The Cardinal Newman Society
The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) serves the needs of Catholic families and educators by supporting fidelity to the teaching of the Catholic Church in education, identifying clear standards of Catholic identity and best practices in Catholic education, and recognizing exemplary Catholic educators and institutions. CNS's newly acquired and retooled National Association of Private Catholic and Independent Schools (NAPCIS) program will be a model of accreditation reform: fostering faith-based, parent-led, and entrepreneurial school options; substituting mission-focused academic standards for woke biases and mandates; replacing bureaucracy with a streamlined and low-cost application process; and helping schools qualify for school choice funding. https://www.CardinalNewmanSociety.org
“The Cardinal Newman Society is excited about this generous opportunity to partner with The Heritage Foundation, a longtime mentor to us and to the exemplary schools and colleges we support. With this Innovation Grant, our newly acquired and retooled subsidiary—the National Association of Private Catholic and Independent Schools (NAPCIS)—will be a model of accreditation reform. It will increase faith-based, parent-led, and entrepreneurial school options; substitute mission-focused academic standards for woke biases and meddlesome mandates; replace burdensome bureaucracy with a streamlined and low-cost application process; and help schools qualify for school choice funding. We couldn't be more grateful, and many families and educators will be grateful, too!” - Patrick Reilly, President
The Center for Responsible Technology
The Center for Responsible Technology fights for responsible technology policies in Washington, D.C. and in state capitals across America. They are a bipartisan convener and partner network built to equip tech-wise organizations with data, infrastructure, funding, and coordination to enact reforms that promote human flourishing. The Center for Responsible Technology is forming a set of guidelines to help evaluate primary and secondary school (K-12) uses of technology in and around the classroom to provide a practical, comprehensive rubric for responsible uses of technology, certify great schools who prize their students and understand real education, and promote the Tech Responsible Schools List for parents desiring options and transparency about how schools handle technology. https://responsible-technology.org/
“The Center for Responsible Technology is deeply grateful to receive the Heritage Foundation’s esteemed Innovation Prize. American schools have been sold the lie that a screen-based education will improve outcomes. However, as a result of buying into this marketing pitch, our children are increasingly mentally unhealthy and find themselves in an academic free fall. This award will propel a powerful, consensus-based set of technology guidelines into classrooms to arm teachers and students for success. When we certify great schools who use technology responsibly and publicize that trusted list of schools for parents, they will choose wisely and force a natural market shift towards less distraction in the classroom and better schools nationwide. Our standards will also induce state lawmakers to move more quickly toward removing excessive technology from classrooms, thus improving both educational and wellness outcomes.” - Michael Marinaccio, Executive Director
The College of St. Joseph the Worker
The College of St. Joseph the Worker (CSJW) educates students through Catholic intellectual formation and skilled trade training to prepare them for work, service, and leadership. While technological advancement has increased in the mechanical, electrical and plumbing fields over the past century, overall standards and proper integration into construction have worsened dramatically. CSJW is constructing state-of-the-art Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) labs. By integrating rigorous tradecraft with the liberal arts, they are not merely training local apprentices but validating a scalable, replicable educational model for the entire nation. https://www.collegeofstjoseph.com/
“I have long admired the Heritage Foundation. It was a gift and an honor to begin friendships with those that lead the institution; it was overwhelming to receive the Innovation Prize from them. The grant will provide vital support for the development of our new MEP Innovation Center, a cornerstone of our mission to educate skilled tradesmen in both the traditional building arts and the latest advancements in the latest technologies. Weaving together the methods that are both ancient and new allows us to produce a unique craftsman—a master builder, prepared to lead. Being a Heritage Foundation Innovation Prize winner also signals to the broader philanthropic community that we are an organization that merits consideration, and it serves as a wonderful affirmation to friends who helped us get to where we are today. We are truly grateful for The Heritage Foundation’s leadership in supporting organizations that are tackling society’s most entrenched problems with new solutions. We relish the opportunity to create a new model for higher education that blends the ‘head and the hands’ and creates a new cohort of philosopher-craftsmen who will take on the challenge of rebuilding America.” - Jacob Imam, President
The Election Integrity Network
