Foundations
Here's a look at documents from U.S. foundations
Featured Stories
Mass. Supreme Judicial Court Hears Arguments on Religious Statues in FFRF Case
MADISON, Wisconsin, May 8 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release on May 6, 2026:
* * *
Mass. Supreme Judicial Court hears arguments on religious statues in FFRF case
More than a dozen Quincy, Mass., residents with diverse religious beliefs asked the state's highest court today to uphold a ruling that blocked the mayor's plan to install two large religious statues at the entrance of the city's new public safety building.
The plaintiffs argue that installing the 10-foot-tall statues -- which depict the Catholic iconography of St. Michael the Archangel and St.
... Show Full Article
MADISON, Wisconsin, May 8 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release on May 6, 2026:
* * *
Mass. Supreme Judicial Court hears arguments on religious statues in FFRF case
More than a dozen Quincy, Mass., residents with diverse religious beliefs asked the state's highest court today to uphold a ruling that blocked the mayor's plan to install two large religious statues at the entrance of the city's new public safety building.
The plaintiffs argue that installing the 10-foot-tall statues -- which depict the Catholic iconography of St. Michael the Archangel and St.Florian -- as the sole adornments on the building's facade would undermine religious pluralism in Quincy and violate the Massachusetts Constitution's longstanding requirement that the government remain neutral in matters of religion. Today's hearing follows an October 2025 ruling by a Norfolk Superior Court judge, which held that the city's planned religious display would likely violate Article 3 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights and temporarily enjoined the city from proceeding with the installation. The city appealed that ruling to the Supreme Judicial Court.
"I am here as an American, and as a Christian," said Conevery Bolton Valencius, a resident of Quincy for more than 20 years and plaintiff in the case. "My faith is at the center of my life. If the government lifts up one religion over others, then no one's faith is safe. All of us deserve the freedom to follow where our faith leads -- or to have no faith at all. Installing statues of saints at the entrance to a prominent government building signals a preference that threatens my religious liberty. I want statues like these at my church, not looming over the doors of our new public safety building."
"I am deeply troubled by the city's plans to install two large Catholic icons on a government building," said Claire Fitzmaurice, a resident of Quincy and a plaintiff. "To me, these statues are clearly religious. The winged figure of St. Michael the Archangel is even depicted stomping on the head of a demon! As an active member of my Unitarian Universalist church, one of my central religious principles is religious pluralism. These 10-foot-tall statues at the entrance to our public safety building violate that principle by literally elevating one faith above all others. This sends a clear signal that those who hold different religious beliefs are second-class citizens in Quincy. No city should send that message -- especially when providing essential services."
Article 3 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights guarantees that "all religious sects and denominations ... shall be equally under the protection of the law; and no subordination of any one sect or denomination to another shall ever be established by law." The Supreme Judicial Court's 1979 ruling in Colo v. Treasurer and Receiver General set forth a careful balancing test to analyze government actions challenged under Article 3. Plaintiffs in this case argue that the planned installation fails this test, and the Superior Court agreed that they were likely to succeed in this argument.
"The Massachusetts Declaration of Rights demands that our government remain neutral in matters of religion," said Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts. "This neutrality is precisely what allows the richly varied beliefs of our clients and others -- including deeply held Christian beliefs -- to flourish in cities like Quincy and across the Commonwealth. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court established the legal test to analyze Article 3 claims nearly 50 years ago, and for good reason, that test remains good law. Under that test, installing these statues as the sole adornment on a government building, especially one intended to provide essential services to all residents, violates our state Constitution."
The plaintiffs in Fitzmaurice v. City of Quincy filed their lawsuit in May 2025 after local media revealed Mayor Thomas P. Koch's plan to install the statues, which had been commissioned in secret nearly a year and a half earlier. The estimated cost to taxpayers is at least $850,000. None of these details had previously been disclosed either to the public or to the full Quincy City Council. Despite significant opposition from constituents -- including an online petition with over 1,600 signatures and a statement from 19 local faith leaders -- the mayor pressed forward with his plan.
In October, the Norfolk Superior Court denied the city's motion to dismiss the lawsuit and issued a preliminary injunction blocking the planned installation. Rejecting arguments that the St. Michael and St. Florian statues are secular, the court held that "the depiction of the statues, their association with one religion, and the various reactions of community members, City Council members and faith leaders demonstrate plaintiffs will likely be able to show that the statues convey to the public observing them the implicit government support for the religious doctrine and adherents of Catholic/Christian faith, and as a result, the subordination of other religions."
The plaintiffs are represented by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and Cloherty & Steinberg LLP.
