Pro-Trump Climate Denial Group Lays Off Staff Amid Financial Woes, Ex-Employees Say
Alexander C. Kaufman March 7, 2020
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Heartland Institute's finances appear to have gone up in smoke. (Photo: J.D. Pooley via Getty Images)More
An influential climate-denial think tank bankrolled by President Donald Trump’s far-right billionaire donors has laid off nearly a dozen staffers amid financial troubles, according to three former employees.
The Illinois-based Heartland Institute ― which captured headlines last month for promoting a German teenager with ties to neo-Nazis as the climate denier’s alternative to acclaimed youth activist Greta Thunberg ― pink-slipped at least 10 staffers Friday, shedding what one former employee described as “more than half” the organization’s staff.
“Heartland is broke,” Nikki Comerford, the nonprofit’s events coordinator on staff for nearly 21 years, told a former colleague in a text message, a screenshot of which HuffPost reviewed.
Comerford blamed Frank Lasée, the former Wisconsin Republican state lawmaker who took over as Heartland’s president last July, for squandering the organization’s budget during his nascent tenure and leaving the group in dire financial straits. Another former employee accused Lasée of mismanaging the budget, and private Facebook posts from other current staffers expressed dismay over the state of the organization, but HuffPost could not independently verify the state of Heartland’s finances because the nonprofit’s tax filings for 2019 are not yet due.
“Frank Lasee spent all of our money in six months including the savings,” she wrote in a text. “They had to lay off more than half the staff today and more coming. What an asshole.”
Lasée did not respond to an email requesting comment on Friday night, but HuffPost confirmed the details with two former employees who left Heartland between 2016 and 2017 but maintained ties to the organization.
The nonprofit long suffered from “a lack of long-term financial planning,” another former staffer told HuffPost.
“When I was employed at Heartland, that organization was always barely making payroll,” the ex-staffer, who requested anonymity for fear of alienating former co-workers, said by phone Friday evening.
The Heartland Institute once towered as one of the most active nodes in the climate misinformation network that oil, gas and coal interests built to obscure the threat greenhouse gas emissions posed to life on Earth.
By the late 2000s, pressure grew on companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp., Heartland’s benefactor since 1998, to cut ties. In 2006, the oil behemoth did so as it sought to distance itself from outright denialism in the face of mounting evidence that climate change was not only real but occurring faster than scientists initially predicted.
Heartland President Frank Lasée is a former Republican member of the Wisconsin state Senate. (Photo: Douglas Graham via Getty Images)More
Billionaire ideologues stepped in to fill the void. In 2008, hedge funder Robert Mercer and his daughter, Rebekah Mercer, started donating to Heartland through their family foundation, which has also funded the right-wing website Breitbart News and other fringe organizations.
In 2016, as the Mercers pumped money into Trump’s presidential campaign, the secretive conservative megadonors increased grants to the Heartland Institute, giving $800,000, up from $100,000 the previous year. In 2017, the most recent year for which the Mercer Family Foundation’s tax filings are available, the family gave Heartland another $800,000.
Heartland received $5.8 million in 2018, according to its latest tax filing, and at least $3 million of that came from the Donors Trust, the nonprofit once described as “the dark-money ATM of the conservative movement.” Between two-thirds and three-quarters of Heartland’s budget is now directed at climate misinformation programs, James Taylor, the head of Heartland’s climate efforts, said to undercover reporters from the German news site Collectiv last December.
But 2017 marked what appeared to be a zenith for Heartland. Fundraising that year nearly hit $6 million. After more than a decade on the fringes of power, cultivating influence with Republican lawmakers and aggressively promoting its contrarian and easily debunked takes on climate science, the group saw its influence in Washington blossom as Trump appointed pro-fossil fuel hardliners to his administration.
When, in late 2017, then-Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt began planning a sort of mock trial on climate science, pitting credible researchers against industry-backed rogues, Heartland submitted a list of 145 names of contrarian scientists to consider.
A HuffPost investigation found that the list included a child sex offender: Oliver Manuel, a nuclear chemist whose crank theories about the sun alienated even the most ardent climate deniers, and who was convicted of attempted sodomy of an 11-year-old girl. In a response to the exposé, EPA distanced itself from Heartland. Five days after the story was published, Heartland, which is known to attempt to publicly discredit journalists and critics, disputed the nature of the list in a statement calling HuffPost “shameful and even disgusting.”
