Center for Organizational Research and Education (CORE)

Background

The Center for Organization Research and Education (CORE), formerly known as the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) until late 2014, formerly the Guest Choice Network (GCN), is made up of several organizations controlled by Washington lawyer and lobbyist Richard Berman.¹

According to The New York Times, the Center for Consumer Freedom is one of several nonprofits created by Berman that “secretly collect corporate donations to finance the aggressive, often satirical media campaigns his team conceives.” Note that the Center for Consumer Freedom is now listed as a “Project” of CORE, and maintains its own website at ConsumerFreedom.com.²

The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) is registered as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization under the IRS code. CCF was one of several Berman groups included in a 2012 IRS complaint filed by The Humane Society of the United States. Several of Berman’s nonprofit groups were being operated from the offices of his Washington PR firm, while paying his firm $15 million from 2008 to 2010 for its work. The Bloomberg article notes that tobacco company Philip Morris USA, now part of Altria Group Inc., poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into a trade group Berman ran in the 1990s.³

Some of CORE’s projects include the following:⁴

“Environment”

“Consumer”

“‘Science”

Center for Accountability in Science

“Activism”

Activist Facts

“Phony Non-Profits”

“[Richard] Berman’s developed a cottage industry of setting up phony non-profit organizations to take in money from corporations that have a public relations problem,” Wayne Pacelle, the president of the Humane Society, said in an interview with Bloomberg. “When you look at it in its full composition, it’s a very disturbing picture.”⁵

Who Is Richard Berman?

Richard Berman has earned the nicknames “Dr. Evil,”⁶ the Conservative’s “Weapon of Mass Destruction”⁷ and the “Astroturf Kingpin” for his strategy of creating multiple non-profit groups, think tanks, and websites defending the interests of his corporate clients while maintaining anonymity for client’s donations.⁸

Berman runs Berman & Co., a Washington, DC public affairs firm that represents the tobacco industry as well as hotels, beer distributors, taverns, and restaurant chains. Berman & Co. has lobbied for companies such as Cracker Barrel, Hooters, International House of Pancakes, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster, Steak & Ale, TGI Friday’s, Uno’s Restaurants, and Wendy’s, the Center for Media and Democracy’s PR Watch reports.⁹

Mother Jones describes Richard Berman as “well known in political circles for funnelling anonymous corporate money into vicious ad campaigns attacking various advocacy groups, such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Humane Society of the United States, which he has accused of spending a minuscule amount of their donations on their stated missions. Berman, who heads the DC-based communications firm Berman and Company, typically launches his offensives through a network of front groups. He has used these organizations to fight regulations governing food safety, animal cruelty, workplace safety, secondhand smoke, and even tanning beds, and in the process keeps his corporate funders anonymous.”¹⁰

In a secretly-taped speech shared with the New York Times, Berman bragged how he keeps his donor information anonymous:

“People always ask me one question all the time: ‘How do I know that I won’t be found out as a supporter of what you’re doing?’ ” Berman said. “We run all of this stuff through nonprofit organizations that are insulated from having to disclose donors. There is total anonymity. People don’t know who supports us.”¹¹

Berman on Unions

“I get up every morning and I try to figure out how to screw with the labor unions — that’s my offense,” Mr. Berman said in his speech to the Western Energy Alliance. “I am just trying to figure out how I am going to reduce their brand.”¹²

Berman on Science

“There’s no sense in putting out a 17 page scientific report that nobody will read. So, I put out a 30 second commercial that makes the point,” Berman told CBSNews.¹³

CBS news reports that “the ‘point’ is not made by Berman and Company. He has come up with a clever system of non-profit educational entities. Companies can make charitable donations to these groups, which have names like Center for Consumer Freedom and Center for Union Facts. They are neutral sounding but ‘educating,’ with a particular point of view, all perfectly legal.”¹⁴

CORE Projects

CORE Environment Groups

The CORE website offers a section on the Environment devoted to “Uncovering the Truth About Big Green’s Agenda.” CORE lists a number of their projects related to the Environment, with the following descriptions:¹⁵

Environmental Policy Alliance

“The Environmental Policy Alliance (EPA) is devoted to uncovering the funding and hidden agendas behind environmental activist groups and exploring the intersection between activists and government agencies.”