Find more information about Fitzmaurice et al. v. City of Quincy here (https://www.aclum.org/cases/fitzmaurice-et-al-v-city-quincy/).
* * *
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with over 41,000 members nationwide, including more than 800 members in Massachusetts. FFRF's purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
* * *
Original text here: https://ffrf.org/news/releases/mass-supreme-judicial-court-hears-arguments-on-religious-statues-in-ffrf-case/
[Category: Religion]
Foundation for Government Accountability: Governor Hobbs Blocks Tax Relief for Arizona Workers, Then Walks Away From Negotiations
NAPLES, Florida, May 8 -- The Foundation for Government Accountability posted the following news release:
* * *
Governor Hobbs Blocks Tax Relief for Arizona Workers, Then Walks Away From Negotiations
FGA calls on governor to return to negotiating table, pass needed welfare reform and tax cuts
*
PHOENIX, AZ -- With Arizona's fiscal year set to begin June 30 and no approved budget in place, the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) is calling on Governor Katie Hobbs to return to negotiations and stop blocking tax relief for Arizona workers.
The budget Governor Hobbs vetoed would have
... Show Full Article
NAPLES, Florida, May 8 -- The Foundation for Government Accountability posted the following news release:
* * *
Governor Hobbs Blocks Tax Relief for Arizona Workers, Then Walks Away From Negotiations
FGA calls on governor to return to negotiating table, pass needed welfare reform and tax cuts
*
PHOENIX, AZ -- With Arizona's fiscal year set to begin June 30 and no approved budget in place, the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) is calling on Governor Katie Hobbs to return to negotiations and stop blocking tax relief for Arizona workers.
The budget Governor Hobbs vetoed would haveallowed tipped workers and those earning overtime pay to keep more of the money they earn; strengthened the safety net for the truly needy; and protected taxpayers from fraud, waste, and abuse in the state's welfare programs.
The core reforms in the vetoed budget have overwhelming bipartisan support from Arizona voters, according to recent polling, and would have delivered more than $1.45 billion in tax relief for working families. Despite this, Governor Hobbs vetoed the package and left negotiations entirely.
"Arizonans work hard for their money--they shouldn't have to fight their own governor to keep more of it," said Mimi Greene, State Government Affairs Director for FGA. "The message from Arizona voters was clear: Protect taxpayers, reward work, and make sure government programs serve the people they were designed to help. Governor Hobbs isn't just walking away from lawmakers. She's walking away from Arizona workers who expected action and accountability. It's time to come back to the table."
* * *
The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) is a non-profit think tank that promotes public policy solutions in all 50 states to create opportunities for every American to experience the American Dream. To learn more, visit TheFGA.org.
* * *
Original text here: https://thefga.org/press/governor-hobbs-blocks-tax-relief-for-arizona-workers-then-walks-away-from-negotiations/
FFRF Counters False National Day of Prayer Event Claim That America is a 'Praying Nation'
MADISON, Wisconsin, May 8 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release on May 7, 2026:
* * *
FFRF counters false National Day of Prayer event claim that America is a 'praying nation'
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is criticizing the ignorant and inaccurate comments made today during the National Day of Prayer observance at the U.S. Capitol falsely portraying the United States as a nation based on "God."
During the event, House Speaker Mike Johnson claimed the rights of Americans come from "God Himself," described the Declaration of Independence as "our national
... Show Full Article
MADISON, Wisconsin, May 8 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release on May 7, 2026:
* * *
FFRF counters false National Day of Prayer event claim that America is a 'praying nation'
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is criticizing the ignorant and inaccurate comments made today during the National Day of Prayer observance at the U.S. Capitol falsely portraying the United States as a nation based on "God."
During the event, House Speaker Mike Johnson claimed the rights of Americans come from "God Himself," described the Declaration of Independence as "our nationalstatement of faith" and insisted that "we are a praying nation." Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner similarly declared: "Prayer is very powerful because Almighty God is powerful. That truth has gotten our great nation through mountaintops and valleys for the past 250 years. Our Founding Fathers were men of faith who understood that God is the cornerstone of our republic."
Whether or not the framers of the Constitution were "men of faith" is irrelevant, says FFRF, because they adopted a Constitution deliberately containing no reference to a deity, much less Christianity or Jesus. The only reference to religion in the Constitution's original text is the prohibition on religious tests for public office. The First Amendment further guarantees that government must remain neutral on matters of religion.
FFRF notes that the National Day of Prayer is a Cold War-era relic that Congress adopted in 1952 at the behest of evangelist Bill Graham. Government-sponsored prayer not only violates our core principle of state/church separation but marginalizes the growing number of nonreligious Americans, sending the inappropriate message that true Americans must be religious.
