Commonweal Institute

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The Commonweal Institute is a liberal political policy research and advocacy organization. Its website describes it as "... an alliance of independent thinkers leading conversations in media outlets and social networks about our shared values as Americans and progressive approaches to solving problems."
Located in San Francisco, CA, the Commonweal Institute is a 501(c)(3) organization that was established in 2001.
History and mission
The Commonweal institute was created in 2001 as an alternative to conservative think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute. It was cofounded by retired civil engineer Leonard M. Salle and his wife Katherine Forrest, in response to his dismay at the prominence of conservative views in the 2000 US presidential election.
Directors, staff and fellows
Katherine A. Forrest, President, is one of the co-founders of the Commonweal Institute and currently serves as president of the Board of Directors
* Barry Kendall, Executive Director
* Patrick O'Heffernan and Ian Frederick Finseth are Senior Fellows
* Other fellows include Chris Bowers, Brad Friedman, Kyle Gillette, Joanna Guldi, Dave Johnson, Bill Scher, Mary Ratcliff, Laurie Spivak, Allison Arieff, Nezua Limon, Michelle Mustonen, Brad Reed and Jill Richardson.
Funding
The Commonweal institute is classified as a 501(c)(3) organization under U.S. Internal Revenue Code. The institute receives funding from a variety of sources, including individuals and foundations.
Work
The Progressive Ideas Network
The Commonweal Institute is the fiscal sponsor for the Progressive Ideas Network, a consortium of progressive think tanks. According to Commonweal Institute's website, the purpose of the PIN organization is to be a policy infrastructure that is "an alliance of multi-issue think tanks and activist organizations working together to amplify the power of ideas in advancing today's progressive movement."
Organizations in the Progressive Ideas Network alliance include: the Campaign for America's Future, the Center for Community Change (CCC), the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), the Center on Wisconsin Strategy, Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action, the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, the Economic Policy Institute, Grassroots Policy Project, Green For All, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, the Institute for Policy Studies, the Jamestown Project, New Vision: An Institute for Policy and Progress, the Opportunity Agenda, the Progressive States Network, Redefining Progress, the Roosevelt Institution and the Sightline Institute.
Better Koehler recently published the Progressive Ideas Network's book, Thinking Big, Progressive Ideas for a New Era.
Progressive Roundtable
Commonweal Institute hosts events that convene members of the modern progressive movement, called the Progressive Roundtable.
The March 2006 Progressive Roundtable brought together individuals from progressive organizations and funders to discuss development of progressive infrastructure.
The December 2007 Bay Area Progressive Roundtable included San Francisco Bay area progressive activists and organizations. Rob Stein of Democracy Alliance was the featured speaker.
The 2009 Progressive Roundtable will be held in August in Duluth, Minnesota.
Talking Politics Training
The Talking Politics with People Unlike Ourselves training is a training program to assist people who want to have discussions about politics with conservatives.
Progressive Infrastructure
The Commonweal Institute promotes the concept of developing a Progressive Infrastructure to support the activities of the progressive movement. This involves the development of organizations to support the activities of the progressive movement rather than numerous issue-oriented groups that promote their own interests without tying those interests to core progressive values. This approach is based on analysis of the development of the infrastructure that supports the conservative movement.

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