Naomi Seibt, a 19-year-old climate change skeptic and self-proclaimed climate realist, speaks during a workshop last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference 2020. (Photo: Samuel Corum via Getty Images) LIKE HER PARENTS SHE IS AN ACTIVIST IN THE RIGHT WING GERMAN NATIONALIST PARTY AfD
Heartland’s woes continued to mount. Months later, HuffPost published another investigation detailing how a top fundraiser in the group’s leadership circle stepped in to defend the organization’s former marketing director, Eugene Koprowski, against criminal charges stemming from his alleged stalking and harassment of a female underling half his age. Heartland again responded by accusing HuffPost of attempting to “smear” the organization. Legal proceedings appear to still be ongoing, and Koprowski split with his lawyer, Heartland fundraiser Joseph Morris, earlier this year, according to a court document HuffPost obtained.
Since then, Heartland saw its influence wane, particularly after Pruitt resigned from the EPA over a mountain of corruption accusations and his replacement, Andrew Wheeler, attempted a less provocative approach to the administration’s deregulatory agenda.
Last month, Heartland made a bid for a comeback. The group announced that it hired Naomi Seibt, a 19-year-old German who makes YouTube videos railing against what she calls the “alarmism” of millions of youth climate activists. Heartland cast Seibt as the climate-skeptic right’s answer to Greta Thunberg, the Swedish 17-year-old whose demands for radical action to halt planet-heating emissions captured the world’s attention and won her the title of 2019’s Time Person of the Year.
“The events surrounding Koprowski put a real damper on Heartland’s momentum in 2017,” a second former employee said by phone. “Naomi Seibt was meant to be a way for Heartland to reappear on the map.”
But Seibt, too, became a lightning rod for controversy. Her mother, Karoline Seibt, is an attorney who works with Alternative für Deutschland, Germany’s far-right nationalist party with ties to neo-Nazis. In 2018, the mother was pictured partying with Milo Yiannopoulos, the far-right former star columnist at Breitbart who, according to BuzzFeed News, pushed white nationalist ideology into mainstream U.S. politics.
Following a terrorist attack on a synagogue in Germany last year, Naomi Seibt said in a YouTube discussion that Jews were considered “at the top” of groups perceived as oppressed, while “ordinary Germans” were “at the bottom,” The Guardian reported. Muslims, she said, landed somewhere in between. Making her American debut at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland last week, Seibt declared herself “a fan, absolutely” of white nationalist YouTuber Stefan Molyneux and defended his past remarks pining for an all-white country.
That Heartland has struggled to raise money is a “predictable dilemma” at a time when the Trump administration continues gutting environmental safeguards, said Kert Davies, director of the Climate Investigations Center, a nonprofit watchdog group that tracks denialist organizations.
“It’s not surprising that they’ve had a hard time raising money and anxiously trying to find relevance in this era when their side is already winning more out of Trump,” Davies said. “The world can do without the Heartland Institute, for sure.”
Related...
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The Mercers, Trump’s Billionaire Megadonors, Ramp Up Climate Change Denial Funding
'Anti-Greta' Activist Naomi Seibt Praises White Nationalist At CPAC
Since then, Heartland saw its influence wane, particularly after Pruitt resigned from the EPA over a mountain of corruption accusations and his replacement, Andrew Wheeler, attempted a less provocative approach to the administration’s deregulatory agenda.
Last month, Heartland made a bid for a comeback. The group announced that it hired Naomi Seibt, a 19-year-old German who makes YouTube videos railing against what she calls the “alarmism” of millions of youth climate activists. Heartland cast Seibt as the climate-skeptic right’s answer to Greta Thunberg, the Swedish 17-year-old whose demands for radical action to halt planet-heating emissions captured the world’s attention and won her the title of 2019’s Time Person of the Year.
“The events surrounding Koprowski put a real damper on Heartland’s momentum in 2017,” a second former employee said by phone. “Naomi Seibt was meant to be a way for Heartland to reappear on the map.”
But Seibt, too, became a lightning rod for controversy. Her mother, Karoline Seibt, is an attorney who works with Alternative für Deutschland, Germany’s far-right nationalist party with ties to neo-Nazis. In 2018, the mother was pictured partying with Milo Yiannopoulos, the far-right former star columnist at Breitbart who, according to BuzzFeed News, pushed white nationalist ideology into mainstream U.S. politics.
