2016-11-09T14:09:26-06:00 2015-12-31 541342298 Kositzka Wicks and Company 5270 Shawnee Road Suite 250 Alexandria VA 22312 990 2015-01-01 272083548 Constituting America Inc CONS 2022550101 PO Box 1988 Colleyville TX 76034 Cathy Gillespie Co-Chair 2022550101 2016-11-08 1 Cynthia B Laporta CPA P00279363 7036422700 2016-11-08 2015 2017-02-10 21:41:12Z Cathy Gillespie 9382 Mt Vernon Circle Alexandria VA 22309 483733 0 X www.constitutingamerica.org X 2010 TX Constituting America's mission is to utilize the culture: film, music and TV (cont. on sched O)Constituting America's mission is to utilize the culture: film, internet, music, TV and social media to reach, educate and inform America's adults and students about the importance of the U.S. Constitution and the foundation it sets forth regarding our freedoms and rights. Constituting America is the only organization that utilizes the arts to teach citizens about the U.S. Constitution. 8 6 3 200 0 0 277956 483687 0 0 16 46 -11003 0 266969 483733 4540 26540 0 0 149240 299260 0 0 37749 111498 215503 265278 541303 1691 -57570 71630 96773 5044 87757 66586 9016 X Constituting America's mission is to utilize the culture: film, internet, TV and social media to reach, educate and inform America's adults and students about the importance of the U.S. Constitution and the foundation it sets forth regarding our freedoms and rights.Constituting America's mission is to utilize the culture: film, internet, music, TV and social media to reach, educate and inform America's adults and students about the importance of the U.S. Constitution and the foundation it sets forth regarding our freedoms and rights. Constituting America is the only organization that utilizes the arts to teach citizens about the U.S. Constitution. 0 0 57672 STUDENTS' SCHOLASTIC CONSTITUTION CONTEST - Constituting America's cornerstone initiative, the We The Future Contest, offers America's students, K-College an opportunity to learn about the U.S. Constitution and our country's founding principles in creative and innovative ways. The contest is designed to influence kids through culture by encouraging students to enter this fun and engaging contest that awards prizes for original songs, short films, public service announcements, speeches, poems, drawings and essays inspired by the U.S. Constitution. Continued on Schedule O.STUDENTS' SCHOLASTIC CONSTITUTION CONTEST - Constituting America's cornerstone initiative, the We The Future Contest, offers America's students, K-College an opportunity to learn about the U.S. Constitution and our country's founding principles in creative and innovative ways. The contest is designed to influence kids through culture by encouraging students to enter this fun and engaging contest that awards prizes for original songs, short films, public service announcements, speeches, poems, drawings and essays inspired by the U.S. Constitution. We then promote the winners' works by distributing them through the national media. We are the only organization that utilizes the movies, music and television with the kids' own works, to inspire Americans of all ages to learn about the U.S. Constitution by distributing their works through the national media.In 2015 we added two new categories to the "We The Future Contest": STEM and Entrepreneurial. To enter the STEM category, students are invited to submit applied technology projects that can be used to promote the U.S. Constitution. Examples we suggest are a random survey of students to test constitutional knowledge, computer games tied to the Constitution or liberties it represents, or apps or web sites showcasing a particular aspect of the Constitution's value in contemporary America. To enter the Entrepreneurial category, students are invite d to design a marketing plan to promote "We The Future Contest." We ask that they focus on one specific age group: Elementary School, Middle School, High School, College, Law School/Graduate School, Adult or Senior Citizen.Over 2,200 entries have been received from across the Nation for the contest (2010-2015), which is judged by a respected panel of well-known judges. Prizes include national exposure and promotion (see "Winner Promotion" program); Scholarship prizes for high school and college students (see below); Mentor Trips (see "Mentor Trip" program); and gift cards and other prizes for younger students. TURNER MAURICE GAUNTT, JR. EXEMPLARY CITIZEN AWARD - In 2014 a new category was added to the We The Future Contest: The Turner Maurice Gauntt, Jr. Exemplary Citizenship Award. This $4,540 scholarship is awarded annually through Constituting America. This scholarship is named for Janine Turner's father, Mr. Turner Maurice Gauntt, Jr. who was the inspiration in Janine Turner's founding of Constituting America. Janine's father was born on December 18, 1934 and departed this life on January 24, 2014.Janine's father taught her from an early age that we are blessed to live as citizens of the United States of America. He was a West Point graduate, and flew with the Strategic Air Command. He was one of the first to fly the revolutionary B-58 Hustler at Mach 2. Janine's father was brave, honest, and resilient. He inspired her to love her country, and be willing to make sacrifices for her. He inspired her to study history, to value lessons learned from both history and great patriots, and to be of service. Mr. Gauntt valued our country's founding principles and our founding fathers' wisdom. With his exemplary service, he honored our United States Constitution.Constituting America awards the Turner Maurice Gauntt, Jr. Exemplary Citizen award every year to a graduating senior, nominated by a