2025-08-29T10:14:02+00:00 2024-12-31 332621854 CRI Capin Crouse Advisors LLC 345 Massachusetts Ave Suite 300 Indianapolis IN 46204 990 2024-01-01 382926822 Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty ACTO 6164543080 98 E Fulton St 101 Grand Rapids MI 49503 Kris Mauren President 6164543080 2025-08-29 true true Sara Tibbott P01486965 5055022746 2025-08-29 2024 2025-03-06 01:10:19Z Kris Mauren 98 E Fulton St 101 Grand Rapids MI 49503 13416282 false X www.acton.org X 1990 MI The mission of the Acton Institute is to promote a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles. 15 13 41 30 195049 139778 9838879 9550871 410219 471723 1926928 843613 -153136 -65687 12022890 10800520 1543442 1236335 0 0 4581371 4961713 22713 52900 1658620 6529816 5939659 12677342 12190607 -654452 -1390087 28105018 26553120 153880 192749 27951138 26360371 X The mission of the Acton Institute is to promote a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles. false false 4956126 699431 394290 Education: The Programs and Education Department of the Acton Institute equips current and emerging leaders in economics, religion, and business through high-quality educational initiatives. These programs emphasize the moral foundations of a free economy and aim to foster an environment where all individuals have the opportunity to thrive. While open to all, priority is given to applicants with a demonstrated ability to effect change and influence within their institutions, communities, and denominations-both nationally and internationally. The Institute offers a range of educational programs, from intimate seminars to large-scale conferences. Its flagship event, Acton University, is a four-day annual conference that attracts over 800 participants from nearly 90 countries to explore the principles of a free and virtuous society. Many attendees receive financial assistance to help cover expenses such as lodging, meals, registration, and, when needed, travel. Additionally, the Education Department actively builds ecumenical networks of religious leaders, students, educators, and business professionals to broaden the Institute's impact, form strategic partnerships, and stay responsive to the needs of its global audience. 1863757 10189 143850 General Education and Communications: The Institute reaches out to business leaders, policymakers, students, and religious and community leadership groups through lectures, media products, web and social media, and various writings. The Institute hosts a variety of events across the nation to engage our supporters and partners. In 2024, we hosted luncheons and dinners with distinguished Acton lecturers that ranged from 25-100+ participants in Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Pittsburgh. Additionally, we hosted our 34th Annual Dinner which was held in Grand Rapids to promote outreach and to thank supporters for their partnership. The dinner and program festivities included prominent public speakers, Institute supporters and partners from all over the world. Over 500 participated, representing many states and several foreign countries. We host a busy slate of activities and events in our local facility for discussions of a variety of topics related to our work, including our Acton Lecture Series. Acton Institute also operates a bookstore to promote and sell its own publications, in addition to outside publications, related to our mission and program outreach areas. These educational materials were sold, distributed and exhibited at a variety of events throughout the world. Our rich and robust web presence centers on the Acton website (www.acton.org), and includes other Acton sites such as Religion and Liberty Online as well as a great deal of current and historical Acton-produced content. The Institute has a broad and growing presence in social media. This platform has steadily increased the scope and frequency of Acton's outreach to the general public. The Communications Department manages the Acton websites, blog, podcasts, and social media which use leading technology to integrate text, audio, and video content in easily accessible formats and venues to promote Acton's message to web users. It publishes the print and digital editions of the redesigned Religion & Liberty. The Communications Department also connects Acton experts with print and broadcast journalists covering faith and policy issues. Acton's newest documentary film The Hong Konger was released