Rio Grande Foundation

What Rio Grande Foundation does

Rio Grande Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public policy think tank headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that advocates for individual freedom, limited government, and economic opportunity at the state and local level. Founded around 2000, with Paul Gessing serving as its first full-time president beginning March 2006, the organization operates with a small staff of 1-10 employees and serves New Mexico policymakers, journalists, donors, and engaged citizens. It is positioned as the state's primary free-market counterweight in policy debates.

The Foundation's core products include the Freedom Index, an annual legislative voting record assessment; original research reports covering education, energy, healthcare, criminal justice, and fiscal policy; conferences and public events; and a steady stream of op-eds and media commentary. A notable programmatic extension is OAK New Mexico, a K-12 educational choice scholarship program operated under Foundation management. The organization has also become an active litigation participant, most visibly through Gessing v. Yara (challenging Planned Parenthood funding) and a U.S. Supreme Court petition in Rio Grande Foundation v. Oliver.

Its business model is donation-based, drawing on contributions from individuals, aligned foundations, and a network of national partner organizations including the Liberty Justice Center, Americans for Prosperity, the Institute for Justice, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and the Fraser Institute. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, consistent with standard nonprofit practice, and there is no subscription, contract, or fee-for-service revenue stream. Distribution occurs through the Foundation's own website, direct media engagement, and co-branded research with national coalition partners.

Name

Rio Grande Foundation

Legal name

Rio Grande Foundation

Website

https://riograndefoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rio Grande Foundation is an Albuquerque-based 501(c)(3) free-market policy think tank producing research, legislative scoring, and advocacy on New Mexico state issues, and operating the OAK New Mexico K-12 educational choice scholarship program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Policy Research Think Tank

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Policy Research Institutes & Think Tanks (EDADADAA), Education Policy, Research & Advocacy Organizations (Nonprofit) (BPAGADAN)

Keywords

• Policy research think tank
• State policy advocacy
• Economic freedom research
• Legislative vote tracking
• Free market principles

Headquarters

HQ city

Albuquerque

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: As a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) educational organization, the Rio Grande Foundation operates primarily through donations from individuals and organizations who support their mission of promoting liberty, limited government, and economic opportunity in New Mexico.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Rio Grande Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) policy research and advocacy organization (think tank) founded in 2000 and based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It conducts and publishes policy research, maintains a legislative vote-tracking tool, hosts educational events and conferences, and runs an education reform initiative to advance liberty, limited government, and economic opportunity in New Mexico.

Product overview

The Rio Grande Foundation is a policy research and advocacy organization rather than a technology product company. Its offerings consist of research publications, policy tracking tools, and advocacy initiatives. The core product is the Freedom Index (a legislative vote tracking system), supplemented by research reports on various policy areas (economy, education, healthcare, energy, transportation), community events and conferences, and the OAK New Mexico education reform initiative.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OAK New Mexico: Education reform arm of Rio Grande Foundation focused on school choice, parental rights, and improving New Mexico's education system
• Opportunity for All Kids NM

Products and services

• Freedom Index
• Policy Research Reports
• Events and Conferences
• OAK New Mexico

Quantifiable outcome

• Defeated Santa Fe soda tax proposal in 2017
• +5 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Liberty Justice CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 January 2023The Liberty Justice Center, a nonprofit public interest litigation center, provides legal representation for Rio Grande Foundation in constitutional and free speech cases. RGF and its president Paul Gessing filed lawsuits against the City of Albuquerque over Planned Parenthood donation using anti-donation clause, and petitioned the US Supreme Court in Rio Grande Foundation v. Oliver to protect First Amendment rights of free speech and association regarding donor disclosure laws.
• Americans for ProsperitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRGF works closely with the Americans for Prosperity New Mexico chapter, training their volunteers on how to participate in Council meetings. AFP has been highly effective at organizing activists to defeat tax hike proposals, including a major victory at ABQ City Council where opponents massively outnumbered supporters. RGF coordinates grassroots operations with AFP.
• Institute for JusticecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe libertarian law firm Institute for Justice worked closely with Rio Grande Foundation on eminent domain reform in 2007, collaborating with Gov. Richardson's eminent domain task force and the Legislature to improve New Mexico's eminent domain protections to be among the strongest in the nation.
• Competitive Enterprise InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Rio Grande Foundation, alongside the Washington-based Competitive Enterprise Institute, led a coalition letter highlighting problems with the Railway Safety Act, demonstrating partnership on regulatory policy issues.
• Fraser InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRGF and the Fraser Institute co-published a first-of-its-kind joint report on New Mexico's lack of economic freedom, finding that New Mexico is the only US state to have seen a decline in overall economic freedom since 1981. The Fraser Institute publishes 'Economic Freedom of the World' and 'Economic Freedom of North America' reports.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Cato Institute: A national libertarian think tank with broader scope and deeper resources than RGF. Comparable in ideological positioning and policy research approach, but operates at a national rather than state level.
• Heritage Foundation: A national conservative think tank with substantially larger resources and broader policy scope. Shares RGF's ideological alignment and policy priorities but operates at federal level rather than RGF's state-focused niche.
• Fraser Institute: A Canada-based international free-market think tank and RGF's explicit research partner on the joint economic freedom report. Shares mission and economic-freedom research focus, but operates internationally rather than within a single US state.
• Manhattan Institute: A national policy research organization that, like RGF, focuses on free-market policy ideas, state-level reform, and education choice. Larger and broader in scope, but overlapping on the same ideological and policy terrain.

Direct peers

• Goldwater Institute: An Arizona-based state-level conservative and libertarian policy organization that pursues original research, litigation, and advocacy on state policy issues. Directly comparable to RGF in its blend of research, legal action, and legislative engagement at a sub-national level.
• Illinois Policy Institute: An Illinois-based state-level free-market think tank that publishes research, op-eds, and policy analysis on limited government and economic opportunity, with a comparable operating model and ideological positioning to RGF.
• Pelican Institute: A Louisiana-based state-level free-market think tank focused on limited government and economic freedom. Highly comparable in size, mission, and state-level policy focus, making it one of the closest structural analogs to RGF.
• Americans for Prosperity: A national free-market advocacy organization with a New Mexico chapter that RGF explicitly partners with on grassroots training and tax-hike campaign opposition. The two share overlapping ideological mission, donor base, and policy priorities, making AFP RGF's closest operational partner rather than a non-competing ally.
• Mackinac Center for Public Policy: A Michigan-based state-level free-market think tank that, like RGF, produces state policy research, op-eds, and legislative analysis on limited government and economic freedom. Highly comparable as a model state-level public policy organization with similar issue breadth and donor-funded structure.
• Texas Public Policy Foundation: A Texas-based state-level conservative think tank producing research and advocacy on limited government, education choice, and economic freedom. RGF's issue mix, donor-funded model, and state-focused policy work are tightly aligned with TPPF's approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/riograndefndn
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/rgfnm
• Facebookfacebook.com/rgfnm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rgfnm
• Instagraminstagram.com/rgf.nm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rio Grande Foundation