Brownstone’s Five-Year Anniversary
Five years, 4,000-plus articles, 22 books, dozens of fellowships, coast-to-coast supper clubs, weekly podcasts, 19,000 donors, and the right kinds of friends and enemies aplenty the world over.
BY BROWNSTONE INSTITUTE
Five years, 4,000-plus articles, 22 books, dozens of fellowships, coast-to-coast supper clubs, weekly podcasts, 19,000 donors, and the right kinds of friends and enemies aplenty the world over.
It’s an outstanding record for this little institute that could. Much of it stems from a drive to do things differently: small staff, mission focus, maximum efficiency, and a results-based orientation.
A notable difference: we do not have what is called a development department. These are the teams in nearly every nonprofit that do nothing but raise the money. You know them all too well: give a bit and get hounded constantly for more. Such teams are very expensive and kept alive by raising what they spend. We never did that and do not plan to.
As a result, our financials indicate that we spend less than 2% on fundraising. You read that right. This compares to the usual pattern in nonprofits of spending 25-30% and more on getting money in the door. These numbers are shocking, and illustrate the merit of going about things differently.
The success here traces entirely to you, your courage, generosity, and trust in this work. Goliath is a beast so ferocious in our times that it takes this kind of dedication to make a difference. And that we are, without hectoring spam, robocalls, or book-length pitches in your mailbox.
One close advisor told us that the results are so spectacular that Brownstone Institute should be written up in the Harvard Business Review, if they actually cared about well-run nonprofits.
Lately, we have have taken some extremely controversial positions that have made Brownstone a top target of Big Pharma and the agencies and media venues it controls. We know this based on growing numbers of attacks on our digital properties and reputation. We know this game very well at this point. We are not going anywhere.
All that said, we must ask: Can you help us celebrate our five-year anniversary with a financial gift today? It is tax-deductible to the full extent permitted. It goes to support a growing network of independent scientists, journalists, researchers, and writers of all sorts, a true community dedicated to resisting the consolidated groupthink of our times.
In the interest of making our digital tools more accessible, we have installed a new engine on the site. You can find it in the lower right-hand corner of Brownstone.org. You will be delighted how it handles your every question and gives pointers to our deeper content.
This is just one example of how our work – thanks only to your generous support – is far ahead of the game. Another example concerns our growing network of Supper Clubs extending coast to coast. On most nights of the week, there is one taking place, bringing new communities together over the main issues of our time.
Have you made your plans to come to Chattanooga, Tennessee, for our annual conference and gala, November 6-7, 2026? It will likely sell out long before, so you might as well take advantage of early-bird pricing and get your hotel reservations now.
Brownstone truly needs your support right now. We invite your support. The cause of freedom itself – deeply rooted in the culture as such – needs your commitment today. Our low amount of spending on development means that what you contribute goes to programs that matter.
The Brownstone Show is thriving. Tune in to these episodes, including the latest with Joel Bowman on the front lines from Argentina. The interviews are blunt and rooted in far-reaching expertise.
Go to the Brownstone Show.
We have out now a template for all nations of the world to leave the World Health Organization. The Right to Health Sovereignty is now available at Amazon. So is the technical report of this Brownstone-backed team. The coverage of this has been global. These two reports amount to heat-seeking missiles aimed right at the WHO.
See all our books.
These are the sorts of topics we talk about at Brownstone Supper Clubs, now coast to coast. Pick one and go!
July 16, 2026 — Brownstone NYC Supper Club: Stella Paul — Get tickets
July 21, 2026 — Brownstone Pittsboro Supper Club: Eric Henry — Get tickets
July 21, 2026 — Brownstone Puget Sound Supper Club: Dann Mead Smith — Get tickets
July 21, 2026 — Brownstone Charlotte Supper Club: Topher Field — Get tickets
July 22, 2026 — Brownstone Ashland OR Supper Club: Margaret Anna Alice and Rob Schlapfer — Get tickets
July 22, 2026 — Brownstone Austin Supper Club: Zen Honeycutt — Get tickets
July 22, 2026 — Brownstone Pittsburgh Supper Club: Fr. John Naugle — Get tickets
July 24, 2026 — Brownstone Bandera TX Supper Club: Terri Hall — Get tickets
July 31, 2026 — Brownstone W Hartford Supper Club: Mary Talley Bowden — Get tickets
August 4, 2026 — Brownstone Boston Supper Club: Stephanie Weidle — Get tickets
Aug 28–29, 2026 — Brownstone Polyface Retreat, Swoope, VA — Register | VIP Dinner tickets Regular registration ends July 31.