in 2023. It received multiple film festival screenings and awards and continues to bring exposure to the imprisonment of Jimmy Lai and his fight for freedom in Hong Kong. 1817079 469823 550 Research: The Institute's academic investigations are conducted by its Research Department. The work produced at Acton Research includes the disciplines of philosophy, economics, theology, and history, among others, and it includes the contributions of both in-house research fellows, affiliates, and of invited scholars. Additionally, the materials and research produced at the Acton Institute are delivered locally in Grand Rapids as well as at national and international conferences with the goal of reaching the scholarly community at large. The Research Department publishes books, a journal, the Acton Institute's Religion & Liberty magazine, Religion and Liberty Online, monographs, and occasional papers, along with essays at respected and scholarly online outlets. The Research Department with Acton's Marketing and Communications Department produces the weekly Acton Line podcast. The Journal of Markets & Morality is a semi-annual refereed journal that provides a forum for scholars from many disciplines to engage issues concerning the morality of the marketplace. Select primary sources are translated and edited for wider dissemination and use by scholars. Non-Christians have also written articles and books addressing relevant themes of interest to the Acton Institute, such as liberty, religious freedom, and the free economy. The Research Department also manages Acton's academic scholarship programs. Fellowships are awarded to provide financial assistance to promising doctoral candidates, graduate students, and seminarians who are advancing an understanding of the connection between economic liberty and religious values. Free Market Mini-Grants help fund university course development and faculty research in market economics at colleges, universities, and seminaries in the United States and Canada. The Freedom and Prosperity Grant promotes research by scholars internationally into the relationship between freedom and prosperity using the Atlantic Council Freedom and Prosperity Indexes. The Calihan Academic Grants provide financial assistance to scholars and graduate students whose academic work shows outstanding potential to advance understanding in the relationship between theology and the principles of the free and virtuous society. The annual Novak Award recipient is presented with a prize to acknowledge and reward new research on the relationship between religion, economic freedom, and the free and virtuous society. Lastly, the Research Department manages or helps manage a number of programs, including (1) conferences for scholars, graduate students, public intellectuals and leading religious figures, (2) an academic colloquium held annually in Grand Rapids, (3) and the scholarly and programmatic outreach of Acton's Rome office. Internationally, we have held conferences on various topics such as economic liberty, justice, economic history, poverty and development, Catholic social teaching, war and peace, Protestant social thought, Judaism and the economy, property rights, monetary policy, and limited government. 1186539 56892 206 The Center for Social Flourishing focuses the Acton Institute's work-promoting the ideas necessary for a free and virtuous society-on the alleviation of poverty and related social problems in the United States. The Center does this through conferences, research, a partnership network, and film and media, including a new feature-length documentary movie about attempts to address poverty in the United States.The Center's team also operates a related initiative of the Acton Institute: the PovertyCure project, which is an expression of Acton's work on global poverty and development. In 2024, the Center organized four conferences in collaboration with Acton's Programs department, including the biennial PovertyCure global virtual summit, and monthly listening sessions with local Grand Rapids nonprofits. The Center also developed a new website for the Center for Social Flourishing and redesigned the PovertyCure website, which makes the initiative's video curriculum available for streaming from the website. The largest individual project of the Center is the new documentary on poverty in the United States. Directed by Michael Miller, who is also the Center's director, the film explores the