Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression

Communications: fire's communications program shares our mission with millions of americans through channels including print media, podcasts, videos, radio and television, social media, and online platforms. In the fiscal year 2023-24, we amassed more than 920,000 subscribers and followers, welcomed 4.6 million visitors to our website, and received a record-breaking 15,730 media mentions.

Fire litigation: fire strategically litigates in courts nationwide to vindicate first amendment Rights. In service of our expanded mission to defend free speech both on and off campus, our litigation program is growing into a premier public-interest law firm for free Expression. Fire attorneys review each and every case submission we receive and also proactively seek out legal challenges with the potential to secure lasting legal precedents, major public-policy reform, or clear cultural impact. Since fire began litigating in 2014, fire's litigation program has secured 28 victories and more than $3 million in damages and fees. (continued on schedule o.)

Research: fire's research team compiles data on threats to free speech so we can confront and respond to the most commonly made arguments against freedom of Expression.

Campus Rights advocacy (cra): fire continues to place a special emphasis on defending the Individual Rights of students and faculty members on campus, and our cra program leads these efforts. Our expert staff reviews every case submission we receive and takes action by intervening directly with administrators; engaging in creative advocacy such as freedom of information act (foia) requests or threats to schools' accreditation; and applying public pressure to schools to reverse Rights violations. In the 2023-24 fiscal year, fire's cra team recorded 74 victories.

Strategic partnerships: fire's strategic partnerships program initiates, cultivates, and maintains relationships with fire's growing list of allies. Through these efforts, we monitor and maintain opportunities to enhance our work by collaborating with a wide range of partners.

Engagement & mobilization: fire's engagement and mobilization team is rapidly becoming the "home base" for america's free speech constituency, giving them the community, the knowledge, and the resources needed to promote a culture of free Expression.

Fire student development: fire's student development programs educate and empower current college students to defend free speech on campus through events and signature initiatives like our summer internship program. These programs also help fire build the next generation of talented free speech leaders, some of whom go on to work with fire.

Legislative and policy: fire's legislative and policy team supports our mission on both a state and federal level by advocating on behalf of rights-protective legislation and against proposed laws that threaten first amendment Rights. In the fiscal year 2023-24, our legislative and policy team worked with legislators to pass a comprehensive campus free speech bill in new hampshire while helping to defeat eight bills that threatened Individual Rights in Florida, Arizona, south carolina, Indiana, new hampshire, new jersey, and Nebraska.

Public advocacy: fire's public advocacy department engages in non-litigation advocacy to defend and promote expressive Rights and a strong culture of free Expression. In the fiscal year 2023-24, the public advocacy team secured 12 victories.

Policy reform project: our policy reform project proactively and systematically documents and exposes campus policies that violate college students' free speech Rights. The centerpiece of the project's work is maintaining fire's spotlight database, which catalogs restrictions on free speech on over 475 campuses nationwide. In the fiscal year 2023-24, the policy reform team reformed 48 policies on 19 campuses impacting more than 300,000 students.

Faculty outreach: the fire faculty network conducts outreach to college and university faculty, connecting them with a network that will give them the knowledge and resources needed to promote academic freedom on their campuses.