INDEPENDENCE
The American Antitrust Institute (AAI) is a non-profit corporation exempt from taxation under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Its recent annual Form 990s filed with the IRS are available upon request or at guidestar.org. AAI is incorporated under the laws of, and registered to do business in, Washington, D.C.
AAI provides objective and independent research, education, and advocacy. Toward that end, AAI has a diverse Advisory Board of experts in the fields of competition law, economics, and business. AAI maintains a Conflict of Interest Policy as to Work Product applicable to its Advisory Board members and other volunteers when they assist AAI in drafting, reviewing, and evaluating amicus briefs, white papers, and other advocacy work product. And, consistent with good governance practice of non-profit organizations, AAI also maintains a Conflict of Interest Policy as to Related Party Transactions, a Document Retention Policy, and a Whistleblower Policy.
TRANSPARENCY
AAI is supported by annual sponsorships, event and program sponsorships, cy pres awards, individual gifts, and occasional grants from non-profit institutions. Donors understand that AAI exercises independent judgment in all matters. Donors (as well as individual Advisory Board members and members of the Board of Directors) may disagree with particular positions taken by the organization. At the same time, AAI does not accept gifts earmarked for a particular brief, white paper, or other advocacy work product.
Annual sponsors are publicly identified on the website. A complete list of donors who have contributed at least $5,000 in a year during the last five years is also available upon request. AAI work product that involves a particular matter in which a donor has a known, direct financial interest will identify the donor if its contributions exceed $5,000 over the previous 12 months, unless the donor is already publicly identified as an annual sponsor. To preserve AAI’s independence and objectivity in all matters, AAI will not accept a sponsorship or other donation from a single for-profit corporation or trade association in a single calendar year in excess of 5 to 8 percent of AAI’s operating budget.