Big Green Radicals

“Big Green Radicals is a project of the Environmental Policy Alliance (EPA), which exists to educate the public about the real agenda of well-funded environmental activist groups. The EPA receives support from individuals, businesses, and foundations.”

EPA Facts

“EPA Facts is a project of the Environmental Policy Alliance dedicated to highlighting the high cost of the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulatory actions and peeling back the layers of secrecy surrounding the agency’s actions.”

Green Decoys

“Environmental and left-wing foundations have poured millions into ‘sportsmen,’ ‘hunting,’ and ‘angling’ groups, using them as cover to push their pet causes. See the evidence, and learn about the fringe agendas of these organizations.

CORE Consumer Groups

CORE has created a number of groups to help you “Learn more about defending your rights against the growing nanny state and fringe animal rights activists like PETA and the Humane Society for the United States”:¹⁶

Center for Consumer Freedom

“Founded in 1996, the Center for Consumer Freedom is a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting personal responsibility and protecting consumer choices. We believe that the consumer is King. And Queen.”

Humane Watch

“The dog-watchers at the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) need their own watchdog too. HSUS now has an annual budget around the size of an NFL payroll. It has become too big and too unaccountable. Someone has to pay closer attention.”

PETA Kills Animals

“PETA Kills Animals exposes the deadly hypocrisy of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which kills up to 97% of the cats and dogs at its ‘animal shelter’ every year.”

Prop 65 Scam

“In 1986, environmental and public health activists convinced California voters to approve the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act — better known as Proposition 65. Prop 65 Scam exposes the law’s many flaws that have imposed massive burdens on businesses without appreciably improving Californians’ health.”

CORE Science Groups

CORE reports to expose “Junk Science and Sensationalist Headlines”:¹⁷

Center for Accountability in Science

“The Center for Accountability in Science provides a balanced look at the science behind alarmist news stories and examines the organizations behind the effort to scare consumers.”

CORE Activism Groups

According to CORE, “There are a lot of activist groups out there. We give you the facts you need to understand who’s funding them, what their agendas are, and ho=w seriously (or not) you should take them”:¹⁸

Activist Facts

“The organizations we track on this site are tax-exempt nonprofits, many of which engage in anti-consumer activism. Many are linked by personnel, history, and finances. These groups promote false science, scare campaigns, and sometimes even violent “direct actions” to threaten our right to choose certain products.”

Stance on Climate Change

“[W]hile the science may be settled on that fact that climate change exists and that humans can influence that change, what is far from settled is how we address the issue. And making the case that the EPA’s ideas for addressing it are wrong is a matter of legitimate debate and should not simply be silenced by loud, name-calling environmentalists.” — BigGreenRadicals¹⁹

“There’s no shortage of commentators on the political left beating up on people on the political right for being ‘deniers’ when it comes to climate change science. Meanwhile, we have long noted the hypocrisy of certain activists on the political left in holding up the scientific consensus of climate change while simultaneously ignoring the one around genetically improved foods (GIFs) and chemical safety.

[…] There will always activists ignoring science and common sense to promote a dangerous agenda. (They used to be called hippies.) But when they begin to influence an entire political wing – especially one that claims to be the defenders of science – their hypocrisy must be exposed, wherever they lie.” — Center for Consumer Freedom.²⁰

“[Lord Christopher] Monckton is a widely recognized expert on climate sensitivity” — Activist Facts.²¹

On Renewables

“The extreme position that wind and solar can produce all the energy the world needs is opposed by even the most fervent climate change scientists. Four of the world’s top climate change scientists sent a letter to politicians and environmental groups stating, ‘Realistically, they [renewable energy sources] cannot on their own solve the world’s energy problems.’ Instead, the scientists call for an increased use of nuclear power to meet the worlds’ growing energy needs.” – BigGreenRadicals.²²

Funding

The following is based on data compiled by the Conservative Transparency project for both CORE and the Center for Consumer Freedom. Note that not all individual funding values have been verified by DeSmog for accuracy. ²³

For additional information, view the attached spreadsheet for CORE funding by year (.xlsx).