flaws of large-scale attempts to solve poverty in the US. In 2024, the team filmed about 50 interviews in various cities around the country. The film is expected to be completed by fall 2025, at which point it will be submitted for film festivals. The Center continues to promote other Acton media products, including the PovertyCure series and the documentary Poverty, Inc. Many churches, schools, and universities have incorporated the PovertyCure series resource into their curriculums. Acton's documentary Poverty, Inc. has earned more than 45 film festival awards to date, including the $100,000 Templeton Freedom Award.The film has screened more than 500 times in 28 countries.Its impact continues, and it streams on multiple platforms. 1186539 56892 206 9823501 true true false false false false false false false true true true false false false false true false false true true true true true true false false true true true false false false false false false false false false false true true false false false false false false false false true X 218 0 true 41 true true true true IT false false false true true false false false false false false X 15 13 false false false false true true false true true false false false true true true true true true true true false false CA CO CT FL AL IL KS KY ME AK MD MA MI MN MS NV NH NM NC OH OK PA RI SC TN UT VA AR WA WV WI X X Tom Vogt 6164543080 98 E Fulton St 101 Grand Rapids MI 49503 David Humphreys Chairman 1.0 X X 0 0 0 Frank Hanna III Vice Chairman 1.0 X X 0 0 0 JC Huizenga Asst. Secretary 1.0 X X 0 0 0 John Hern Secretary 1.0 X X 0 0 0 John Kennedy III Treasurer 1.0 X X 0 0 0 Kris Mauren President 50.0 X X 342282 0 43588 Rev Robert A Sirico President Emeritus 50.0 X X 150000 0 5382 David Bahnsen Director 1.0 X 0 0 0 David Durell Director 1.0 X 0 0 0 Joan Quintana Director 1.0 X 0 0 0 Leslie Graves Director 1.0 X 0 0 0 Maria Montserrat Director 1.0 X 0 0 0 Michael Muraski Director 1.0 X 0 0 0 Nathan Bond Director 1.0 X 0 0 0 Patricia Duthler Director 1.0 X 0 0 0 Tom Vogt Chief Financial Officer 50.0 X 132340 0 35596 Stephen Barrows Chief Operating Officer 50.0 X 184156 0 52461 Alejandro Chafuen Managing Director of International 50.0 X 176288 0 35597 Anthony Bradley Distinguished Research Fellow 50.0 X 149724 0 16544 John Pinheiro Director of Research 50.0 X 131056 0 33754 Kevin Augustyn VP of Development 50.0 X 169007 0 31157 Michael Miller Chief of Strategic Initiatives 50.0 X 167816 0 36883 1602669 0 290962 12 false true false Scionka Inc 428 N Prospect St Colorado Springs CO 80903 Media Production 172613 LiveSpace LLC 4995 Starr Street SE Grand Rapids MI 49546 Live Audio Visual 168863 Iron Light 300 S Riverside Plaza Ste 1625 Chicago IL 60606 Marketing and Promotion 143000 Salesforcecom Inc PO Box 203141 Dallas TX 753203141 Software 112695 4 2702 173650 9374519 252747 9550871 Education 900099 392617 392617 Gen. Education/Communication 900099 76677 76677 Research 900099 550 550 Center for Social Flourishing 900099 206 206 1673 1673 0 0 471723 651906 192849 459057 12000 9800 2200 0 2200 2200 2591785 2400078 191707 0 191707 191707 40600 173650 175660 -135060 -135060 97397 30224 67173 67173 0 0 0 0 0 10800520 538896 195049 515704 X 69331 69331 497708 497708 669296 669296 0 0 945805 691448 58586 195771 300 300 3231147 2362187 200148 668812 145293 106219 9000 30074 339560 248241 21034 70285 299608 219033 18559 62016 687 457 230 44447 4240 40207 52900 52900 1486176 1361797 25573 98806 61998 60190 1808 526437 386526 19950 119961 21085 16183 3155 1747 94466 70659 11801 12006 296867 159236 52726 84905 2180556 2151490 20742 8324 402029 190090 81607 130332 36025 23918 5701 6406 Equipment Rental & Maintenance 214506 175312 23430 15764 Unrelated Business Income Tax 32470 32470 Meals & Entertainment 68548 55525 3870 9153 473362 304115 79697 89550 12190607 9823501 708486 1658620 336043 1580477 4097293 1436738 782440 1465384 317608 275238 0 0 0 0 29735 24336 536906 823464 9688353 3625866 6132661 6062487 5076522 3782686 10795810 11102310 0 0 0 28105018 26553120 108549 170839 21910 0 0 45331 0 153880 192749 X 16143840 17796099 11807298 8564272 27951138 26360371 28105018 26553120 X -1390087 -7831 -192849 X false true true false X 8177879 14007762 11861238 9838879 9550871 53436629 0 0 8177879 14007762 11861238 9838879 9550871 53436629 14653686 38782943 76111 77474 15819 1028077 459057 1656538 346035 483259 810521 645095 3224 2288134 0 0 0 0 0 0 57381301 1934589 0.67588 