About R Street


Who We Are

The R Street Institute and Johns Hopkins University co-host a convening in Washington, D.C. with thought-leaders and election officials from around the country about developing a conservative agenda for Democracy. (2023)

The R Street Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public policy research organization focused on pro-market and limited-government public policy. We draw inspiration from such thinkers as Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, Ronald H. Coase, James M. Buchanan and Arthur C. Pigou.

RSI hosts a criminal justice happy hour
in Denver, Colorado. (2023)
R Street Institute scholar and Digital Director Shoshana Weissmann spends time with
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey during the inaugural Real Solutions Summit at the Planet Word Museum. (2023)

Our Vision

The R Street Institute stands for free markets, limited, effective government and pragmatic solutions to difficult problems. We envision:

  • A free society, where public policy begins with freedom as its initial premise and governments exist primarily as guardians of inherent, inalienable rights.
  • An inclusive society that provides a place, a voice, and equal opportunity for all.
  • A just society that holds everyone accountable to the same laws.

Our Values

The following values are the principles that guide how R Street fulfills its mission and operates. Our organization believes in these values and we live them:

Always be better

We want to achieve preeminence in every area where we work. We encourage a bias for action, innovation, creativity and courage in everything that we do. We measure ourselves by the quality, credibility and impact we achieve as a result.

Different is good. 

We believe that great minds think differently and building broad coalitions has made us who we are. Making progress on policy requires that we operate outside of the echo chamber and take non-traditional approaches to policy making. We apply this same principle to the way we operate and how we build our teams: with a focus on diversity and inclusion. We are all unique but belong to the same team.

Serious(ly)

We’re serious about our work, but don’t take ourselves too seriously. We believe in the intellectual rigor, free inquiry and honesty, that is required to achieve our mission, but having fun doing it is equally as important.

One Team

We all work together and work with humility. We strive to cultivate trust and transparency at all levels, between ourselves as individuals and as an organization, with our stakeholders, and in our work. We demonstrate respect and openness in our actions at all times.  We are all unique but belong to the same team.


Financials

R Street was founded on June 1, 2012 by former employees of the Heartland Institute.

The staff, fellows and outside directors (all of whom are volunteer) of R Street are committed to fulfilling our mission of promoting limited, effective government and free markets through the principles of sound governance and transparency.

If you’re interested in R Street’s mission and want to support us, you can contact the Director of Business Development Ginny Mansour at [email protected]. R Street is a Section 501(c)3 nonprofit and your gift may qualify as a charitable deduction for federal income-tax purposes. You may also click here to contribute directly through PayPal.

To review our most recent audited financial statements and organizational structure, please visit our GuideStar profile, or view our IRS Form 990 filings from 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012. To maintain its independence, R Street accepts no government funding. (Read R Street’s statement on the 2020 Paycheck Protection Program here.)

NOTE FOR FLORIDA RESIDENTS: A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.

The Florida Division of Consumer Services may be contacted online at www.FloridaConsumerHelp.com or by toll-free call at 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352). The R Street Institute’s FDCS registration number is CH50616.


By the Numbers

2+
million
pageviews annually on the R Street website.
400
op-eds
and pieces of commentary a year.
80+
staff around the world.
4
regional offices
in the United States.
20,000+
e-mail subscribers.

Meet Our President

R Street and our president Eli Lehrer are one of the “OG’s” when it comes to free-market environmentalism. Read his piece explaining how the free market can solve big problems better than big government.

Meet Our Executive Director

Executive Director Erica Schoder was R Street’s first hire and the rest, as they say, is history. Learn how R Street helps build trust during times of political uncertainty and how we achieve public policy impact.

Work Here

Passionate about free markets and limited, effective government? Join our growing team.