th 2004 2014 1ANNIVERSARY0 REPORT SAGAMORE INSTITUTE Heartland Innovation. NATIONAL INFLUENCE. BOARD OF TRUSTEES Jerry D. Semler, Chair Stephen A. Stitle, Treasurer Jean Wojtowicz, Secretary Vice Adm. (ret) Mike Bucchi David L. Helmer Dayton Molendorp James T. Morris Alex Oak Donald L. Palmer John Sampson Becky Skillman P. Douglas Wilson Jay F. Hein, Ex Officio SAGAMORE’S HEADQUARTERS at THE LEVEY MANSION “The highest honor an Indiana governor gives is called the Sagamore of the Wabash.... [It’s] given for wisdom, and public commitment, and a concern for the well-being of others. So, I’d say that Sagamore chose its name well, and is living up to it every day.” FORMER INDIANA GOV. MITCH DANIELS BOARD OF TRUSTEES CONTENTS Jerry D. Semler, Chair Message from the Chairman 4 Stephen A. Stitle, Treasurer Message from the President 5 Jean Wojtowicz, Secretary Our Story 6 Vice Adm. (ret) Mike Bucchi Founding Era 8 David L. Helmer Sagamore in the Nation’s Service 10 Dayton Molendorp Deepening Roots, James T. Morris Extending Influence 14 Alex Oak Staff & Interns 20 Donald L. Palmer Senior Fellows 21 John Sampson Finance Summary 22 Becky Skillman Sagamore Supporters 24 P. Douglas Wilson The Sagamore Society 30 Jay F. Hein, Ex Officio How to connect 31 3 SAGAMORE INSTITUTE MESSAGE from the CHAIRMAN Dear Friends, roots and its national inf luence. Sagamore Institute is celebrating its 10th Dan’s contributions were not limited to anniversary in 2014 and this report stands his excellent leadership of the organiza- as testimony to the record of success that tion. Rather, the case can be made that Sag- has been made possible by the generosity amore simply wouldn’t exist without Dan of our donors. We have completed hun- and Marsha Coats’ vision for an Indianap- dreds of projects in over a dozen states and olis think tank and their personal generosi- half dozen nations. We have received $20 ty. As a matter of fact, it was their Founda- million dollars from customers buying our tion for American Renewal that served as research and consulting services as well as the business engine for Sagamore until we contributors investing in our mission. received our own 501c3 designation and What joins the board, staff and donors thereafter they donated over a quarter of a is a belief that ideas matter and that the million dollars to our efforts to strengthen heartland is a strategic place for innova- Indiana and export Hoosier common sense tion and enterprise. The national news is to the national stage. filled with stories about Washington D.C.’s As meaningful as our efforts have been leaders being stuck in old debates or other- over the past decade, I am certain that we wise fighting on narrow grounds. Those of are poised for much greater impact in the us in America’s 50 states understand that years ahead. Our value proposition is firm- everyday citizens are the ones who create ly established, our network of scholars is jobs, invent products, educate the next gen- deep and wide, and our opportunities to eration and build a better society. This is serve are expanding rapidly. not an accident; indeed, it’s the heart of the On behalf of Sagamore’s Board of Trust- American Experiment. ees, I encourage you to read carefully the It has been my high honor to serve as accomplishments of our think tank over its chairman of Sagamore, a duty that began three phases of growth: the Founding Era, when I joined then-US Ambassador to Ger- 2004-05; In the Nation’s Service, 2006-09; many Dan Coats and Jay Hein in founding and Deepening Our Roots, Extending Our Sagamore. The board desired for Dan and Reach, 2010-14. me to serve as co-chairs to ref lect the think Thank you for your partnership and tank’s equal commitment to its heartland please join us in writing the next chapter in Sagamore’s story of reforming govern- ment and revitalizing communities. Sincerely, Jerry D. Semler Chairman Dan and Marsha Coats 4 th 10 ANNIVERSARY REPORT MESSAGE from the PRESIDENT Dear Friends, you define success?” To answer that ques- I am often asked, “What is a think tank?” tion, I like to draw the following illustra- My answer is that we’re a place where tion on a napkin or white board: ideas get put to work. How we think about our challenges is very important and we IDEAS IMPACT work hard to produce research that gives fresh insight into stubborn problems. Yet, INFLUENCE INCOME it’s insufficient to simply seek better un- derstanding. We want to attach promising It starts with ideas. Each of our activities solutions to those same problems and fos- must begin with an idea that will make the ter innovation in both policymaking and world a better place if it works. Since we’re local practice. about moving ideas into action, the