September 1, 2026 — Brownstone Chattanooga Supper Club: Gigi Foster — Get tickets
Nov 6–7, 2026 — Brownstone 6th Annual Conference and Gala, Chattanooga, TN — REGISTER NOW Early bird rates available until July 31.
For questions about registering for any of our events, please contact us at services@brownstone.org.
If you are interested in being a supper club host in your area, please visit our Supper Club information page here.
Here is some content since our last email.
The Deeply Troubling Case of Andrea Shaw and Her Twins By Brownstone Institute. Andrea Shaw has been indicted on two counts of first-degree murder by suffocation in the deaths of her 18-month-old fraternal twins, Dallas and Tyson Shaw. She is in prison now and faces a life sentence or possible death penalty for murder.
The Authentication Layer By Josh Stylman. Even with the creeping surveillance state, the government can’t fully implement programmable currency without authenticated identity on every transaction. Digital ID is the authentication layer, while CBDC is the currency that runs on top of it.
The Day the Hospital Disappeared By Joseph Varon. Forty years ago I watched a hospital disappear. What emerged from its ruins was not simply the physician I would become. It was the understanding that fear is inevitable and the greatest privilege in medicine has never been avoiding catastrophe.
The Death of Reading By Ann Bauer. Academics refer to this period as the “reading revolution.” Reading was as much an indulgence as carnivals and music halls. And this habit lasted, in one form or another, until recently when reading for enjoyment started to tank.
How to Make the CDC Great Again By Joseph Marine. The experience gave me the opportunity to reflect on what reforms I would like to see at the CDC as it faces a pivot point in the history of public health. Here are six themes that I see as most urgent.
Subjects and Citizens: A Treatise by Justice Clarence Thomas By Brownstone Institute. The emergence of birthright citizenship introduces a nation concerning individuals and the state that is contrary to the entire American idea. For the majority of the court to do this on the 250th anniversary of the Founding adds to the insult.
The Reimbursement Code Monopoly Is a Threat to Health By Margaret Hampton. Healthcare in the United States is in a death spiral. Costs rise, chronic diseases consume 90% of healthcare spending, and millions of Americans feel trapped in a system that limits choice. Patients increasingly want insurance for a broader spectrum of care.
The Declaration of Independence at 250: What Does It Tell Us? By Clayton J. Baker. John Adams stated that “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Are we modern Americans composed of the stuff needed to save our Republic?
The Army ROTC Taught Me to Never Call Independence Day ‘The 4th of July’ By David Gortler. America was founded on a set of beliefs and convictions—what Thomas Jefferson described as self-evident truths that were proclaimed in the 1776 Declaration of Independence and then protected by the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.
Malflusiva and the Wheeking Guinea Pigs By Alan Cassels. The most infuriating part of the VRBPAC meeting was that the members actually acknowledged and discussed some of these concerns, but instead of postponing its recommendation, the committee simply recommended further studies be done after malflusiva’s approval.
A.J. Cronin on Medical Ethics By Russ Gonnering. We must form healthcare “Communities of Practice” that are composed of groups of vertically and horizontally integrated professionals. Those just entering, those in active practice, and those in retirement can utilize such a Community of Practice for the transfer of knowledge.
Accountability for the Vaccine-Injured: A Senator Steps Up By Christopher Dreisbach. That may become Senator Johnson’s greatest contribution, not simply exposing what happened, but demonstrating that the search for truth does not end when the headlines fade. For thousands of Americans, that renewed faith may prove to be the best medicine of all.