teacher or school administrator, whose character mirrors these values. Through 2015, two students have been awarded this scholarship price: Austin Dobbs, currently attending Baylor University and Lexi Lassiter, currently attending University of Texas at Austin. SCHOLARSHIP PRIZES FOR WINNERS - To date, through the We The Future Contest and the Turner Maurice Gauntt, Jr. Exemplary Citizen Award, 55 high school and college winners have received $95,000 in scholarships from 26 different states, with a total of 92 Winners from 28 different states. Elementary School and Middle School winners have won a total of $5,000 in gift cards. In 2015 Constituting America awarded $26,540 in scholarship prizes to the 2014 sixteen high school and college winners (who were selected in early December 2014) and the Turner Maurice Gauntt, Jr. Exemplary Citizen Award Winner, Lexi Lassiter. 103626 WINNERS MENTOR TRIPS - For the first four years of Constituting America, winners received a trip to Philadelphia, where they performed on stage at the National Constitution Center and where they were featured as future leaders in We The Future Documentaries, and mini-documentaries which were either mailed out to schools over the summer and/or distributed online via social media. Contest Winners have sung on national television, the Huckabee show, with Governor Mike Huckabee and his band, the Little Rockers. They have appeared on Fox & Friends and other television shows as well as hometown radio and print press. Winners are made available to Philadelphia and national press on Constitution Day, including local Philadelphia TV interviews. Continued on Schedule O.WINNERS MENTOR TRIPS - For the first four years of Constituting America, winners received a trip to Philadelphia, where they performed on stage at the National Constitution Center and where they were featured as future leaders in We The Future Documentaries, and mini-documentaries which were either mailed out to schools over the summer and/or distributed online via social media. Contest Winners have sung on national television, the Huckabee show, with Governor Mike Huckabee and his band, the Little Rockers. They have appeared on Fox & Friends and other television shows as well as hometown radio and print press. Winners are made available to Philadelphia and national press on Constitution Day, including local Philadelphia TV interviews. The summer of 2012, Winners Emily Keener and Kori Caswell sang the National Anthem at the Annual Congressional Baseball Game for Charity in Washington, DC by congressional invitation, and the fall of 2013 best middle school song winner Jessie Liz Clement performed at the Susan B. Anthony Washington, DC Gala. In 2015 we launched a new type of We The Future Contest Winners' Trip: Mentor Trips. During the summer of 2015 We The Future Contest Best Song Winners traveled to Nashville to meet with Mentor Vince Gill and record in a professional studio donated by Belmont University: the historic Quonset Hut studio where Johnny Cash and Elvis recorded, filmed professional music videos, and they performed at and toured the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP); Best Essay and Speech Winners traveled to Washington, DC to meet with Mentors Fox News Bret Baier and Brit Hume and enjoy behind the scenes tours of educational sites including Mount Vernon, the National Archives, and received a VIP behind the scenes tour of the Washington Times; and our Best Short Film and PSA Winners traveled to Hollywood to meet with actor Gary Sinise on the set of his television show "Criminal Minds, Beyond Borders," tour Disney studios and meet with industry leaders. All dined with a Constitutional Scholar and attended a two hour Constitution class taught by Constituting America founder and co-chair Janine Turner and her daughter National Youth Director Juliette Turner. 219078 GEORGE WASHINGTON SPEAKING INITIATIVE FOR SCHOOLS & CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS - At no cost to the organizations, Constituting America founder and co-chair Janine Turner and National Youth Director Juliette Turner regularly speak at schools, civic groups and senior centers. In 2015 Janine and Juliette spoke 65 times - more than quadrupling our 2014 speech number - to schools and civic organizations across the nation reaching over 5000, educating students and citizens in a non-partisan way about the relevancy of the United States Constitution, and how to have a dialogue with each other and their community. We also inform students about the opportunity to enter our We The Future Contest, and win scholarship prizes, mentor trips and national exposure. Continued on Schedule O.GEORGE WASHINGTON SPEAKING INITIATIVE FOR SCHOOLS & CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS - At no cost to the organizations, Constituting America founder and co-chair Janine Turner and National Youth Director Juliette Turner regularly speak at schools, civic groups and senior centers. In 2015 Janine and Juliette spoke 65 times - more than quadrupling our 2014 speech number - to schools and civic organizations across the nation reaching over 5000, educating students and citizens in a non-partisan way about the relevancy of the United States Constitution, and how to have a dialogue with each other and their community. We also inform students about the opportunity to enter our We The Future Contest, and win scholarship prizes, mentor trips and national exposure. Constituting America was able to dramatically increase our number and reach of school speeches by the use "Skype and "Google Hangout" to reach classrooms across the nation in a cost effective manner. During