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Jacob Householder was a 2019 State Policy Network fellow with the Mackinac Center and worked with the advancement team.
My summer at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy has been an irreplaceable stepping stone on my path to a lifelong career in the liberty movement.
I am currently a senior studying financial economics at BYU-Idaho, and I recently helped start a new “do tank” in Rexburg, Idaho, called the Madison Liberty Institute. The Madison Liberty team encouraged me to apply for the State Policy Network’s Development Apprenticeship Program and work at the Mackinac Center. In that program, I would learn the work of a development team from one of the premier think tanks in the liberty movement and then return to Madison Liberty to build its fundraising program.
I have helped start more than half-dozen nonprofits, primarily in the world of limited government and educating people about the Constitution. Although I was specifically assigned to assist in the Mackinac Center's fundraising efforts, I spent much of my 10 weeks there observing and interviewing a diversified, professional team of experts in the fields of operations, communications, administration, policy, technology and fundraising.
My observations will help me transform each of the nonprofits I work with into excellent assets in the liberty movement.
The Mackinac Center has a list of 11 core values, and although I believe each is essential to its success, the value of "Ownership" has stood out among the rest. I believe the Mackinac Center has become a premier organization due to how well each member owns a responsibility to produce results. Each person owns his or her assignments with excellence, enthusiasm and humility. I have never before associated with an organization where I could say that every single person is an expert in their respective field, but I truly believe this about the Mackinac team.
My work with the Mackinac Center has done much to prepare me for my continued work with liberty-minded nonprofits. The impact of my experience here will be evident throughout the rest of my life.