As Recipient

	Year
Donor	2009	2010	2012	2013	2014	2015	Grand Total
The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation	$200,000	$50,000	$125,000	$250,000			$625,000
DonorsTrust				$57,250	$89,112	$49,501	$195,863
Donors Capital Fund					$30,000	$12,500	$42,500
Grand Total	$200,000	$50,000	$125,000	$307,250	$119,112	$62,001	$863,363

As Donor

	Year
Donor	2009	2011	2014	2016	Grand Total
Employment Policies Institute Foundation	$6,914,000				$6,914,000
Center for Union Facts		$22,000			$22,000
State Agricultural and Rural Leaders			$6,000	$7,500	$13,500
Grand Total	$6,914,000	$22,000	$6,000	$7,500	$6,949,500

3rd Party Contractors

	Year
Recipient	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	Grand Total
Berman and Company	$960,602	$1,137,070	$1,435,056	$1,320,595	$1,190,512	$1,562,280	$1,043,604	$1,461,597	$1,682,126	$1,294,488	$246,874	$757,379	$1,987,053	$1,752,531	$1,639,591	$19,471,358
1-2-1 Interactive Media				$752,220	$746,347	$98,435										$1,597,002
District Direct														$258,530	$667,671	$926,201
New York Times				$136,750		$107,575			$161,592							$405,917
Fox News Network										$128,859				$226,289		$355,148
National Cable Communications															$242,077	$242,077
U.S. News and World Report					$126,750	$105,000										$231,750
Baker & Hostetler										$186,684						$186,684
WP Company				$145,501												$145,501
Outfront Media														$145,000		$145,000
CBS Outdoor					$106,475											$106,475
Los Angeles Times Communications				$85,463												$85,463
David Browne and Associates			$81,272													$81,272
WMI (New Yorker)						$59,000										$59,000
USA Today					$58,000											$58,000
Katz Communications															$47,450	$47,450
Grand Total	$960,602	$1,137,070	$1,516,328	$2,440,529	$2,228,084	$1,932,290	$1,043,604	$1,461,597	$1,843,718	$1,610,031	$246,874	$757,379	$1,987,053	$2,382,350	$2,596,789	$24,144,298

990 Forms

Research Documents

Key People

Directors & Officers

The following Directors and Officers were listed on the Center for Organizational Research and Education’s (CORE) public 2014 990 tax return:²⁴

Name	Title
Richard Berman	President, Executive Director
F. Lane Cardwell	Secretary & Treasurer/Director
James Blackstock	Director
David Browne	Director
Daniel Mindus	Director
Richard Verrecchia	Director
Nelson Marchioli	Director

Actions

CORE Project Activity for 2013/2014

CORE’s 2014 990 tax return lists CORE’s Programs and Projects during the year, with the following descriptions and program expenses:²⁵

Humanewatch.org

Expenses	Grants	Revenue
1,946,423	$6,089	$1,238

“Maintained Humanewatch.org, a watchdog project to educate the public about the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), its misleading fundraising practices, its dismal track record of supporting pet shelters and its support of a radical animal rights agenda. Researched volumes of HSUS-related documents, including federal tax forms, correspondence, news articles, legal and government documents, HSUS publications, and other records, which the organization publishes on a dynamic website. Produced and placed educational advertisements in print and television, spending over $685,000 in advertising purchases. Provided 120 blog updates on these research findings to educate the public. Developed social media through Facebook and Twitter presence, with over half a million Facebook fans. Wrote and distributed press […]”²⁶

Environmental Policy Alliance

Expenses	Grants	Revenue
$1,178,142	0	0

“After conducting substantial research (beginning in 2013) officially launched the environmental policy alliance (including biggreenradicals.com, epafacts.com, greendecoys.com, stoptheepa.com, and leedexposed.com) which educates the public about environmental activists, their agendas that affect consumer choices, their deep connections with government agencies, their funding sources, and many of their tactics involving establishing front groups. Conducts issue research, providing information on environment-related issues via multiple websites, regularly updated blogs, published reports, traditional media outreach, social media campaigns, and producing and distributing print and broadcast advertisements, and spending almost $600,000 in advertising purchases. Online views of environmental policy […]”²⁷

