ronald Reagan, at the time a former Screen Actors Guild union president and conservative political activist, joined the YAF National Advisory Board and eventually became YAF’s Honorary National Chairman. ² In 2011, Young America’s Foundation and Young Americans for Freedom merged under the Young America’s Foundation banner. ⁴

University Information Services (UIS) was founded in 1969 at Vanderbilt University and was later renamed Young America’s Foundation in 1971. YAF’s primary goal was to bring conservative speakers to college campuses nationwide. In 1974, YAF began its sponsorship of a nationally syndicated radio program featuring then-Governor Ronald Reagan (R-CA). ²

In 1998, YAF acquired the Reagan Ranch, former President Reagan’s California home. In 2001, the National Journalism Center, a training program for right-leaning aspiring journalists, merged into Young America’s Foundation. ²

Activity

Young America’s Foundation advocates for and files lawsuits in defense of free speech on college campuses throughout the U.S. In 2018, a local YAF chapter filed a federal lawsuit against the University of Florida, claiming that the university enacted a new policy specifically designed to keep conservative speakers off campus. The lawsuit further claimed that the university subjectively designated the school’s YAF chapter as a non-budgeted student organization, preventing it from accessing student fees for speaker honoraria. ⁵

YAF advocates for a strong national defense and in 1995, urged Congress to halt funding to colleges and universities deemed hostile to the armed forces. In 1996, with YAF’s support, the Solomon Amendment (originally called the ROTC Campus Access Act) was enacted. It requires federally funded institutions to fulfill military recruitment requests, including access to campuses and lists containing student information. ⁶

Funding

Young America’s Foundation is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. While YAF does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm notable donations from Greater Horizons ($15 million in 2015), ⁷ the Dayton Foundation Depository ($275,400 in 2018), ⁸ and God’s Gift ($100,000 in 2017). ⁹

People

Leadership

Scott Walker, a Republican politician and the former governor of Wisconsin, is president of Young America’s Foundation. Walker sits on the boards of Students for Life Action, American Federation for Children, and the Center for State-led National Debt Solutions. ¹⁰

Ron Robinson is the former president of YAF. Robinson formerly served as an advisor to the Department of Education during the Reagan administration. Robinson serves as a trustee of the Phillips Foundation and on the boards of Citizens United, the Citizens United Foundation, and the American Conservative Union. Robinson is the vice-president of the Free Speech Defense and Education Fund. ¹¹

Fellows and Staff

Former Vice President Mike Pence is the Ronald Reagan Presidential Scholar at YAF. ¹²

Vic Bernson is a vice president and general counsel at YAF. Bernson is a former vice president and general counsel at Americans for Prosperity and the Americans for Prosperity Foundation. ¹³

Patrick Coyle is a vice president at YAF and the executive director of Young Americans for Freedom. ¹²

Jessica Jensen is a vice president and chief of staff at YAF. Jensen is the former director of public relations for both Accuracy in Media and Accuracy in Academia, and formerly worked for the College Republican National Committee. ¹⁴

Board of Directors

Ronald Pearson is the vice president of the board and former chief of staff to former U.S. Rep. John Ashbrook (R-OH). Pearson formerly worked as the acting deputy director of Voice of America during the Reagan administration. ¹⁵

Frank Donatelli is the secretary and treasurer of the board and chair of the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors. Donatelli served as deputy chairman of the GOP during the 2008 presidential elections and is a former chair of GOPAC. ¹⁶

Kimberly Martin Begg works as general counsel and director of programs at the Ortner Family Foundation and sits on the advisory board of the Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women. ¹⁷

Kenneth Cribb, Jr. is a trustee and counselor to the Federalist Society and a trustee of the Sarah Scaife Foundation. Cribb formerly served as president of the Collegiate Network, the Council for National Policy, and the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Cribb is a former senior fellow of the Heritage Foundation. ¹⁸

Wynton Hall is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution. ¹⁹

Kate Obenshain Keeler sits on the boards of the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute and YAF’s Alumni Board. Keeler formerly sat on the advisory boards of the Steamship Institute and the NRA’s National School Shield. ²⁰

Peter Schweizer is the president of the Government Accountability Institute. ²¹

Thomas L. Phillips is a director emeritus of YAF’s board, chairman emeritus of the National Journalism Center’s board, a member of the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors, and a member of the advisory board of the Claremont Institute. Phillips is a former trustee of the Fund for American Studies and chair of the Institute on Political Journalism. ²²