S A V E

T H E

1. CHARLES AND DAVID KOCH ARE MANEUVERING TO SEIZE CONTROL OF THE CATO INSTITUTE.

trying to convince Cato supporters that Catos activities should be more closely coordinated with the Kochs partisan political operation.
3. THE SAVE CATO CAMPAIGN IS INTENDED TO EXPOSE THE KOCH AGENDA FOR CATO, NOT TO DEMONIZE THE KOCHS.
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defeat their takeover campaign, and to preserve the independence of the Institute.
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They filed a lawsuit against Cato in an attempt to increase their ownership, based on a shareholder agreement that has been dormant since it was used to establish Cato 35 years ago. With Bill Niskanens death, the Kochs hope to own 2/3 of Catos stock rather than 1/2.
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There may be legitimate criticisms of the Cato Institute, and there may be ways to improve Cato. We welcome suggestions. But none of these issues justifies the Koch campaign to seize control of Cato. We encourage all friends of Cato and friends of independent policy analysis to join us in persuading the Kochs to end their takeover campaign.

They used their existing ownership interest to place Koch employees, consultants, and a major shareholder of Koch Industries on Catos Board of Directors.
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We are grateful for the support Cato received from the Kochs until a couple of years ago (about 4 percent of our budget in the past decade), and we appreciate their donations to many other libertarian causes as well. But we believe the Kochs have not been transparent about their intentions. They wrote last year that Cato has come to be viewed as one of the nations foremost upholders of advancing the idea of liberty, and that they were proud of and believe Catos success has been due to its outstanding leadership.

5.WHAT CAN YOU DO?

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They now insist on removing Catos co-founder and president, Edward H. Crane, who would be the only remaining non-Koch shareholder.

If youre a Cato Sponsor, keep supporting Cato because we need you now more than ever during this fight to keep Cato independent. If youre not a Sponsor, please consider becoming one.

2. THE KOCH CAMPAIGN THREATENS TO DAMAGE CATOS FUNDING AND ITS REPUTATION AS THE LEADING INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR LIBERTARIAN PRINCIPLES.

l If youre a writer, blogger, or movement leader, please speak out. l

They used their ownership interest to remove several Board directors who have been among Catos largest and most steadfast financial contributors.
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l Their only complaints have been that Cato is now suddenly operating without principles and that the Koch employees on Catos Board are not treated with sufficient respect. They have provided no further details or explanations for their campaign to seize control of Cato.

Like the independently created Facebook page Save the Cato Institute and recommend it to your friends. Follow the issue at www.cato.org/ SaveCato and www.KochvCato.com.

A number of Cato donors have opted to withhold their contributions until they can be assured that the Kochs will not control the organization.

4. CATOS OFFICERS AND INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS WILL NOT AGREE TO ALLOW THE KOCHS TO CONTROL CATO.

Catos success depends on its reputation for independence, integrity, nonpartisanship, and commitment to libertarian principles. But the Kochs are

We dont believe a think tank can retain its credibility if its perceived to be and isliterally owned by the Kochs or any other individual or special-interest group. Therefore, we are determined to
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l Send a polite, respectful letter expressing your concern about the takeover campaign to Charles G. Koch, c/o Richard H. Fink Charles Koch Institute 1515 N. Courthouse Rd., Suite 200 Arlington, VA 22201 or email@charleskochinstitute.org. l

Send this statement to concerned friends.