the speeches, Janine and/or Juliette take students through an age appropriate Constitution Quiz. Students win prizes and are invited to enter Constituting America's We The Future contest. Constituting America posts 1 minute teaching clips from the school speeches, and reaches hundreds of thousands of additional students through social media, 122,000 views in 2015 alone. All students receive a pocket Constitution and a folder with contest rules and Constituting America's white paper: "Long and Little Known: How Incoherent Statutes Harm Liberty and the Rule of Law." 75221 WINNER PROMOTION - Constituting America is the only organization that utilizes the movies, music and television with the kids' own works, to inspire Americans of all ages to learn about the U.S. Constitution by distributing their works through the national media.We submit our winners' PSA's to television stations across the nation, and they are actually played on TV. As of December 31, 2015 29 television stations had our winners' PSA's in rotation with a 2 million reach. We submit our winners' films to film festivals across the nation. As of December 31, 2015 our winners' films - and our "Road Trip Across America" documentary - directed by co-chair Janine Turner - had been accepted into six film festivals, and won two awards: "Road Trip Across America" won Honorable Mention at the Northern Virginia International Film Festival in 2015 and Award of Recognition at the Best Shorts Film Festival. We submit our winners' songs to radio stations and they get played on the radio! In 2015 during our Nashville Summer Mentor Trip, Belmont University donated their historic Quonset Hut studio where Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley recorded, for us to professionally record our best song winners Joy Frost, Kory Shore, Isaiah Jackson, Jim Booker and Domingo and Esteban Hiracheta. In late 2015 we hired a record promoter to promote Joy Frost's single "Free To Believe." The promotion began in early 2016, with the result of 24 million impressions of her song on over 65 radio stations nationally. We submit our winners' essays for national publication, and in April 2015 Sophia Magnuson's best high school essay ran in U.S. News and World Report, as part of a column authored by Peter Roff. We create holiday cards from our students' winning artwork, and these cards are mailed out to national, state and local leaders, and we place the winning artwork on notecards that are sold in our store, and given away as prizes at our public speaking events. ADULT ACADEMIC FORUM - 90 DAY STUDIES - To engage adults in a thoughtful and informative discussion on America's founding principles, and to aid parents in teaching their children about the Constitution, Constituting America launched the "90 in 90" initiative, an online forum that challenges adults to join with others around the nation in reading and discussing founding documents over a 90 Day period. The program is augmented by a notable group of constitutional scholars from across the country who write daily essays on the day's assigned reading. In 2010 Constituting America conducted a 90 Day study of the 85 Federalist Papers and their relevancy today. In 2011, Constituting America divided the U.S. Constitution into a 90 day study, breaking it down into 90 small sections. In 2012 the 90 Day Study examined the Amendments to the Constitution and in 2013 the 90 Day Study's subject was "The Classics that Inspired the Constitution and the Challenges It Faces Today. In 2014 Constituting America worked with our web developer to design a new search engine and coding system for our four years' of founding document studies. We reviewed each of our then 530 essays by over 85 constitutional scholars, and coded each one with a variety of searchable, relevant codes, to enhance students and researchers' ability to quickly access pertinent essays and original documents on specific topics and interests. Over 1,000 man hours were devoted to this project. We debuted our new search engine with a six week contest, promoted on social media, inviting citizens to answer questions about the U.S. Constitution, Federalist Papers and more, by utilizing our search engine to find the answer! In 2015 Constituting America's 90 Day study addressed the topic: Constitutional Crisis - How Executive Overreach is Impeding Your Liberties and Undermining States' Sovereignty: A Study on the Critical Erosion of Constitutional Checks and Balances. Essays in this study were shared over 38,000 times in social media. As of 2015, Constituting America's 90 Day Study series contained 632 essays on founding documents by 98 Constitutional Scholars archived and searchable on our website. During our 90 Day studies, citizens are encouraged to join the conversation with constitutional scholars by contributing blog comments, and discussing the day's assignment on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media. Our social media presence has rapidly grown over the years (35,000 Facebook fans by the end of 2011; 44,000 fans in 2012; 60,269 in 2013; 65,000 in 2014; 75,000 in 2015 - achieving a 1.8 million post reach in December, 2015). As a result of this initiative, thousands of citizens have gained a deeper understanding of the Constitution's meaning, and its relevancy today through the essays, commentaries and analysis provided by the participating seasoned scholars and historians. All five studies are available in their entirety in downloadable PDF form, and are being used online for educational curriculum and online studies. WHITE PAPERS - Constituting America has produced and released two white papers to shed light on facts