Institute for Free Speech

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The Institute for Free Speech (IFS) is a Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit founded in 2005 by former Federal Election Commission chairman Bradley A. Smith. It is a 501(c)(3) organization focused on defending the First Amendment rights to free speech, press, assembly, and petition. IFS works through litigation, advocacy, training, research, and education, with a strong emphasis on opposing campaign finance restrictions and limits on political donations.

Originally named the Center for Competitive Politics, the group helped shape free-speech law by backing cases like SpeechNow.org v. FEC, which paved the way for Super PACs in 2010. In 2014, it challenged California’s donor-list requirements for solicitation licenses and opposed proposals to expand congressional regulation of political spending and new IRS guidelines that would reclassify political advocacy by social welfare groups. In 2017, it changed its name to the Institute for Free Speech to highlight its focus on protecting political speech rights.

IFS’s legal director, Allen Dickerson, later became a commissioner of the Federal Election Commission in 2020, after being nominated by President Trump. The institute represents plaintiffs in free-speech cases and campaigns against certain campaign-finance rules, taxpayer-funded campaigns, and restrictions on referendums and ballot initiatives. It publishes studies, offers pro bono legal help in challenges to campaign-finance laws, and defends the role of independent groups in elections. IFS also hosts the Free Speech Arguments Podcast, which reviews First Amendment cases, and in 2024 released research on state laws protecting free speech from frivolous lawsuits. That year it sued the FEC over a rule that makes small donations routed through platforms like ActBlue or WinRed public, while similar direct donations to campaigns are not, seeking anonymity for those conduit contributions.

IFS is governed by a board that includes Ed Crane, Jenny Kim, Stephen Modzelewski, Eric O'Keefe, Daniel Shuchman, Bradley Smith, and John Snider. In 2023, the organization reported about $3.6 million in revenue and $3.1 million in expenses.