0.63953 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 579736 80046 24117 635665 567689 37215 25168 579736 705185 -112404 25092 567689 643047 83354 21216 705185 572429 12809 79745 21936 643047 0.0 1.0 0.0 false false 1080000 1080000 6155544 1766065 4389479 2331755 1738747 593008 121054 121054 0 6062487 Closely-held equity interests Financial derivatives Common Stock of Privately Held Corp 5657400 F Fixed Income 5444910 F 11102310 11082067 -7831 442203 40024 474396 10607671 192849 192849 10800520 12672834 442203 40024 482227 12190607 0 0 12190607 Schedule D, Part V, Line 4 Intended uses of endowment funds The intended use for the endowment fund is to support the Novak Award. Schedule D, Part XI, Line 2(d) Other revenues in audited financial statements not in form 990 Cost of goods sold - 30224 Rental expenses - 9800 Schedule D, Part XI, Line 4(b) Other revenues in form 990 not in audited financial statements Taxable income from Forms K-1 not recorded on books - 192849 Schedule D, Part XII, Line 2(d) Other expenses in audited financial statements not in form 990 Cost of goods sold - 30224 Rental expenses - 9800 true Europe (Including Iceland and Greenland) 1 2 Program Services Education 252763 Europe (Including Iceland and Greenland) 0 0 Grantmaking 224873 South America 0 0 Grantmaking 219355 Sub-Saharan Africa 0 0 Grantmaking 91705 South Asia 0 0 Grantmaking 58410 Central America and the Caribbean 0 0 Grantmaking 31290 Middle East and North Africa 0 0 Grantmaking 17724 North America (Canada & Mexico only) 0 0 Grantmaking 16589 East Asia and the Pacific 0 0 Grantmaking 9350 1 2 0 0 1 2 922059 0 922059 Europe (Including Iceland and Greenland) Support for book project and research 39825 Electronic Transfer South America The Acton Institute has established relationships with several international affiliate organizations that share our mission and seek to promote ideas of the Acton Institute. The affiliates are independent organizations that work with Acton to promote the ideas of a free and virtuous society in their own countries and within their own cultural context. Acton provides these affiliates with small grants for conferences, publications, website maintenance, translation, and other activities. 22160 Electronic Transfer South America Support for book project 12500 Electronic Transfer South America Support for conference 10000 Electronic Transfer 4 0 Education and Travel Assistance Europe (Including Iceland and Greenland) 100 183082 Wire Education and Travel Assistance South America 133 174695 Wire Education and Travel Assistance Sub-Saharan Africa 79 91505 Wire Education and Travel Assistance South Asia 32 56910 Wire Education and Travel Assistance Central America and the Caribbean 26 31290 Wire Education and Travel Assistance Middle East and North Africa 11 17724 Wire Education and Travel Assistance North America (Canada & Mexico only) 16 16589 Wire Education and Travel Assistance East Asia and the Pacific 8 9350 Wire false false false false false false Schedule F, Part I, Line 2 Procedures for monitoring use of grant funds Grant recipients are required to submit a written report detailing how the grant funds were used. The reports are reviewed by Acton staff to verify proper use. Some grants relate to Acton sponsored events and can be verified internally. Grant funds may be revoked for use outside of grant purpose. Schedule F, Part I, Line 3 Method used to account for expenditures on org's financial statements CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN-Accrual; EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC-Accrual; EUROPE (INCLUDING ICELAND AND GREENLAND)-Accrual; MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA-Accrual; NORTH AMERICA (CANADA & MEXICO ONLY)-Accrual; SOUTH AMERICA-Accrual; SOUTH ASIA-Accrual; SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA-Accrual Schedule F, Part II, Line 1 Method used to account for expenditures on org's financial statements EUROPE (INCLUDING ICELAND AND GREENLAND)-Accrual; SOUTH AMERICA-Accrual Schedule F, Part III Method used to account for expenditures on org's financial statements CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN -Accrual EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC -Accrual EUROPE (INCLUDING ICELAND AND GREENLAND) -Accrual MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA -Accrual NORTH AMERICA (CANADA & MEXICO ONLY) -Accrual SOUTH AMERICA -Accrual SOUTH ASIA -Accrual SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA -Accrual X X X X X true Optimize Consulting PO Box 660121 Austin TX 78766 Fundraising Consulting false 0 52900 -52900 0 52900 -52900 CA CO CT FL AL IL KS KY ME AK MD MA MI MN MS NV NH NM NC OH OK OR PA RI SC TN UT VA AR WA WV WI Annual Dinner 214250 173650 40600 100260 5250 70150 0 0 214250 173650 40600 100260 5250 70150 175660 -135060 Schedule G, Part I, Line 2b(v) payment of fees or payment of expenses OPTIMIZE CONSULTING-THE PROFESSIONAL FUNDRAISING SERVICES WERE CONSULTING IN NATURE, NO GROSS RECEIPTS WERE DIRECTLY GENERATED FROM THE SERVICES PROVIDED.; true Asbury Theological Seminary 610445823 501(c)(3) 8500 Organizational Support Regent University 541061178 501(c)(3) 8000 Organizational Support The Catholic University of America 530196583 501(c)(3) 6400 Organizational Support iGen Consulting 884333132 6000 Organizational Support 3 1 Research, Fellowship 201 291449 Travel Scholarships 287 206259 Schedule I, Part I, Line 2 Procedures for monitoring use of grant funds. Grant recipients are required to submit a written report detailing how the grant funds were used. The reports are reviewed by Acton staff to verify proper use. Some grants relate to Acton sponsored events and can be verified internally. Grant funds may be revoked for use outside of grant purpose. X true true X X X X false false false false false false false true false Kris Mauren President 335482 0 0 0 6800 0 5000 0 38588 0 385870 0 0 0 Rev Robert A Sirico President Emeritus 150000 0 0 0 0 0 5000 0 382 0 155382 0 0 0 Tom Vogt Chief Financial Officer 132340 0 0 0 0 0 5000 0 30596 0 167936 0 0 0 Stephen Barrows Chief Operating Officer 184156 0 0 0 0 0 5000 0 47461 0 236617 0 0 0 Alejandro Chafuen Managing Director of International 176288 0 0 0 0 0 5000 0 30597 0 211885 0 0 0 Michael Miller Chief of Strategic Initiatives 157816 0 10000 0 0 0 5000 0 31883 0 204699 0 0 0 Kevin Augustyn VP of Development 169007 0 0 0 0 0 5000 0 26157 0 200164 0 0 0 Anthony Bradley Distinguished Research Fellow 149724 0 0 0 0 0 5000 0 11544 0 166268 0 0 0 John Pinheiro Director of Research 131056 0 0 0 0 0 5000 0 28754 0 164810 0 0 0 Schedule J, Part I, Line 1a First-class or charter travel Acton occasionally covers first-class fares on long domestic and international trips for bona-fide business purposes to speak and conduct offsite meetings with staff and donors for Robert Sirico. It is policy to have him reimburse the organization for any personal charges that are not considered bona-fide business expenses. This benefit is treated as nontaxable. Schedule J, Part I, Line 7 Non-fixed payments Non-fixed payments in the form of bonuses were given to the following individuals: Michael Miller, Chief of Strategic Initiatives 1 187000 Opinions of experts 10 65747 Cost 0 false true false Schedule M, Part I Explanations of reporting method for number of contributions The number of contributions represent the number of contributions received, not the number of items donated. Form 990, Part III, Line 4a-4c Description of program services (Expenses $ 1,186,539 including grants of $ 56,892)(Revenue $ 206) The Center for Social Flourishing focuses the Acton Institute's work-promoting the ideas necessary for a free and virtuous society-on the alleviation of poverty and related social problems in the United States. The Center does this through conferences, research, a partnership network, and film and media, including a new feature-length documentary movie about attempts to address poverty in the United States.The Center's team also operates a related initiative of the Acton Institute: the PovertyCure project, which is an expression of Acton's work on global poverty and development. In 2024, the Center organized four conferences in collaboration with Acton's Programs department, including the biennial PovertyCure global virtual summit, and monthly listening sessions with local Grand Rapids nonprofits. The Center also developed a new website for the Center for Social Flourishing and redesigned the PovertyCure website, which makes the initiative's video curriculum available for streaming from the website. The largest individual project of the Center is the new documentary on poverty in the United States. Directed by Michael Miller, who is also the Center's director, the film explores the flaws of large-scale attempts to solve poverty in the US. In 2024, the team filmed about 50 interviews in various cities