| Palmetto Promise Institute | |
| Established: | 2009 |
| Head Label: | President and CEO |
| Head: | Ellen Weaver |
| Budget: | Revenue: $551,452 Expenses: $460,257 (FYE December 2016)[1] |
| Former Name: | Palmetto Fort Foundation, Palmetto Policy Forum |
| Address: | P.O. Box 12676 Columbia SC 29205 |
The Palmetto Promise Institute (PPI) is a conservative think tank in South Carolina.[2] The organization was formerly named the Palmetto Fort Foundation and the Palmetto Policy Forum.[3]
The organization was founded as the Palmetto Fort Foundation in 2009 in honor of the Battle of Fort Moultrie.[4] It was relaunched by Jim DeMint in 2013 with $300,000 of his leftover campaign money. Its president and chief executive officer is Ellen Weaver.[5]
The organization's board of directors includes Rick Timmons, Jim DeMint, Dan Adams, Mike Brenan, Stu Rodman, Van Hipp Jr., Phil Hughes, Wendy Damron, and Barry Wynn.[6]
The think tank was named as a co-defendant, along with Governor Henry McMaster and others, in the South Carolina Supreme Court case Adams v McMaster. The lawsuit stemmed from McMaster's plan to spend $32 million in federal coronavirus aid to help families pay for K-12 private school tuition. In the case, the court ruled that McMaster's SAFE Grants, which were promoted publicly by the Palmetto Promise Institute, were a violation of the state constitution's prohibition against state funds being used to fund private schools.[7]
Palmetto Promise Institute is part of the conservative and libertarian State Policy Network.[8]