In an interview conducted in her Capitol Hill office on December 9, 2009, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann talked candidly about the Leadership Institute and the good the organization has done in its effort to recruit and train conservatives. “It [the Institute] reaches down to young people…[who]…have everything against them. The Leadership Institute tries to train kids to see that there is another view, another side of the story—called reality. [LI] also tries to equip them…to understand the times and know what to do—how to take action. They do both of those very well.”>

On December 8, 2009, The Leadership Institute trained over 50 students at the Internet Blogging Workshop, which provides students with practical tips on setting up and maintaining a blog. Students learned the nuts and bolts of blogging as well as how to drive traffic to their blog. LI offers a variety of Internet trainings to keep up with the ever changing technological trends. Click here for more information on LI's Internet trainings.>

In a December 2, 2009 article written by Rachel Motte for The Evangelical Outpost, Morton Blackwell is quoted on the need for both ideas and action within the conservative movement. In a speech he delivered more than twenty years ago, Morton told his audience of young conservatives, "The prideful conservative intellectual who avoids association with less elegant men of action may doom his cause… In our day we need still more conservatives who are first philosophically sound and then technologically proficient and movement oriented. We must teach young intellectuals that a flattering and seductive talisman which they do not fully understand will not guarantee them success…. Good ideas have desirable consequences only if we act intelligently for them.”To view the entire article, please visit http://evangelicaloutpost.com/archives/2009/12/rebels-without-a-cause-conservatisms-big-divide.html.>

It's not too late to register for the Leadership Institute's final Campaign Manager School of 2009. Join the one hundred other registrants on December 7-11 and learn how to organize and run a winning campaign. Topics covered will include:Campaign plansCampaign strategiesTargeting and identifying votersDeveloping your messageFundraisingAnd much moreBe a part of America's best week of campaign training and register for the Campaign Manager School today! >

The Leadership Institute is honored to present Virginia House Delegate L. Scott Lingamfelter as its December Wednesday Wake-up Club Breakfast featured speaker. He will address the state of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the state of the nation, and the challenges conservatives face today.Delegate Lingamfelter was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2001 representing Prince William and Fauquier Counties. An adherent to the Founder's vision of constitutional and conservative government, Delegate Lingamfelter is a voice for both social and fiscal conservatism in the General Assembly.Delegate Lingamfelter is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, Education Committee, and Militia-Police and Public Safety Committee, where he has distinguished himself as a clear-headed spokesman for low taxes, education reform, and public safety, including the right to keep and bear arms.Just $15 per person includes a great buffet breakfast. Bring a friend! Breakfast is served at 7:30 a.m. and the program begins at 8:00 a.m. at the Leadership Institute, located just 100 yards from the Clarendon Metro Station on the Orange Line. Space is limited, so please call Joanne Bogan at (703) 247-2000 ext. 503 if you plan to attend. Or register online at www.LeadershipInstitute.org/breakfast.>

Internet technology has opened new avenues for conservative victory. The Leadership Institute's Internet Blogging Workshop on December 8th offers attendees practical and useful information on the nuts and bolts of blogging.Register for this one evening workshop and learn from Internet experts how best to market your conservative cause on your personal, organization's, or campaign's blog. We'll teach you how to get started and how to succeed. After attending the workshop you will know how to:• Start a blog and generate quality content • Drive site traffic, build an online community, and activate readers • Help other bloggers help you • Optimize the number of visitors to your site using search engines.For more information on this or any of our Internet trainings, please contact Amanda Dehn at 703-247-2000 >

On Thursday, November 12, 2009, the Leadership Institute held a Gala in honor of President Morton Blackwell's 70th Birthday and LI's 30th Anniversary. Over 400 guests were in attendance showing their support for LI, including Indiana Congressman Mike Pence and Virginia Attorney General Elect Ken Cuccinelli. Executive Director of the Senate Republican Steering Committee, Ed Corrigan, was the Master of Ceremonies. A highlight of the evening was the honoring of young activists from across the country who have had an impact on the conservative movement using the training they received from the Leadership Institute.The evening was a roaring success and everyone at LI would like to thank the Gala sponsors who made the evening possible.>

The Leadership Institute welcomed over 40 students to its headquarters in Arlington, VA on November 17-18, 2009 for the Writing Workshop. Veterans of journalism and communications in the conservative movement offered the students practical tips on how to improve their writing skills. The training covered essential topics for one to succeed in the field, such as how to write op-eds and press releases.>

