Year of Grant: 2016

Location: USA

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The Independent Institute is an American libertarian conservative think tank based in Oakland, California. Founded in 1986 by David J. Theroux, the Institute focuses on political, social, economic, legal, environmental and foreign policy issues. 

In 2014, Rising Tide Foundation (RTF) funded The Independent Institute (TII) for the launch of a series of educational videos on liberty – ‘Love Gov: From First Date to Mandate’,  in which the government’s bureaucracy is personified. 

Since its release, ‘Love Gov’ has reached nearly 5 million online views with 97% of audiences aged 18-34. The series doubled subscriptions to TII’s YouTube channel with the MyGovCost app downloaded more than 2,000 times. This proves up the institute’s strategy for reaching and educating the next generation about the principles of liberty.

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Studies show that Millennials have tremendous potential to embrace the values of free enterprise, free markets, individual liberty and personal responsibility. However, those values are not being effectively marketed to them and have been under- or misrepresented on the platforms that Millennials are likely to engage in.

To capitalize on the positive reception of ‘Lov Gov’ , TII seeks to launch over a two-year period, a second season creating a sub-brand in the organization to reach younger audiences. The five-part second season aims to present a positive, principled, opportunity-based viewpoint. The goal is to highlight issues that Millennials already identify with, such as “hipster” entrepreneurship, sharing economy and civil liberties, while engaging Millennials’ idealistic search for justice with the virtue of freedom, and showcasing compelling solutions to issues that matter to them.

Content will include articles, lists, infographics, quizzes, videos and multimedia. Users will be invited to interact through open forums and social media contests. The strategy is to integrate the brand into the student program, making it a permanent part of the institute. TII targets to reach 2 million views on YouTube and 1 million visits per year on the new website, including 200,000 Facebook page likes, 5,000 twitter followers as well as extensive media coverage.