second In this “thinking and doing” companion- measure needs to be impact. If the ideas ship, we often find ourselves leading lead- and our execution are good, we’ll achieve ers and serving servants. We have advised real results for real people in real commu- grassroots nonprofit leaders, corporate CEOs nities at home and abroad. and heads of state. While these leaders face We also have the high privilege and dramatically different problems, they all heavy responsibility of guiding leaders’ need to make decisions with too little time decisions and educating the public. This and too little information. Since we enjoy means that must use our inf luence wisely the advantage of permanently being in and persuasively. Finally, we need to meet research and development, we boldly step the market needs of our customers and the into those decision-making processes and missional needs of our donors. This means offer counsel on what works, what doesn’t that income is an essential measure, as and why. well. Yet, we maintain a more humble posture It is said that a philosopher’s job is to dis- in the entrepreneur’s workplace, the mas- cern. I seek to lead Sagamore in this pursuit ter teacher’s classroom or the nonprofit in- every day. We are on information over- novator’s office. They are on the frontlines load in the Internet Age, but knowledge trying the hard things with brilliance and and wisdom are rarer commodities. In our bravery. Sometimes they win and some- counsel to policymakers, support for inno- times they don’t. Regardless, we have pens vators and educating the public, we hope ready to capture the insights gained from to live up to our sagamore moniker by be- the daring adventures to help guide future ing wise counsel to a world in progress. travelers. Beyond conducting pioneering research in these settings, we offer techni- Sincerely, cal assistance to heighten the prospects of success and pave the way for replication. Given the wide-ranging activities of our distributed network of scholars, the second Jay F. Hein question I am often asked is, “So how do President 5 SAGAMORE INSTITUTE Sagamore Institute is an Indianapolis-based non- profit, nonpartisan, public policy research orga- nization—or “think tank.” We borrow our name from the Algonquin word sagamore, which refers to a trusted individual within the tribe to whom the chief would look for wisdom and advice on issues of public concern. It is thus our mission to research and analyze difficult issues, to serve as HEARTLAND INNOVATION a meeting place for disparate groups, and to offer wise counsel for a world in progress. We were born in the spring of 2004, but have roots stretching back two decades thanks to our founders’ leadership roles within the Hudson In- stitute’s Indianapolis headquarters. When Hud- son moved to Indiana in 1984, it undertook a big experiment: could a national policy think tank survive in the Heartland of America? Twenty years later, as the Hudson board de- cided to move back to the East Coast to focus on NATIONAL INFLUENCE Middle East policy, the answer was that not only could they survive but thrive. Thanks to presi- dents such as Mitch Daniels and Les Lenkows- ky and board members such as Dan Evans and John Mutz, Hudson turned from deficit spending to balanced books and a new $8 million endow- ment. It also led the national debate with such successes as the book Workforce 2020 and the OUR policy impact found in their scholars’ support to then-Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson’s welfare reforms. STORY Sagamore built on this foundation by forming an expert network of fellows providing inde- “Our main value proposition pendent and innovative research and analysis is moving ideas to action. to public and private sector leaders. We believe that public policy belongs to everyone—not just We do not ask who is for to those inside Washington’s beltway of Wash- or against certain reforms. ington, D.C.—and that citizens are at the center of problem solving. We ask how we are going to Our location in Indianapolis places us at the fix society’s most stubborn global crossroads and in a geographic venue full of innovative international corporations, the problems and sustain our second largest concentration of non-profits in the most promising solutions.” nation, a burgeoning immigrant population, a vi- brant university system, and an ever-changing JAY HEIN civic culture. 6 th 10 ANNIVERSARY REPORT From the nation’s Heartland, we are able to lo- them into smarter policy and improved practice. cate, identify, and highlight innovators, entrepre- Ideas matter. They can improve the human neurs, practitioners, and experts that typically fall condition and alter the course of history.