Following a terrorist attack on a synagogue in Germany last year, Naomi Seibt said in a YouTube discussion that Jews were considered “at the top” of groups perceived as oppressed, while “ordinary Germans” were “at the bottom,” The Guardian reported. Muslims, she said, landed somewhere in between. Making her American debut at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland last week, Seibt declared herself “a fan, absolutely” of white nationalist YouTuber Stefan Molyneux and defended his past remarks pining for an all-white country.
That Heartland has struggled to raise money is a “predictable dilemma” at a time when the Trump administration continues gutting environmental safeguards, said Kert Davies, director of the Climate Investigations Center, a nonprofit watchdog group that tracks denialist organizations.
“It’s not surprising that they’ve had a hard time raising money and anxiously trying to find relevance in this era when their side is already winning more out of Trump,” Davies said. “The world can do without the Heartland Institute, for sure.”
Related...
Climate Denial Group Protected Former Executive Charged With Stalking Colleague, Ex-Staffers Say
The Mercers, Trump’s Billionaire Megadonors, Ramp Up Climate Change Denial Funding
'Anti-Greta' Activist Naomi Seibt Praises White Nationalist At CPAC
3939 N WILKE RD, ARLINGTON HTS, IL 60004-1275 | TAX-EXEMPT SINCE DEC. 1984
EIN: 36-3309812
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Government and Public Administration (Public, Society Benefit — Multipurpose and Other)
Nonprofit Tax Code Designation: 501(c)(3)
Defined as: Organizations for any of the following purposes: religious, educational, charitable, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition (as long as it doesn’t provide athletic facilities or equipment), or the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.
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FISCAL YEAR ENDING DEC.
2018
PDF990
Form 990 documents available
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FISCAL YEAR ENDING DEC.
2017
PDF 990
Total Revenue
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Total Functional Expenses$5,471,048
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Investment income $461 0.0%
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Royalties $0
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Other revenue $0
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EIN: 36-3309812
Classification (NTEE)
Government and Public Administration (Public, Society Benefit — Multipurpose and Other)
Nonprofit Tax Code Designation: 501(c)(3)
Defined as: Organizations for any of the following purposes: religious, educational, charitable, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition (as long as it doesn’t provide athletic facilities or equipment), or the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.
Donations to this organization are tax deductible.
More Resources:
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Tax Filings by Year
The IRS Form 990 is an annual information return that most organizations claiming federal tax-exempt status must file yearly. Read the IRS instructions for 990 forms.
If this organization has filed an amended return, it may not be reflected in the data below. Duplicated download links may be due to resubmissions or amendments to an organization's original return.
If you would like to download Form 990 document PDFs in bulk, the Internet Archive operates a mirror of the original bulk data.
FISCAL YEAR ENDING DEC.
2018
PDF990
Form 990 documents available
Extracted filing data is not available for this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.
Help Keep Nonprofit Explorer Free!
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FISCAL YEAR ENDING DEC.
2017
PDF 990
Total Revenue
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Bond proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental property income $0
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Net inventory sales $0
Other revenue $0
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Professional fundraising fees $0
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Notable sources of revenue Percent of total revenue
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Net inventory sales $0
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Professional fundraising fees $0
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PDF990990-T
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Contributions $5,350,800 97.6%
Program services $47,978 0.9%
Investment income $1,288 0.0%
Bond proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental property income $0
Net fundraising $74,151 1.4%
Sales of assets $0
Net inventory sales $0
Other revenue $6,439 0.1%
Notable expenses Percent of total expenses
Executive compensation $0
Professional fundraising fees $0
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Other
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Investment income $2,360 0.1%
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Royalties $0
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Investment income $947 0.0%
Bond proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental property income $0
Net fundraising -$221,981
Sales of assets $0
Net inventory sales $0
Other revenue $0
Notable expenses Percent of total expenses
Executive compensation $0
Professional fundraising fees $0
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Other
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Net Assets $2,433,306
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PDF990990-T
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Program services $41,367 0.9%
Investment income $2,932 0.1%
Bond proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental property income $0
Net fundraising -$69,088
Sales of assets $0
Net inventory sales $0
Other revenue $2,650 0.1%
Notable expenses Percent of total expenses
Executive compensation $0
Professional fundraising fees $0
Other salaries and wages $1,406,420 31.8%
Other
Total Assets $697,671
Total Liabilities $609,435
Net Assets $88,236
FISCAL YEAR ENDING DEC.
