Cato Institute

“Process used to review form 990: a draft 990 is provided to each member for review and comment prior to finalization.”

“Monitoring and enforcement of compliance with conflict of interest policy: cato reviews conflict of interest disclosures. If a potential conflict of interest arises, the director, officer or key employee with the conflict is required to correct the situation or either step down from the board or face termination from employment.”

“Process for determining compensation: an independent contractor reviews the compensation/benefits of the president. The board discusses and approves executive compensation/benefits based on results of the independent study.”

“How the organization makes organizing documents available to the public: cato's bylaws, articles of incorporation, and conflict of interest policy are available to anyone who requests them. Further, cato has always complied, and will continue to comply, with the mandate that form 990 be made publicly available.”

“How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs: With pressing questions of public policy at the forefront of the national conversation, our mission and research were more relevant than ever. To address new challenges to the economy, the growth of government during the pandemic, and other pressing policy questions we released a cross-disciplinary initiative, "Pandemics and Policy," featuring analysis across a broad range of policy areas to educate policymakers, thought leaders, journalists, academics, and the general public. Topics included "State Powers and the Constitution," "Balancing Tradeoffs between Liberty and Lives,"COVID-19 Policy: A Failure of Economic Thinking." We immediately and successfully pivoted to a virtual environment, maintained a strong policy and operating performance, significantly advanced strategic goals, and continued to engage broad audiences across America and around the world. How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19: Cato's events, external engagement, and special initiatives successfully pivoted to a largely virtual environment. Cato hosted 300 virtual events, including conferences, policy, book forums, and briefings, which were attended by over 400,000 online viewers. In order to support remote teams, promote collaboration, and advance productivity and impact Cato invested in digital platforms while also utilizing insight, information-sharing, and transparency gained from internal project management tools. In the second quarter of 2021, business travel resumed and in June and July Cato held the Sphere Summit for educators in person and online. Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic: The pivot to virtual provided new information about how to optimize our content for digital audiences. As a result, Cato is investing in resources to optimize our events for a hybrid approach that will better engage digital audiences and provide best-in-class digital content. The pandemic confirmed the importance of the Institute's existing priorities, including a focus on impact and accountability in policy analysis, increased digital capabilities, and reaching new and broader audiences.”