The Election Integrity Network (EIN) is dedicated to building and maintaining a permanent nationwide infrastructure of citizen volunteers who develop accurate and transparent election laws, policies, and procedures so that all voters can trust election outcomes. The Election Integrity Network is building national and state-level coalitions, expanding citizen-driven efforts, training volunteers, and reforming laws and procedures to improve trust and accuracy in elections. This year, the Network is strategically expanding its state-based grassroots capacity by onboarding new states, implementing a state-to-state mentorship system, and creating a model that allocates resources based on each state's development stage. Election Integrity Network
“We are deeply grateful to receive The Heritage Foundation’s Innovation Prize. This award will significantly advance Election Integrity Network’s mission to build permanent, state-based infrastructure for election integrity nationwide. By strengthening these grassroots networks, we will help restore confidence that every eligible citizen’s vote is protected and accurately counted. With this support, we will onboard new state coalitions and provide the mentorship and resources needed to implement the US Citizens’ Election Bill of Rights principles via our Model Elections Laws Handbook in communities across America. We thank The Heritage Foundation for its commitment to this vital cause and for partnering with us to protect the integrity of our elections.” - Sharon Bemis, President
FACTS About Fertility
FACTS About Fertility educates healthcare professionals about evidence-based fertility awareness methods so they can engage and empower patients in their reproductive health. Their new post-residency fellowship program will prepare physicians to become leaders in restorative reproductive health care. Rather than relying on approaches that suppress or bypass a woman's natural cycle, the fellowship equips physicians to become experts in identifying and treating underlying causes of reproductive and hormonal challenges and supporting the body's natural function. https://www.factsaboutfertility.org/
“We are thrilled and grateful to receive a 2026 Innovation Prize from The Heritage Foundation! This grant will support our mission to educate current and future medical professionals about the evidence supporting fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) and their clinical applications in cooperative, hormonal and reproductive medical care. With this support, FACTS will launch our new Fertility, Integrative and Restorative Medical (FIRM) Fellowship at two sites, providing in-depth training to two fellows and equipping them to become leaders in cooperative reproductive endocrinology (CoRE). The FACTS FIRM Fellowship will shape a new generation of physician-experts dedicated to healing and restoring reproductive, hormonal, and overall health, expanding access to patient-centered, evidence-based reproductive care.” - Dr. Marguerite Duane, Co-Founder and Executive Director
The Independent Medical Alliance
The Independent Medical Alliance (IMA) works to restore trust and transparency in healthcare by advancing patient-centered, evidence-based medicine grounded in informed consent. Independent Medical Alliance (IMA), formerly Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care (FLCCC) Alliance, is helping patients find doctors who actually listen. IMA’s Trusted Referral Network is a national directory that helps patients identify clinicians who commit to integrity, transparency, scientific rigor, robust informed consent, and patients-over-profits care. https://imahealth.org/
“We are incredibly honored to receive this recognition from The Heritage Foundation. The Trusted Referral Network is more than a directory; it is a lifeline for patients searching for physicians they can trust and a growing community for clinicians committed to ethical, patient-first care. Every day, we hear from families asking, 'Where can I find a doctor who truly listens?' This award helps us build a national solution to that problem by connecting patients with healthcare professionals who are committed to informed consent, transparency, scientific integrity, and putting patients over profits. We believe restoring trust in medicine begins with restoring the doctor-patient relationship, and this support gives us an extraordinary opportunity to accelerate that mission and expand access to honest medicine across the country.” - Kelly Bumann, Executive Director
The Inter-State Security Organization
The Inter-State Security Organization (ISO) is a bipartisan coalition of U.S. state lawmakers who convene to counter foreign adversary influence—primarily from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)—operating at the state and local level. U.S. federal institutions lack jurisdictional reach into sub-national governance, while state officials often lack national-security expertise, creating a structural vulnerability that adversaries exploit. ISO establishes coordinated policies and collaborative solutions to strengthen security, protect people and infrastructure, and address shared risks that individual entities cannot solve alone. ISO will coordinate lawmakers across all 50 states through bipartisan delegations, rapid information sharing, and replication of model state-level legislation—transforming states from a “soft underbelly” into a competitive alliance defending U.S. sovereignty.
