IMANI Named only African Think Tank to win $100,000 Award

The Atlas Economic Research Foundation announced that IMANI Center for Policy and Education (Accra, Ghana) is the only African think tank among its first class of recipients of Dorian & Antony Fisher Venture Grants.

More than 180 think tanks competed for the grants in this program, but only nine were selected to receive up to $100,000 from Atlas over the next three years:

· Alternate Solutions Institute (Lahore, Pakistan)

· Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions

(Kentucky,USA)

· Canadian Constitution Foundation (Calgary,Canada)

· Cathay Institute for Public Affairs (Beijing, China)

. Fundación Ecuador Libre (Guayaquil, Ecuador)

· Fundación F. A. von Hayek (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

· IMANI: Center for Policy and Education (Accra, Ghana)

· Istituto Bruno Leoni (Turin, Italy)

· New Economic School (Tbilisi, Georgia)

Franklin Cudjoe, the founding director of IMANI Center for Policy and Education, remarked: "Receiving this grant from the Atlas Economic Research Foundation is another great vindication of the important work IMANI began 3 years ago. We are determined to see that public policy debate in Ghana and West Africa involve students who should be informed by principled, non-partisan viewpoints."

Atlas established the Fisher Venture Grants program in January 2008 to recognize and assist think tanks that represent "great investments" for the future. Grantees are younger institutes with a track record that suggests a strong potential for improving the climate of ideas among their target audience.

Alejandro A. Chafuen, Atlas's President & CEO remarked, "Independent think tanks can play a crucial role to ensure that public policy debates are not dominated by government insiders.

The Cathay Institute in China is playing an important role by educating people about the virtues of limiting government, so that individual initiative and free enterprise can flourish." The Fisher Venture Grant program honors the memory of Atlas's late founders, Sir Antony Fisher and his wife Dorian.

The couple established the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, because they believed that investments in emerging think tanks could be extremely cost-effective, especially when complimented with mentoring to further improve those think tanks' prospects for long-term success.

For this reason, Atlas structured the Dorian and Antony Fisher Venture Grants program to provide funding to think tanks over a three-year term, during which time Atlas will be in frequent contact to help develop plans and to monitor performance. Half of the grant is structured as a "matching program," providing strong incentives for think tanks to attract new local supporters for their important work.

IMANI was chosen from scores of think tanks (180)in the Atlas network because of:

.Its commitment to ethical behaviuor and civil discourse

.Its commitment to the principles of a free society:individualliberty,free enterpreise,and rule of law under a limited government.

.Your appllication, which showed elements of a successful business plan. That is an understanding of your market,and how to serve it while fulfilling your mission and building your organization's capacities

.We have been impressed by your success in developing and executing seminars to teach young people about classical liberal ideas. we see tremendous potential in your ability to identify mentor and cultivate new leaders in West Africa.

.Our belief in you, Franklin, as an effective leader who will be able to grow IMANI into an institution that will have long lasting impact in Ghana.

Founded in the United States in 1981, the Atlas Economic Research Foundation (www.atlasUSA.org) develops and strengthens a worldwide network of independent think tanks.

Founded in late 2004, IMANI is an African based nonprofit, non-government organization dedicated to educating society on the benefits of a free economy and fostering public awareness of important policy issues concerning business, government and civil society. Through seminars, publications and articles, IMANI and its international partners (primarily AfricanLiberty.org) seek to promote enlightened inquiry based on sound values and scholarship.