FFRF further rejects the claim that prayer is what carried the nation through its greatest challenges.
"Prayer did not abolish slavery, secure women's rights, defeat segregation or expand civil liberties," FFRF Co-President Dan Barker points out. "Human beings did that through activism, reason, democratic institutions and constitutional protections. Progress has come from people taking action, not from politicians crediting supernatural intervention."
FFRF warns that Christian nationalist revisionism poses a direct threat to both religious freedom and secular democracy.
"We will continue fighting these myths in the courts, in statehouses, in Congress and in the public square," Barker says. "The United States does not belong to one religion, and no amount of Christian nationalist disinformation can change the secular foundation of our Constitution."
FFRF will persistently defend the right of every American -- believer or nonbeliever -- to be free from government-dictated prayer and religion and from any other efforts to turn this country into a "Christian nation."
* * *
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With about 42,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
* * *
Original text here: https://ffrf.org/news/releases/ffrf-counters-false-national-day-of-prayer-event-claim-that-america-is-a-praying-nation/
[Category: Religion]
Victory: After FIRE raised concerns, Sussex County revises unconstitutional public square policy
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, May 7 -- The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression posted the following news release:
* * *
Victory: After FIRE raised concerns, Sussex County revises unconstitutional public square policy
*
After FIRE warned that a New Jersey county's rules for using a historic public square violated the First Amendment, county officials revised the policy, scaling back restrictions that had applied even to small groups engaging in everyday speech.
In December, FIRE explained that Sussex County's sweeping policy -requiring groups of any size to apply for permission to
... Show Full Article
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, May 7 -- The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression posted the following news release:
* * *
Victory: After FIRE raised concerns, Sussex County revises unconstitutional public square policy
*
After FIRE warned that a New Jersey county's rules for using a historic public square violated the First Amendment, county officials revised the policy, scaling back restrictions that had applied even to small groups engaging in everyday speech.
In December, FIRE explained that Sussex County's sweeping policy -requiring groups of any size to apply for permission togather in Newton Green, obtain costly liability insurance, and accept broad financial responsibility for any damage or cleanup costs, even potentially resulting from third parties -was flatly unconstitutional.
The policy didn't just regulate large events either. It reached ordinary expressive activity, from small protests to a few handing out flyers. That's a problem. Public parks and town greens are traditional public forums. The government can impose reasonable rules for large or disruptive events, but it cannot require small groups or individuals to get permission before speaking.
Following FIRE's intervention, the county revised its policy. The new rules make clear that public parks are generally open for expressive activity. And no, you do not need a permit.
The revised policy also limits permit requirements to larger or more disruptive events, such as those involving exclusive use of space, road closures, or gatherings of 50 or more people. It exempts spontaneous demonstrations and requires that any fees, insurance requirements, or conditions be based on objective, content-neutral criteria. In addition, the county agrees to waive permit costs for people who cannot afford them.
FIRE applauds the Sussex County Board of County Commissioners for taking our concerns seriously and adopting a policy that safeguards the First Amendment rights of county residents.
The new policy recognizes a simple but essential principle: free speech is a right, not a government-issued privilege.
***
Original text here: https://www.thefire.org/news/victory-after-fire-raised-concerns-sussex-county-revises-unconstitutional-public-square-policy
Travelers Insurance Faces Second Consecutive Shareholder Vote on Long-Term Viability of Its Homeowners Business Line
OAKLAND, California, May 7 -- As You Sow Foundation posted the following news release:
* * *
Travelers Insurance Faces Second Consecutive Shareholder Vote on Long-Term Viability of Its Homeowners Business Line
Investors seek scenario analysis of climate-related catastrophes on its pricing and coverage decisions
EL CERRITO, CALIFORNIA - For the second consecutive year, shareholders of The Travelers Companies Inc. will vote on a resolution, filed by As You Sow and Trillium Asset Management, asking the company to explain how its aggressive price increases and reduction of geographic coverage
... Show Full Article
OAKLAND, California, May 7 -- As You Sow Foundation posted the following news release:
* * *
Travelers Insurance Faces Second Consecutive Shareholder Vote on Long-Term Viability of Its Homeowners Business Line
Investors seek scenario analysis of climate-related catastrophes on its pricing and coverage decisions
EL CERRITO, CALIFORNIA - For the second consecutive year, shareholders of The Travelers Companies Inc. will vote on a resolution, filed by As You Sow and Trillium Asset Management, asking the company to explain how its aggressive price increases and reduction of geographic coveragein response to growing climate-related damages will affect the sustainability of its homeowners insurance business under a range of climate scenarios.