“The Interstate Security Organization is building a new, bi-partisan alliance of state lawmakers who will work on the front lines to protect our homeland against adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party. We will rally American state legislatures to block malicious subnational influence campaigns and protect our critical infrastructure and national assets from foreign interference. Enemy states we face today aren't just operating overseas, they seek to penetrate our homeland and undermine our national security in novel ways. We need new infrastructure to stop them, and the Interstate Security Organization will lead the way.” - The Hon. Eliot Bostar, Nebraska State Senator
Love Your School
Love Your School empowers families by connecting them with educational options that fit their child's needs, providing one-on-one support that helps families find solutions for their children. They are building a scalable chapter network that equips families to navigate open enrollment, charter schools, homeschooling, Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), and scholarship programs, while also offering guidance on laws such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and evaluation processes. The Love Your School Chapter Model will expand education freedom by launching state-based chapters that deliver their Parent Concierge Service, direct support for families, and strengthen community access to school choice options. www.loveyourschool.org
“Love Your School is thrilled to be a recipient of the Heritage Innovation Prize! We believe parents deserve to know and understand the vast market of educational options available to their children, and we look forward to expanding our personalized parent support to more American families across the country.” - Jenny Clark, Founder and CEO
Reformers Academy
Reformers Academy recruits, trains, and deploys policy-focused professionals into positions of influence, equipping them to empower individuals and families and advance reforms in healthcare and education. Strong conservative policy ideas exist, but the talent to implement them does not. Their Human Flourishing Academy (HFA) will serve as the primary pipeline preparing leaders with the policy fluency, practical skills, and network support required to drive meaningful reform on day one. HFA applies the Reformers Academy’s proven recruit-train-deploy model to human services, preparing leaders to rethink welfare programs, strengthen pathways to work, and remove government barriers that undermine families and communities. https://reformersacademy.org/
“Whether in education, healthcare, or human services, too many families and kids in America have been held back by structures and systems that reward activity and dependence instead of results and empowerment. Reformers Academy exists to equip leaders with the courage, competence, and conviction to drive real reform in these critical policy arenas. We want to preserve the promise of the American Dream for every person who aspires to a better life. The launch of the Human Flourishing Academy marks a major step forward—building a new generation of leaders committed to restoring dignity, expanding opportunity, and ensuring every family has the chance to truly flourish.” - Josh Archambault, Founder and President
The Stop Predatory Gambling Foundation
The Stop Predatory Gambling Foundation works to reveal the truth about commercialized gambling to advocate for those harmed, prevent future victims, and advance policies that stop predatory practices. This project will yield a comprehensive family report card on the impact of state-sponsored predatory gambling. This first-of-its-kind report will help states accurately assess how predatory gambling is harming their state’s economy and citizens, disproving the perception that gambling is a reliable revenue source. https://www.stoppredatorygambling.org/
“No single act of state government inflicts more harm on the financial, social, and mental well-being of families than the institution of predatory gambling. We are grateful to The Heritage Foundation for the opportunity to work alongside them to shine a long overdue national spotlight on one of America's most-neglected major problems.” - Les Bernal, National Director
True Charity
True Charity champions a resurgence of civil society in the fight against poverty by equipping local organizations to replace dependency-inducing handout models with outcome-driven, work-oriented approaches that respect human dignity. Through “Project Show and Tell,” True Charity will elevate the effective work of poverty-fighting practitioners and translate their results into compelling stories for policymakers. By connecting leaders in its network with liberty-minded policy advocates, the project will showcase civil society’s capacity to deliver real solutions to poverty and homelessness, support common-sense welfare reforms, and demonstrate that local charitable institutions—not an expanding welfare state—are best positioned to restore opportunity and change lives. https://www.truecharity.us/our-team/
“Passionate, conservative poverty-fighters across the nation are providing real opportunities for people to live out flourishing lives with purpose. Their efforts will be bolstered by policy decisions that are informed by experience from the field. True Charity is honored to receive Heritage's Innovation Prize and its award to ensure the voices of those working daily to help the poor escape dependence on government anti-poverty programs reach and influence policymakers through real-world testimony.” - James Whitford, Founder and CEO
Voices for the Voiceless
Voices for the Voiceless builds movements that transform communities and institutions by addressing the root causes of abortion so that women receive the support needed to pursue motherhood. As abortion rates continue to rise, including among professional women, corporations play an increasingly influential role, often incentivizing abortion while simultaneously suffering from low retention and talent loss. Voices for the Voiceless is launching a national initiative to reshape how companies support pregnancy, motherhood, and family life. The project will introduce the Motherhood Opportunity Metric (MOM Score), evaluate states and corporations against a Blueprint for Supported Motherhood, and pilot a corporate Human Resources (HR) consulting and benefit program. https://voicesforthevoiceless.org/about-voices/
“We are deeply grateful to the Heritage Foundation for their leadership, generosity, and shared vision in awarding Voices for the Voiceless the Heritage Innovation Prize. This investment is a gamechanger for our mission to shape a world that supports the well-being of mothers and children by addressing institutional barriers to family formation. By scaling the MOM Score and our pro-family workplace initiative, we are equipping employers with a concrete blueprint to support mothers through maternity leave and workforce re-entry, and we are providing companies with the ultimate accountability metric to shift from good intentions to meaningful action. The Heritage Foundation’s investment allows us to prove on a national stage that supporting mothers isn't just a moral imperative—it is a powerful competitive advantage that drives talent recruitment, boosts retention, and is ultimately good for business.” - Josiah Friedman, CEO