that are too often being hidden from citizens, and explore important constitutional issues in an in-depth way. We released "Constitutional Authority Statements: In Defense of House Rule XII" in 2013 and in 2015 released: "Long and Little Known: How Incoherent Statutes Harm Liberty and the Rule of Law," co-authored by Constituting America founder and co-chair Janine Turner and Nathaniel Stewart. In support of the federal Constitution, James Madison explained that "It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood." Mr. Madison understood law "to be a rule of action, and asked "but how can that be a rule, which is little known, and less fixed?" Today, more than two centuries later, Mr. Madison's warning has proven both prescient and forgotten. With federal bills and statutes droning on for hundreds and thousands of inscrutable pages of legal jargon, federal legislation has grown so voluminous that it cannot be read and so incoherent that it cannot be understood. Consequently, federal laws today are too often "little known" by the representatives who enact them and the people who must obey them. Our 2015 white paper, "Long and Little Known: How Incoherent Statutes Harm Liberty and the Rule of Law" explores the history of the length of legislation with eye catching graphs and comparisons, discusses the impact long laws have on our freedom, and makes suggestions to lawmakers for crafting legislation "We the People, and the lawmakers themselves - can read and understand.PATRIOT CLUBS - Constituting America maintains 27 active Patriot Clubs across the Nation: CA (3); CO (1); CT (2); FL (2); GA (2); MN (1); NE (1); NH (1); OR (2); PA(4); TN (1); TX (6); VA (1) These clubs utilize Constituting America materials to learn about the U.S. Constitution, and carry our contest information and educational resources to teachers and schools in their areas. 75221 455597 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 31 0 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 8 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 AL AK AZ AR CA CT GA HI IL KS KY ME MD MA MI MN MS MO NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OR PA RI SC TN UT VA WA WV WI CO FL OK X The Organization 2022550101 9382 Mt Vernon Circle Alexandria VA 22309 Chris Foster Director 1.00 X 0 0 0 Denise Fuller Director 1.00 X 0 0 0 Janice Gauntt Director 1.00 X 0 0 0 Robert Gauntt Director 1.00 X 0 0 0 Jay McConville Director 1.00 X 0 0 0 Shonda Werry Director 1.00 X 0 0 0 Cathy Gillespie Co-Chair 40.00 X X 0 0 0 Janine Gauntt Co-Chair 50.00 X X 243637 0 0 David Chayer Executive Director 40.00 X 11613 0 0 255250 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 483687 483687 46 46 483733 0 0 46 X 26540 26540 255251 232821 10941 11489 30964 28244 1327 1393 13045 11898 559 588 5379 4761 508 110 22462 22462 91155 76594 3040 11521 2754 514 2240 10548 5301 5247 51052 51037 4 11 1861 1861 1110 1110 Production and editing 7327 7327 Marketing materials 6225 1220 5005 Books 4756 4756 Communications 4500 4500 6374 84 3905 2385 541303 455597 47957 37749 68439 95692 1195 195 7814 6928 1996 886 71630 96773 5044 2127 85630 5044 87757 X 66586 -5354 14370 66586 9016 71630 96773 -57570 0 X 0 1 X 1 0 X 286643 232320 243890 288552 483687 1535092 286643 232320 243890 288552 483687 1535092 366882 1168210 46 46 1694 1694 1536832 27943 0.76010 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 7814 6928 886 886 X 483733 0 483733 0 483733 541303 0 541303 0 541303 Part X, Line 2: The following was disclosed related to uncertain tax positions in the financial statements. Constituting America, Inc. is exempt from income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code and is classified as an organization other than a private foundation under 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Organization adopted the provisions in FASB ASC 740-10. 0 Scholarship awards for students who won a category in Constituting America's "We The Future" contest 16 22000 Turner Maurice Gauntt, Jr. Exemplary Citizen scholarship award given to an outstanding graduating high school senior 1 4540 X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Janine Gauntt Co-Chair 243637 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 243637 0 0 0 Cathy Gillespie Co-founder Operations X 100000 85630 0 1 1 85630 Form 990, Part VI, Section A, line 2 Janine Gauntt and Janice Gauntt have a family relationship. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 11 The members of the board of directors are emailed a copy of the Form 990 for their review before the form is filed. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 12c Each member of the board of directors informs other members of their business interest at the beginning of each year. The Co-Chairpersons have been trained in the importance of and procedures related to avoiding conflicts of interest. They are monitoring transactions to assure themselves there are no violations of the conflict of interest policy. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 15 The members of the board of directors evaluate the duties and responsibilities of the top officers. The board of directors have considered comparable compensation as if they were in another business. Form 990, Part VI, Section C, line 19 Constituting America, Inc. mainatins a public disclosure file of their Form 1023 Application for Recognition of Exemption and three years of filed Form 990. The public disclosure copy of Form 990 is available upon request. Form 990, Part IX, line 11g Consulting: Program service expenses 76,594. Management and general expenses 3,040. Fundraising expenses 11,521. Total expenses 91,155.