Searle Freedom Trust’s founder and namesake, Daniel C. Searle, was president, CEO, and eventually chairman of his family’s pharmaceutical company. That business, G.D. Searle & Company, made a number of well-known pharmaceuticals, including Enovid, the first oral contraceptive in the U.S. In a six-page mission statement for the Trust, Searle, who passed away in 2007, declared, “I am concerned about certain social, political, and economic trends that I see in our society. I believe that if these trends continue unabated, future generations will end up living in a world dominated by big government, devoid of ethical values, and lacking in individual initiative and responsibility.” Searle Freedom Trust is closely linked to other conservative organizations, including the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and DonorsTrust, and is required to “spend itself out of existence” by 2025 to ensure, according to Daniel Searle, “that the Foundation will always remain in the hands of people who understand my intentions and are committed to carrying out the Foundation’s mission.”

Notable Facts:

• Searle Freedom Trust president and CEO Kim Dennis also currently chairs the board of DonorsTrust and serves as vice chair of Donors Capital Fund.

• Searle Freedom Trust funds the Dan Searle Fellowship in Economics at DonorsTrust, which offers the opportunity for “newly minted PhDs to spend two years pursuing research as postdoctoral fellows before entering the academic job market.”

• Grant advisors to the Searle Freedom Trust include DonorsTrust Vice Chairman James Piereson, Club For Growth founder Stephen Moore, and former AEI president Christopher DeMuth.

• When Daniel Searle died in 2007, his family (at his request) asked that in lieu of flowers people send donations to the trust or the American Enterprise Institute.