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Richard Nixon Foundation

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Richard Nixon Foundation
FormationJanuary 24, 1983; 41 years ago (1983-01-24)
52-1278303[1]
HeadquartersRichard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
Location
Chairman
Robert C. O'Brien
President and CEO
Jim Byron
Revenue$9,688,165[1] (2021)
Websitenixonfoundation.org

The Richard Nixon Foundation is a not-for-profit organization based at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California. It was founded on January 24, 1983[2][1] by Richard Nixon, 37th president of the United States, and served as the governing body of the Nixon Library for nearly twenty years.[3]

Today it operates the Nixon Library in conjunction with the National Archives and Records Administration,[4] which is an entity of the federal government of the United States, in addition to undertaking charitable and education-based activities.

History

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The Nixon Library and Gardens

The Nixon Foundation founded, controlled and operated the Nixon Library from the library's dedication on July 19, 1990 until July 11, 2007, at which the Foundation invited the National Archives to take control.[3] The two entities signed a joint operating agreement which allowed the library to become officially known as the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, welcoming it into the national system of presidential libraries. This move allowed President Nixon's White House documents to be moved to his library in Yorba Linda.[3]

The Nixon Foundation is governed by a board of directors, led by former National Security Advisor Robert C. O'Brien. The board includes President Nixon's daughters Tricia Nixon Cox and Julie Nixon Eisenhower, former U.S. Ambassador to Spain George Argyros,[5] former California Governor Pete Wilson, nationally-syndicated radio host and political commentator Hugh Hewitt, media pundit Monica Crowley, and longest-serving Vietnam War POW Everett Alvarez Jr. The Foundation's President and CEO is Jim Byron, a nonprofit executive appointed in 2021.[6]

The Foundation has hosted United States presidents, first ladies and several vice presidents.[7] Also hosted have been public affairs commentators such as Bill O'Reilly, academics such as Doris Kearns Goodwin,[7] and Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.[8]

The library includes "Meet the Presidents," in which presidential impersonators speak to several hundred school-aged children.[9] To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Nixon Foundation brought 16 tons of warped steel from the World Trade Center and a damaged, first-responder FDNY firetruck to the Nixon Library for viewing.[10]

Before the National Archives took over its management, the Nixon Library had been accused by several media outlets of glossing over Nixon's 1974 resignation with "whitewashed" exhibits.[4] In 2007, the National Archives removed the 17-year-old Watergate exhibit and, after three years, the new exhibit was scheduled to open in July 2010. The Nixon Foundation objected to the proposed exhibit, because the Nixon Foundation was not consulted in the way that other presidential foundations had been consulted with similar situations. The Foundation filed a 158-page memorandum to the Assistant Archivist for Presidential Libraries expressing their dissatisfaction[11][12] and NARA stated a committee would review the objection but gave no timeline for when that process would be concluded.[13] The exhibit opened on March 31, 2011.[14]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b c Byron, James; Joseph, Donita M. (27 October 2022). Return of organization exempt from income tax 2021: The Richard Nixon Foundation (PDF) (Form 990). ‹See Tfd›EIN 521278303. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  2. ^ "2001622: The Richard Nixon Foundation" (Search result). Dover, Delaware: Delaware Division of Corporations.
  3. ^ a b c Flaccus, Gillian (July 12, 2007). "Federal Archivists Take Control of Nixon Library". The Washington Post. The Associated Press. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
  4. ^ a b "Richard Nixon library offers candid new take on Watergate". Syracuse.com. The Associated Press. 1 April 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  5. ^ "George Argyros". Forbes World's Richest People 2004. Forbes.com. 2004. Archived from the original on 22 February 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  6. ^ [1], NixonFoundation.org, accessed January 2023
  7. ^ a b "Nixon Library and Birthplace Marks Anniversary: 1990-2010". Richard Nixon Foundation (Press release). PR Newswire. July 15, 2010. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
  8. ^ Mello, Michael (September 14, 2011). "Justice courts Nixon library crowd". The Orange County Register. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
  9. ^ Harris, Jebb (August 16, 2011). "Richard Nixon's brother plays the president". The Orange County Register. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
  10. ^ "16 Tons Of World Trade Center Wreckage To Act As Centerpiece Of 9/11 Tribute At Nixon Library". CBS2/KCAL9 News. September 4, 2011. Retrieved 2011-01-09.
  11. ^ Walker, Ronald H. (August 2, 2010). "Memorandum for Sharon Fawcett, Assistant Archivist, Office of Presidential Libraries, National Archives and Records Administration" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
  12. ^ Nagourney, Adam (August 7, 2010). "Watergate Becomes Sore Point at Nixon Library". The New York Times (NY ed.). p. A1. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  13. ^ Terrell, Jessica (August 11, 2010). "Editorial weighs in on Nixon exhibit controversy". The Orange County Register.
  14. ^ Nagourney, Adam (April 1, 2011). "Nixon Library Opens a Door Some Would Prefer Left Closed". The New York Times (NY ed.). p. A19. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
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