Travelers has seen its catastrophe losses nearly double from $1.85 billion in 2021 to $3.69 billion in 2025. These numbers follow a nationwide trend, with U.S. insured catastrophe losses hitting $117 billion in 2024 -more than 50% above the ten-year average. Climate impacts show no sign of slowing.
"In light of rising losses, Travelers is raising rates and reducing coverage in vulnerable areas. Investors need to know whether this strategy of repricing and retreat is viable as the climate crisis worsens, or whether it leads to an unsustainably shrinking customer base," said Mary Zuccarello, Senior Associate Climate and Energy, As You Sow.
As insurers raise rates, the financial burden of climate change shifts to policyholders, investors, and taxpayers. Homeowners insurance premiums rose approximately 24% between 2021 and 2024, nearly double the rate of inflation. At the same time, more locations are becoming uninsurable due to rising climate risk, leading to a potentially smaller customer base.
The stakes are material. "Investors need information to assess whether Travelers' business model is durable," said Danielle Fugere, President and Chief Counsel of As You Sow. "Travelers has built a strong near-term financial position by managing climate exposure aggressively. The unresolved question is whether this same approach will be viable in the long-term, under climate scenarios that reflect the dramatically warming climate. This proposal calls for transparency."
* * *
About As You Sow
As You Sow is the nation's leading shareholder representative, with a 30-year track record promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility. Its focus areas include climate change, ocean plastics, toxins in the food system, the Rights of Nature, racial justice, and workplace diversity. Click here to view As You Sow's shareholder resolution tracker.
***
Original text here: https://www.asyousow.org/press-releases/2026/5/7/travelers-insurance-faces-second-consecutive-shareholder-vote-on-long-term-viability-of-its-homeowners-business-linenbsp
OMRF's Teen Leaders raise $10,000 for medical research
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma, May 7 -- The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation posted the following news:
* * *
OMRF's Teen Leaders raise $10,000 for medical research
*
A student-led event raised $10,000 to support disease research at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.
Each year, about 50 students from high schools throughout Oklahoma participate in OMRF's Teen Leaders program. The group meets monthly at OMRF to learn about philanthropic leadership, OMRF and biomedical research. For their capstone project, students typically design a fundraiser for studies in OMRF's labs.
This year's
... Show Full Article
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma, May 7 -- The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation posted the following news:
* * *
OMRF's Teen Leaders raise $10,000 for medical research
*
A student-led event raised $10,000 to support disease research at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.
Each year, about 50 students from high schools throughout Oklahoma participate in OMRF's Teen Leaders program. The group meets monthly at OMRF to learn about philanthropic leadership, OMRF and biomedical research. For their capstone project, students typically design a fundraiser for studies in OMRF's labs.
This year'sgroup chose an '80s-themed trivia night and called the event "Boogie for a Breakthrough." The April 30 event, attended by about 70 people, also included dinner.
"The students decided who to contact and how to solicit sponsorships for the event," said Katherine Jackson, who served as the program chair. "Some asked their dentist or doctor or bank, and in some cases they sought in-kind contributions from local businesses for the raffle auction."
In addition to providing an opportunity to learn and grow, said Jackson, the experience exposed them to a part of the nonprofit world invisible to many. "At a much younger age than most people, they come to understand the importance of medical research, and often they leave as our most vocal supporters," she said.
One example is Aubrey Conley, who is finishing her junior year at Southmoore High School. Conley called her Teen Leaders experience "unforgettable," adding that she made new friends while "learning about teamwork, responsibility and the impact of serving others."
Teen Leaders have already been selected for the 2026-27 school year, but you can learn more about the program for future years at omrf.org/teenleaders.
***
Original text here: https://omrf.org/omrfs-teen-leaders-raise-10000-for-medical-research/
Georgia Public Policy Foundation Urges Clearer Understanding of Charter Schools Amidst Growing Waiting Lists
ATLANTA, Georgia, May 7 -- The Georgia Public Policy Foundation posted the following commentary by Communications Manager Athan Clark:
* * *
Many People Don't Know What a Charter School Is.
Every year, thousands of Georgia parents fill out lottery applications for schools their children may never get to attend. Not because they can't afford it, but because thousands of other Georgia families want the same thing and there simply aren't enough seats.
That school is a public charter school.