2012
PDF990990-T
Total Revenue
$5,329,115
Total Functional Expenses$5,444,312
Net income-$115,197Notable sources of revenue Percent of total revenue
Contributions $5,202,679 97.6%
Program services $70,245 1.3%
Investment income $6,997 0.1%
Bond proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental property income $0
Net fundraising $46,694 0.9%
Sales of assets $0
Net inventory sales $0
Other revenue $2,500 0.0%
Notable expenses Percent of total expenses
Executive compensation $0
Professional fundraising fees $0
Other salaries and wages $1,870,038 34.3%
Other
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Total Liabilities $755,290
Net Assets -$272,719
FISCAL YEAR ENDING DEC.
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PDF990990-T
Total Revenue
$4,573,631
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Investment income $1,681 0.0%
Bond proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental property income $0
Net fundraising -$39,597
Sales of assets -$11,555
Net inventory sales $0
Other revenue $8,116 0.2%
Notable expenses Percent of total expenses
Executive compensation $0
Professional fundraising fees $0
Other salaries and wages $1,766,976 33.9%
Other
Total Assets $330,493
Total Liabilities $488,015
Net Assets -$157,522
Contributions $4,570,630 Over 100%
Program services $54,561 1.2%
Investment income $2,360 0.1%
Bond proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental property income $0
Net fundraising -$224,173
Sales of assets -$14,340
Net inventory sales $0
Other revenue $9,137 0.2%
Notable expenses Percent of total expenses
Executive compensation $0
Professional fundraising fees $0
Other salaries and wages $1,637,912 28.4%
Other
Total Assets $1,799,732
Total Liabilities $738,617
Net Assets $1,061,115
FISCAL YEAR ENDING DEC.
2014
PDF990
Total Revenue
$6,738,428
Total Functional Expenses$4,393,358
Net income$2,345,070Notable sources of revenue Percent of total revenue
Contributions $6,890,995 Over 100%
Program services $68,467 1.0%
Investment income $947 0.0%
Bond proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental property income $0
Net fundraising -$221,981
Sales of assets $0
Net inventory sales $0
Other revenue $0
Notable expenses Percent of total expenses
Executive compensation $0
Professional fundraising fees $0
Other salaries and wages $1,297,070 29.5%
Other
Total Assets $2,985,124
Total Liabilities $551,818
Net Assets $2,433,306
FISCAL YEAR ENDING DEC.
2013
PDF990990-T
Total Revenue
$4,783,310
Total Functional Expenses$4,422,355
Net income$360,955Notable sources of revenue Percent of total revenue
Contributions $4,805,449 Over 100%
Program services $41,367 0.9%
Investment income $2,932 0.1%
Bond proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental property income $0
Net fundraising -$69,088
Sales of assets $0
Net inventory sales $0
Other revenue $2,650 0.1%
Notable expenses Percent of total expenses
Executive compensation $0
Professional fundraising fees $0
Other salaries and wages $1,406,420 31.8%
Other
Total Assets $697,671
Total Liabilities $609,435
Net Assets $88,236
FISCAL YEAR ENDING DEC.
2012
PDF990990-T
Total Revenue
$5,329,115
Total Functional Expenses$5,444,312
Net income-$115,197Notable sources of revenue Percent of total revenue
Contributions $5,202,679 97.6%
Program services $70,245 1.3%
Investment income $6,997 0.1%
Bond proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental property income $0
Net fundraising $46,694 0.9%
Sales of assets $0
Net inventory sales $0
Other revenue $2,500 0.0%
Notable expenses Percent of total expenses
Executive compensation $0
Professional fundraising fees $0
Other salaries and wages $1,870,038 34.3%
Other
Total Assets $482,571
Total Liabilities $755,290
Net Assets -$272,719
FISCAL YEAR ENDING DEC.
2011
PDF990990-T
Total Revenue
$4,573,631
Total Functional Expenses$5,204,877
Net income-$631,246Notable sources of revenue Percent of total revenue
Contributions $4,524,164 98.9%
Program services $90,822 2.0%
Investment income $1,681 0.0%
Bond proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental property income $0
Net fundraising -$39,597
Sales of assets -$11,555
Net inventory sales $0
Other revenue $8,116 0.2%
Notable expenses Percent of total expenses
Executive compensation $0
Professional fundraising fees $0
Other salaries and wages $1,766,976 33.9%
Other
Total Assets $330,493
Total Liabilities $488,015
Net Assets -$157,522
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