About Us

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The Heartland Institute is one of the world’s leading free-market think tanks. It is a national nonprofit research and education organization based in Schaumburg, Illinois. Its mission since its founding in 1984 is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems.

We are an “action tank” as well as a “think tank,” and we measure our success by the impact we have in the real world. The Heartland Institute plays an essential role in the national (and increasingly in the international) movement for personal liberty and limited government. We are the pipeline between the freedom movement’s leading writers and thinkers and the nation’s 7,000-plus national and state elected officials.

Who We Are

A staff of 22 works with a seven-member Board of Directors, some 2,000 donors, some 500 academics and professional economists who serve as Policy Advisors, and several senior fellows.

In December 2024, The Heartland Institute launched Heartland UK/Europe with Director Lois Perry to fight for free markets and against socialist plans like “Net Zero” energy policies across the Atlantic. Visit the Heartland UK/Europe website to follow their work.

What We Do

We focus on issues in education, environmental protection, health care, budgets and taxes, and Stopping Socialism. In partnership with the Goodman Institute, Heartland publishes Health Care News, a public policy newspaper printed and distributed physically and digitally to every state legislator in the United States, plus thought leaders and policymakers at the state and federal levels. We also produce books, policy studies, booklets, podcasts, and videos.

The Heartland Institute also publishes special websites on climate and energy policy: ClimateRealism.com, ClimateAtAGlance.com, and EnergyAtAGlance.com.

In the first three quarters of 2025, Heartland spokespersons appeared in print, online, or on broadcast media more than 11,000 times. Heartland has also generated more than 12 million views on our videos on all platforms through October 2025. Our several Facebook pages also have nearly a half million fans and registered more than 18 million impressions so far.

Heartland has hosted 15 International Conferences on Climate Change and two America First Energy Conferences since 2008 attended by more than 5,500 people. 

History of The Heartland Institute

The Heartland Institute was founded in Chicago in 1984 by David H. Padden (1927 – 2011) and Joseph L. Bast. Padden served as chairman and CEO for the organization’s first ten years and then as a member of the Board of Directors until his passing in 2011. Bast served as executive director during those first ten years and then as president and CEO until his retirement in 2018. James Taylor has been President since 2020.

The first video, below, was created in 2009 to celebrate Heartland’s 25th anniversary, and the second video, also below, captures a presentation in 2016 by Joseph Bast on the organization’s founding, mission, and programs.

Heartland Liberty Prize

The Heartland Liberty Prize is an award given to persons who have made outstanding contributions to the cause of freedom and deserve recognition. The prize dates back to 1994, when it was given to Walter Williams and John Stossel at The Heartland Institute’s tenth anniversary benefit dinner.

Since then, 25 individuals have received the award, among them Nobel Laureate Gary Becker, Cato Institute president Ed Crane, economist Richard Epstein, civil rights leader Lee Walker, Acton Institute Founder Fr. Robert Sirico, climate scientist S. Fred Singer, journalist and author M. Stanton Evans, Leadership Institute Founder Morton Blackwell, television host Glenn Beck, journalist James O’Keefe, and civil rights activist Yeonmi Park.

View the award ceremonies in 2024, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2016, 2015, and 2014.

Heartland Liberty Prize Winners