The Center for Accountability in Science

Expenses	Grants	Revenue
$380,465	0	0

“Launched the Center for Accountability in Science (Accountablescience.com) which educates the public by debunking the junk science behind the many news stories that bombard consumers and warn them about how products could give them an array of terrifying diseases. Helps present a balanced view of the science behind these claims and examines the organizations releasing these reports to scare consumers. Through the project “prop 65 scam,” (prop65scam.com), CAS also exposes the many flaws in California’s ‘safe drinking water and toxic enforcement act’ and shows how the law has imposed a massive burden on businesses without appreciably improving Californian’s health. Promoted CAS with online advertising. Media outreach triggered coverage in multiple media outlets, including a number of top 100 print […]”²⁸

March 6, 2014

The Environmental Policy Alliance ran a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal criticizing the Food & Water Watch, the Sierra Club, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) as “big green radicals,” while announcing the launch of BigGreenRadicals.com.²⁹

Food & Water Watch responded with a blog post:³⁰

“We’re honored to be called one of the ‘Big Green Radicals’ by notorious corporate lobbyist Rick Berman through his apparent latest astroturf operation, the Environmental Policy Alliance, a ‘project of the Center for Organizational Research Education.’ Ever heard of it? We hadn’t either. After doing a bit of digging, we found out that the Center for Organizational Research Education was recently known as the Center for Consumer Freedom led by the head of Berman & Co. – Rick Berman.”

November 1, 2012

The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) was included in a list of front groups created by Berman & Co. that were part of a 2012 IRS complaint filed by The Humane Society of the United States. Several of Berman’s nonprofit groups were being operated from the offices of his Washington PR firm, while paying his firm $15 million from 2008 to 2010 for its work.³¹

“Tax lawyers say this arrangement may violate Internal Revenue Service rules that prohibit executives from profiting off the tax-exempt entities they run. IRS rules also require charities to have a public purpose,” Bloomberg reports.

Berman’s “web of organizations clearly, in my view, is operating for his private benefit and for the private benefit of his clients,” Marcus Owens, a former director of the exempt organizations department at the IRS, said in an interview. That’s “a clear violation of the requirements for tax-exempt status.”

“Berman’s developed a cottage industry of setting up phony non-profit organizations to take in money from corporations that have a public relations problem,” Wayne Pacelle, the president of the Humane Society, which has been the target of Berman-led campaigns, said in an interview. “When you look at it in its full composition, it’s a very disturbing picture.”

The following groups were included in the complaint, according to IRS 990 tax forms reviewed by Bloomberg:³²

Organization Name	Tax-Exempt Status	Payments to Berman & Co. in millions (2008-2010)
Center for Consumer Freedom	501c3	$4.2
Employment Policies Institute Foundation	501c3	$3.9
Enterprise Freedom Action Committee	501c4	$1.6
Center for Union Facts	501c3	$2.0
American Beverage Institute (trade group)	501c6	$4.0

Center for Accountability in Science Contact & Location

As of May, 2016, the Secretary of State Charities Program reports that the Center for Organizational Research and Education (CORE) shares a contact address with the following organizations:³³

CENTER FOR ACCOUNTABILITY IN SCIENCE, THE
CENTER FOR CONSUMER FREEDOM, THE
Environmental Policy Alliance
Humane Society For Shelter Pets
HumaneWatch
PETA KILLS ANIMALS

Mailing Address:
1747 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Ste 1000
WASHINGTON DC 20006

Street Address:
1090 Vermont Ave NW
Ste 800
WASHINGTON DC 20005

Phone: (202) 420-7871
Email [email protected]

Other Berman Front Groups

The Center for Media and Democracy’s Sourcewatch lists the following “Other Berman Front Groups”³⁴