$75,000, $50,000 and $25,000 JOURNALISM FELLOWSHIPS OFFERED BY THE PHILLIPS FOUNDATION FOR 2010Applications Available for Print and Online Journalists Washington, DC, November 16, 2009 -- The Phillips Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2010 Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship Program. Print and online journalists with less than 10 years of professional experience are eligible. The Foundation created this program to provide fellowships for projects by journalists who share its mission to advance constitutional principles, a democratic society and a vibrant free enterprise system. The Phillips Foundation awards $75,000 and $50,000 full-time fellowships and $25,000 part-time fellowships to undertake and complete a one-year project of the applicant's choosing focusing on journalism supportive of American culture and a free society. In addition, the Foundation offers separate yearlong fellowships on the environment, on the benefits of free-market competition, and on law enforcement. There are also Alumni Fund Fellowships funded by donations from current and former Phillips Fellows. Alumni Fund Fellowship winners write one magazine-length article on their topic. The Foundation awarded 10 fellowships in 2009: Full-time FellowshipsSheryl Blunt for “The Assault on School Choice: How Teachers Unions' Opposition to Vouchers is Impacting America's Most Vulnerable School Children” Michael Dougherty for “Blowup: The Contradictions of the Economic Crisis” Gary Emerling for “Police State or Probable Cause: The Employment, Effectiveness and Legal Validity of Law Enforcement Checkpoints in the United States” Evan Hill for “Sanctuary: How the Fate of One Troubled Policy is Shaping the Debate on Immigration.” Part-time FellowshipsReilly Capps for “The Continental Divide: How the West's Geography Carves the Political and Cultural Future of America – or How the Nanny State Took over the Wild West” James Kirchick for “Transnational Progressivism and the Threat to America” Christian Lowe for “Answering the Call: Why Some in ‘Generation Y' Abandon a Life of Comfort and Prosperity to Risk Everything and Fight America's Wars” Stephen Morse for “My Two Census” which examines why the 2010 census could become the most controversial data-gathering process in history. Alumni Fund FellowshipsKatherine Truesdell for “Caught in the Web: an Exploration of the Left's Power Online and What It Means for the Right” Robert VerBruggen for “Race and the American Academy,” which explores how American universities study race and racism, how they handle racial issues on campus and how these trends affect the broader society.The Foundation is looking for journalism projects which are both original and publishable. The winners will deliver four installments with the potential to be published sequentially in a periodical or as a book. Applications must be postmarked by February 22, 2010. The winners will be announced next May at an awards dinner at the National Press Club in Washington. The starting date for the fellowships is September 1, 2010. Applicants must be citizens of the United States. For an application, visit us here, or contact: The Phillips Foundation, 1 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 620, Washington, DC 20001, Attention: John Farley. Phone: 202-250-3887, ext. 609. E-mail.>

The Leadership Institute participated with the Family Research Council's first-ever “New England Education and Training Summit” held in Manchester, New Hampshire on Saturday, Nov 14, 2009. LI provided an Internet Activist Workshop training nearly a hundred activists how to utilize online new media applications such as social networking, blogging, and online video activism. The attendees were primarily pro-family activists and will utilize the training to become better online activists.>

A 2008 graduate of the Youth Leadership School (YLS), Carla Shutrop was recently elected to her local school board in Minnesota with the highest number of votes of all candidates. She will serve a four-year term on the Shakopee School Board starting in January. But what does YLS have to do with it?The Youth Leadership School is the Leadership Institute's flagship school, nicknamed “the boot camp of politics.” This training provides students with effective techniques to organize and lead mass-based youth efforts for candidates and causes of your choice.The Youth Leadership School has launched more successful political careers than any other Leadership Institute training program.Carla said,I used the knowledge and training from my experience with LI and other trainings I have been to in my campaign. I think what made the most positive impact for me was getting out and pounding the pavement, meeting people one on one. I am honored to have been giving this opportunity and I look forward to the challenges ahead.Topics covered in the YLS include:•Building an effective student organization•Getting out the vote•Earned media (favorable publicity)•Developing a public relations strategy•Launching a successful career in politicsThis school is held on college campuses across the country and at the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.Apply to a YLS here!>

Launched in January 2009, the Sound Money Project at the Atlas Economic Research Foundation is engaging experts in the task of developing and refining a set of “sound money” principles with relevance to the world's current challenges. The Project also intends to mobilize think tanks and scholars to be more active in promoting public policies that are consistent with these principles.One way Atlas plans to mobilize these groups is through the Sound Money Essay Contest. The deadline for submission is November 24th, 2009, with a top prize of $5,000. To be eligible to win a prize within the Sound Money Essay Contest, contestants must be a legal resident of the U.S. or engaged as a full-time student in the U.S. Contestants must also be no more than 35 years old on the date of the contest deadline. >

On October 29-30, 2009, twenty-seven students attended a Youth Leadership School in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Many of the attendees were homeschoolers learning to fight for their causes and candidates. The students plan to use their Leadership Institute training to organize a conservative youth group in the Pinehurst area.>

The Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2010-11 Koch Associate Program. The Koch Associate Program is a very selective, one year, paid career opportunity for bright, talented young people who are interested in pursuing a career in the non-profit sector. Participants in the program include recent graduates, as well as those with master's degrees, JDs, and PhDs. Associates come from a wide range of backgrounds and academic disciplines. When pursuing a career, people often don't realize the great job opportunities that market-oriented non-profit organizations provide for those interested in advancing the ideas of a free society. The Associate Program is a great way to jumpstart that career, because we help Associates develop the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary for a successful future with free-market think tanks, policy institutes, or other non-profit organizations. While in the program, Associates are placed into a full-time role with a reputable organization where they work four days each week. The positions available to Associates cover various fields such as policy analysis, donor relations, program management, legal reform, public relations, and marketing. A full list of the organizations where Associates work along with some examples of project placements can be found on our website. Then, one day each week, Associates come together in a seminar setting at the Foundation to engage in reading discussions and group projects, network with their peers, listen to guest speakers, and learn how to apply Market-Based Management® in a non-profit setting through interactive exercises and workshops. The Koch Associate Program is a full-time position. Associates receive a competitive wage and benefits package commensurate with experience and education. >

The Leadership Institute continues its fifty-state strategy by bringing grassroots training to the 50th state. Politicians, activists, and community leaders came together this week in Hawaii in a show of solidarity with the clear message, "Less Government, More Liberty.” Over 125 conservative political activists from Oahu, Maui and the Big Island attended a week-long series of grassroots training sessions designed to make them more effective in communication, fundraising, and political organizing. Several current and former state elected officials, candidates for the office of US Congress and the Lt. Governor of Hawaii were among the high caliber list of attendees. Local business owners and the heads of several public policy organizations also attended the training. Attendees were very grateful to the Institute and its donors for helping them fight the battle against tax and spend big government liberals.>

On Saturday, October 24, 2009, LI trained over 50 activists at the Doss Heritage and Cultural Center in Weatherford, Texas. While most of the students hailed from the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area, there were a few that made the trek from places much farther away, including two eager college students from St. Louis, Missouri. Attendees of the Grassroots Campaign School were energized, and one thing was certain after the day-long training; Don't Mess With Texas Conservatives!>

Hit the ground running in 2010: Attend the Leadership Institute's Campaign Manager School, the premier training program for campaign managers. To put it simply, this school teaches you how to manage campaigns and win. With a strong emphasis on grassroots organization and effective media strategy, the school is led by experts who know campaigns and have run them successfully.A five-day program, the Campaign Manager School is comprehensive. You learn the essentials from writing the campaign plan to building your campaign structure. From there you learn about fundraising, including how to put together a finance committee, as well as how to solicit donors. You'll also gain info on how to target voters and build and develop your campaign's winning message.Other topics covered include: recruiting and motivating volunteers building coalitions winning earned media coverage online fundraising and much, much more. The next Campaign Manager School is December 7-11 in Arlington, Virginia. The cost is $250. Call 1-800-827-5323 today for all the details or go to www.LeadershipInstitute.org. >

Second Amendment March, a grassroots organization of gun-rights supporters, is organizing a series of marches next year around the country, culminating in a national march on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on April 19, 2010. Organizers are seeking state coordinators to organize the local marches in all fifty states. Help is also needed in promotion of the event. You can spread the word by joining the march's Facebook group and following them on Twitter. The Twitter page is http://twitter.com/2amarch.March organizers stress the non-partisan nature of the event saying that the event is open to anyone who believes strongly in the Constitution. To learn more, go to www.secondamendmentmarch.com.>

The national debt. It seems so abstract. You hear the numbers. You know it's not good, but it doesn't seem to affect you directly. But it does.DefeatTheDebt.com is a new multi-media campaign designed to educate Americans on the size, scope, and dangers associated with America's rapidly soaring debt. The group is running ads on cable television and in newspapers around the country. The group's website also offers an easy-to-understand explanation of how large the debt is and why the nation's debt matters as well as how it personally impacts your life.At press time, the national debt stands at $11.9 trillion with nearly $2.5 billion in debt added on a daily basis. As the site points out, it's hard for those numbers alone to really affect most people. But when you realize—as the site goes on to explain—that our national debt is now larger than the economies of China, the United Kingdom, and Australia combined, you begin to get the picture.To learn more about the debt and what you can do to make your voice heard on this issue, go to www.DefeatTheDebt.com. >

The Institute for Humane Studies is accepting applications for its 2010-2011 Humane Studies Fellowships from undergraduate and graduate students interested in the “principles, practices and institutions necessary for a free society.” Fellowship recipients will receive up to $12,000 each. The program, launched in 1983, awarded 165 fellowships this year. Past winners have conducted research in areas such as:• impediments to economic growth in developing countries• market-based solutions to environmental policy• the role of patient autonomy in bioethics• the relationship between U.S. presidential politics, fiscal policy, and economic performance.Applicants for the 2010-2011 fellowship must be full-time students in a graduate program or juniors or seniors in an undergraduate program at a U.S. college or university. The application deadline is December 31, 2009. Go to www.theihs.org to learn more or to begin the online application process.>