around the country. The film is expected to be completed by fall 2025, at which point it will be submitted for film festivals. The Center continues to promote other Acton media products, including the PovertyCure series and the documentary Poverty, Inc. Many churches, schools, and universities have incorporated the PovertyCure series resource into their curriculums. Acton's documentary Poverty, Inc. has earned more than 45 film festival awards to date, including the $100,000 Templeton Freedom Award.The film has screened more than 500 times in 28 countries.Its impact continues, and it streams on multiple platforms. Form 990, Part VI, Line 6 Classes of members or stockholders The corporation is organized on a membership basis. There are two classes of members: full members and associate members. Only full members are entitled to vote. The full members elect one or more members of the governing body, the Board of Directors. The original members were appointed in the founding documents of incorporation. New members may be added by a two-thirds vote of the full members. The Board of Directors, by unanimous action, may terminate the membership of any member who fails to comply with the bylaws or regulations. Form 990, Part VI, Line 7a Members or stockholders electing members of governing body Members have the ability to elect or appoint one or more members of the organization's governing body, the Board of Directors. The bylaws grant members the power to fill vacancies or remove existing directors by a majority vote. Form 990, Part VI, Line 11b Review of form 990 by governing body The Form 990 is prepared by an independent CPA firm. It is reviewed in detail by the Director of Finance. A draft copy of the Form 990 is electronically provided to the members of the Board of Directors for review prior to filing. In addition, a copy of the Form 990 draft will be available in a secured part of the website. Form 990, Part VI, Line 12c Conflict of interest policy Officers, board members, and key employees sign annual conflict of interest statements which are reviewed by the Director of HR and the President. Should any potential conflicts of interest be disclosed, the board member or officer would be asked to refrain from participation in any decision with regard to matters affected by the relationship. Form 990, Part VI, Line 15a Process to establish compensation of top management official The Board, along with the Compensation Committee, investigates and determines the compensation package for the President and President Emeritus. The President and Human Resources determine the compensation for all other officers. The process includes comparison to similar organizations and salary surveys as well as analysis of responsibilities and performance. The approval process for the President, President Emeritus and all other officers is documented in the minutes. Form 990, Part VI, Line 15b Process to establish compensation of other employees See narrative for Form 990, Part VI, Line 15a. Form 990, Part VI, Line 19 Required documents available to the public The organization's governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements are made available upon request. Form 990, Part VIII, Line 2f Other Program Service Revenue Other program revenue - Total Revenue: 1673, Related or Exempt Function Revenue: 1673, Unrelated Business Revenue: , Revenue Excluded from Tax Under Sections 512, 513, or 514: ; Form 990, Part IX, Line 11g Other Fees Contracted Services - Total Expense: 669697, Program Service Expense: 565303, Management and General Expenses: 20642, Fundraising Expenses: 83752; Media Production Services - Total Expense: 231551, Program Service Expense: 231551, Management and General Expenses: , Fundraising Expenses: ; Graphics and Design Services - Total Expense: 59677, Program Service Expense: 56964, Management and General Expenses: 233, Fundraising Expenses: 2480; Editorial Consultants - Total Expense: 158450, Program Service Expense: 158450, Management and General Expenses: , Fundraising Expenses: ; Other professional fees - Total Expense: 127956, Program Service Expense: 110684, Management and General Expenses: 4698, Fundraising Expenses: 12574; Honorariums - Total Expense: 238845, Program Service Expense: 238845, Management and General Expenses: , Fundraising Expenses: ; Form 990, Part XI, Line 9 Other changes in net assets or fund balances Taxable income from Forms K-1 not recorded on books - -192849;