Ripon Society

The Ripon Society
FormationDecember 12, 1962 (1962-12-12)
TypePublic policy think tank
Legal statusNon-profit
PurposeAdvocacy
Headquarters1155 15th Street, NW, S-550
Location
Region served
United States
MembershipPrivate persons
Official language
English
President
Jim Conzelman
AffiliationsThe Ripon Forum magazine
Revenue$3,448,349 (2014)
Expenses$1,955,099 (2014)
Websitewww.riponsociety.org

The Ripon Society is an American center-right Republican public policy organization and think tank based in Washington, D.C. It publishes The Ripon Forum, the U.S.'s longest running Republican thought and opinion journal, as well as The Ripon Advance, a daily news publication.

Founded in 1962 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Society's name comes from the 1854 birthplace of the Republican Party—Ripon, Wisconsin. The Society's goals include protecting national security, lowering taxes, and shrinking the size of the government.

The Ripon Society was the first major Republican organization to support passage of the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s. In 1967, it advanced the concept of a negative income tax. In the early 1970s, it called for the normalization of relations with China, and the abolition of the military draft.

When many young people fear that their ideas cannot have an impact in American politics, the members of the Ripon Society have effectively proven otherwise. By thinking long and hard about public programs and by arguing its positions in a vigorous and reasonable manner, the Ripon Society has notably enriched our political dialogue.

President Richard Nixon's statement
about the Ripon Society
January 23, 1970