The Most Influential Think Tank in America Is Now Using Its Shareholder Authority

The Heritage Foundation is now voting its shares & using them to place proposals on the ballots of corporate America.

We recently told you about the engagement we’re doing at companies like Netflix & Alphabet on behalf of a red state public pension fund. This kind of growth is a huge step in getting closer to our idea of a full-court press when it comes to companies that’ve chosen to step outside the bounds of fiduciary duty and political neutrality. And a short while ago the biggest conservative think tank in the world entered the fray, not just as a think tank producing excellent research but also as a shareholder using its authority to take that message right into the boardrooms of blue-chip American companies.

We’re thrilled to be helping the Heritage Foundation to place shareholder proposals at four companies:

Airbnb

Pushing for the company to resist activist calls for divestment from states such as Israel. Airbnb has previously taken down listings in Israel, and more recently faced calls from external activists to do so since October 7.

CVS

Asking the company to take seriously the risks of selling mifepristone, an abortion drug. Because politicizing your brand is bad for business, but politicizing your brand by selling products that literally work to kill your future customers is worse.

Citi

Pushing the company for answers on its role in surveilling right-of-center clients in collusion with the FBI. Our meeting with IR was such a display of sophistry, we’ll be putting out a separate piece detailing it in the coming weeks.

IBM

Confronting the company over the risks caused by the company’s seeming use of diversity quotas. IBM’s CEO was caught on video making comments about targeting underrepresented minorities in hiring, leading to a lawsuit from the Missouri Attorney General. The SEC recently ruled in our favor on this proposal (more on that later), so this proposal has cleared the last hurdle and will appear on the company’s ballot later this year.

Reckoning

In Heritage’s recent press release announcing the partnership, their chief advancement officer noted that:

“Corporations, banks, and asset managers have abandoned neutrality and common sense, diving into activist politics and betraying those they are obligated to serve… A national reckoning is coming.”

Reckoning’s a good word. The reality is: we won’t be able to truly restore political neutrality without major nonprofits and red states being willing to use their leverage. Heritage isn’t just bringing the their portfolio leverage to the table, but tremendous policy knowledge and expertise when it comes to many of the issues we’re looking to engage on in the future. This is how we win: influence from all sectors combined with the willingness to engage. And it starts with the courage to step in the arena.

Setting the Example

We say this a lot, but this is huge. Heritage is the first big political nonprofit over the wall on corporate engagement, and they’re an excellent example of the willingness it’s going to take to build the push for political neutrality nationwide. Just like Oklahoma’s setting the standard for state pension funds, Heritage is setting the standard for conservative nonprofits. Every conservative and faith-based nonprofit, whether in DC or elsewhere should be using their financial leverage in similar ways. It’s our hope that many will follow Heritage’s example here – and we can’t wait to be a part of that process.

We also want to call out Alliance Defending Freedom for crafting many of these proposals and defending them (with a high success rate) against challenges from the companies. We’ve been around conservative think tank world long enough to know that there are lots of turf wars and silos and people falling all over one another to take credit. But here we see the preeminent conservative think tank working hand in hand with the preeminent Christian litigation firm in America. We need more of that.

It’s been a tremendous pleasure to see this willingness in everyone from red state pensions to major nonprofits to ordinary investors, to push companies to take their fiduciary duty seriously. To all of you, the coalition of the willing, thank you. It’s our pleasure to be building this movement with you.

                                        Jerry Bowyer is President of Bowyer Research.
                         Isaac Willour is a Corporate Relations Analyst at Bowyer Research.