Other Resources

Resources

1
David P. Goch. “Re: The Center for Consumer Freedom,” (17-33-72) (PDF). Letter to New York Department of Law – Charities Bureau, January 30, 2014. Retrieved from DocumentCloud.
2
Eric Lipton. “Hard-Nosed Advice From Veteran Lobbyist: ‘Win Ugly or Lose Pretty’,” The New York Times, October 30, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/qG6FN
3
Mark Drajem and Brian Wingfield. “Union Busting by Profiting From Non-Profit May Breach IRS,” Bloomberg, November 1, 2012. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/PrKX5
4
“Projects,” CoreProjects.com. Archived May 14, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/dIl1j
5
Mark Drajem and Brian Wingfield. “Union Busting by Profiting From Non-Profit May Breach IRS,” Bloomberg, November 1, 2012. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/PrKX5
6
Daniel Schorn. “Meet Rick Berman, A.K.A. ‘Dr. Evil’,” CBSNews.com, February 25, 2011. Archived May 13, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/hZ002
7
Tim McCown. “Richard Berman coming to Astro- turf your rights away,” Philadelphia Progressive Examiner, September 24, 2009. Archived October 6, 2009. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/0Ci1m
8
“Meet the Astroturf Kingpin: Rick Berman, Anti-Activism Propagandist,” Occupy.com, July 14, 2014. Archived May 14, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/pWUmm
9
“Berman & Co.: ‘Nonprofit’ Hustlers for the Food & Booze Biz,” PR Watch Vol. 8, No. 1 (Q1 2001), p. 7. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
10
Molly Redden. “Notorious Astroturf Pioneer Rick Berman Is Behind Business Group’s Anti-Labor-Board Campaign,” Mother Jones, March 25, 2015. Archived May 11, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/brmNX
11
Eric Lipton. “Hard-Nosed Advice From Veteran Lobbyist: ‘Win Ugly or Lose Pretty’,” The New York Times, October 30, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/qG6FN
12
Eric Lipton. “Hard-Nosed Advice From Veteran Lobbyist: ‘Win Ugly or Lose Pretty’,” The New York Times, October 30, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/qG6FN
13
Daniel Schorn. “Meet Rick Berman, A.K.A. ‘Dr. Evil’,” CBSNews.com, February 25, 2011. Archived May 13, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/hZ002
14
Daniel Schorn. “Meet Rick Berman, A.K.A. ‘Dr. Evil’,” CBSNews.com, February 25, 2011. Archived May 13, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/hZ002
15
“Projects,” CoreProjects.com. Archived May 14, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/dIl1j
16
“Projects,” CoreProjects.com. Archived May 14, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/dIl1j
17
“Projects,” CoreProjects.com. Archived May 14, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/dIl1j
18
“Projects,” CoreProjects.com. Archived May 14, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/dIl1j
19
“Big Green Groups Put Big Chill on Dissent,” Big Green Radicals, September 24, 2014. Archived May 14, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Lx4wz
20
“Politico Exposes the Anti-Science Left,” The Center for Consumer Freedom, June 5, 2014. Archived May 4, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/uf2cL
21
“Lord Christopher Monckton,” Activist Facts. Archived May 14, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/1bZGY
22
“Greenpeace,” BigGreenRadicals. Archived May 14, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/cFgOB
23
“Center for Organizational Research and Education (formerly Center for Consumer Freedom),” Conservative Transparency. Accessed May 13, 2016.
24
“The Center for Organizational Research and Education” 990 tax return (2014). Available at DocumentCloud.
25
“The Center for Organizational Research and Education” 990 tax return (2014). Available at DocumentCloud.
26
“The Center for Organizational Research and Education” 990 tax return (2014). Available at DocumentCloud.
27
“The Center for Organizational Research and Education” 990 tax return (2014). Available at DocumentCloud.
28
“The Center for Organizational Research and Education” 990 tax return (2014). Available at DocumentCloud.
29
“The Real Green Agenda,” BigGreenRadicals.com. .JPEG on file at DeSmog.
30
“Rick Berman Strikes Again With Environmental Policy Alliance,” Food & Water Watch, March 6, 2014. Archived May 14, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/SZbo3
31
Mark Drajem and Brian Wingfield. “Union Busting by Profiting From Non-Profit May Breach IRS,” Bloomberg, November 1, 2012. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/PrKX5
32
“Washington Charities at Center of Complaint to IRS,” Bloomberg.com. No longer available online.
33
“Charitable Solicitations Program Charity Profile Report: Registration #9640,” Secretary of State Charities Program. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/N04tK
34
“Center for Consumer Freedom,” SourceWatch. Accessed May 13, 2016.

DeSmog

DeSmog

Center for Organizational Research and Education (CORE)

Center for Organizational Research and Education (CORE)