And if you're not entirely sure what that means, you're in good company. Charter schools have been at
... Show Full Article
ATLANTA, Georgia, May 7 -- The Georgia Public Policy Foundation posted the following commentary by Communications Manager Athan Clark:
* * *
Many People Don't Know What a Charter School Is.
Every year, thousands of Georgia parents fill out lottery applications for schools their children may never get to attend. Not because they can't afford it, but because thousands of other Georgia families want the same thing and there simply aren't enough seats.
That school is a public charter school.
And if you're not entirely sure what that means, you're in good company. Charter schools have been atthe center of America's education debate for decades, yet most Americans still struggle to explain what one actually is. Charter School Week is a good time to change that.
A public school, by another name
Let's start with the most important and most frequently misunderstood fact: A charter school is a public school. It is funded by taxpayers, free to attend and open to any student within its attendance zone who applies. No entrance exam. No tuition. No religious instruction. No selectivity based on income or ability. If more students apply than there are seats (and in Georgia, there almost always are) admission is determined by lottery.
What makes a charter school different from a traditional public school is not who it serves, but how it operates. Under an agreement -a charter -with either a local school district or the State Charter Schools Commission, the school is granted meaningful freedom: over its curriculum, its schedule, its culture and how it deploys its resources. In exchange for that freedom, it accepts a higher level of accountability than most traditional public schools ever face.
An idea born from frustration, not ideology
Charter schools were not invented by conservatives looking to privatize education. The concept was first proposed in the 1970s by Ray Budde, a teacher and education professor at the University of Massachusetts, whose 1974 paper went largely unnoticed until it was republished in 1988. It was then championed most visibly by Albert Shanker -the longtime president of the American Federation of Teachers, one of the most powerful teachers unions in the country. Shanker's vision was of teacher-led schools, freed from district bureaucracy, that could experiment and innovate in ways the traditional system couldn't. The first charter school law was passed in Minnesota in 1991 under Republican Governor Arne Carlson.
For the first two decades after the first charter schools were created in the early 1990s, charter school expansion was a bipartisan project. Democrats and Republicans alike saw in it the promise of better options for families who had none and accountability for results that the traditional system rarely demanded. That consensus has frayed in recent years under the pressure of political polarization. But the underlying idea that public education is better served by freedom and accountability than by uniformity and protection has not changed.
What the data show
Public support for charter schools is strong, despite a significant knowledge gap about what they actually are. According to the 2025 EdChoice Schooling in America Survey, 58% of the general public support charter schools when asked cold -before they're given any explanation of what a charter school actually is. But when respondents are provided with a clear description, that number jumps to 66%. Among school parents, support rises to 74% once they understand what they're being asked about. The numbers tell a consistent story: Familiarity drives support. The problem is that most Americans are still forming opinions -or staying silent -without a clear picture of what they're actually evaluating.
What is beyond dispute is the demand. While traditional public school enrollment has declined since the pandemic, charter school enrollment has continued to grow, reaching an all-time high of 3.8 million students (6.6% of all students), according to recent data.
Where Georgia stands and where it falls short
Georgia has nearly 100 public charter schools, and roughly 65,000 students depend on them for their education each day. But over 21,000 more are on waiting lists and the pipeline of new schools has slowed to nearly a stop because not enough schools are being authorized.In Georgia, a charter school can be approved one of two ways: by the local school district, or by the State Charter Schools Commission, a separate state-level body.
Local school districts have been deeply resistant to approving anything new. In the past five years, three locally authorized charter campuses did open, but all three were expansions of networks that already existed. None was a new, independent charter organization.
The State Charter Schools Commission, meanwhile, has approved dozens of new schools in the same period. But it is one body covering the entire state, and it was never designed to shoulder the load alone.
Meanwhile, Georgia has watched neighboring states build robust charter sectors while its own has stagnated. Florida now has over 408,000 students enrolled in public charter schools -a state with about 70% more K-12 students than Georgia, yet around six times the charter school enrollment. That gap does not reflect a difference in what Georgia families want. It reflects a difference in what Georgia's system has been willing to give them.
Charter School Week is an invitation to look honestly at a question that Georgia has been slow to answer: If thousands of families are asking for something, filling out applications and entering lotteries and sitting on waiting lists year after year, what is the justification for telling them no?
A charter school is a public school. It belongs to the public. The families on those waiting lists are the public. Georgia's education system should take better steps to accommodate them.
* * *
American Enterprise Institute English Georgia Georgia Department of Education Georgia General Assembly Louisiana Mississippi National Assessment of Educational Progress Progressive Policy Institute Tennessee
***
Original text here: https://www.georgiapolicy.org/news/many-people-dont-know-what-a-charter-school-is/
