Independent research depends on independent funding.
Founding Patrons provide philanthropic support for original research across the four programs, open governance tools, the Doctoral Fellowship, and HSI convenings. Support does not confer influence over research questions, methods, findings, or publication decisions.
Research, convenings, fellowship, and open tools.
Founding Patrons fund the functions that let HSI operate as an independent research institute, not a consultancy or a sponsored-content operation. Patron support is general operating support, directed by the Institute toward its mission across the four research programs.
The four publication streams
Searchlight analysis, Research Briefs, Horizon Scans, and the planned HSI Outlook. Support sustains research time, source acquisition, factual review, editing, and publication infrastructure.
Convenings and working sessions
Convening costs for completed, scheduled, and future HSI salons and research working sessions. Convenings are designed to test analysis with practitioners; future events proceed only when program, partners, and funding are in place.
The Fellowship and research engine
The HSI Doctoral Fellowship in support of exceptional doctoral scholars, and the editorial and research team working across the four research programs.
The applied tools
The AI Governance Pulse and the Governance Readiness Assessment are published as public-good tools any organization can use. Patron support lets the Institute keep them free, rather than paywalling or licensing them commercially.
Founding Patron recognition.
The benefits below are secondary acknowledgements of philanthropic support. They do not create access to findings, decision-makers, or editorial review.
Named in the founding record
Founding Patrons are named in the Institute's published register, in the inaugural HSI Outlook, and in the permanent record of HSI's founding period. Anonymous patronage is also welcome and respected.
Advance copies where available
Where advance copies are provided, patrons receive the same publication that will be released publicly. Advance access carries no review, approval, or embargo-negotiation right.
Salons and annual flagship
Invitations may be extended to HSI convenings subject to program relevance, format, and capacity. Patron status does not guarantee a place at a particular convening.
Patron Letter from the Executive Director
An annual letter, sent ahead of the HSI Outlook, on the Institute's research direction, the year ahead, and the structural questions Founding Patrons most consistently raise.
Patrons support the work. They do not shape its conclusions.
This is the line that makes the research worth funding, so we keep it explicit and enforce it without exception.
HSI's research is editorially independent. Patrons and funders may support the mission and the pillars but do not direct research conclusions, do not review work prior to publication, and do not receive editorial input on what the Institute publishes or when.
Advance access is to the same content the public will receive. Patrons do not receive a different version, a custom briefing on their industry, or any commercial output; the advance window is a recognition of partnership, not a deliverable. Where patrons or their organizations are themselves the subject of HSI research, the Institute applies its standard sourcing and verification standards without exception.
The Institute discloses all individual and institutional contributions of $25,000 or more in the HSI Outlook, including the funder's name, the contribution range, and the year received. Patrons may elect anonymity; anonymous contributions are reported in aggregate and counted against the Institute's concentration limits.
Once HSI reaches steady-state funding, no single funder may exceed an agreed share of the Institute's annual operating budget, documented in the gift acceptance policy and reviewed annually by the Board upon its constitution. During the founding period, the Institute prioritizes assembling a diversified base of Founding Patrons over relying on any single source.
Funding from foreign government entities, sovereign wealth funds, state-owned enterprises, or organizations with state-linked governance is reviewed under HSI's foreign-funding policy and disclosed regardless of size. Some sources are declined as a matter of policy.
Horizon Search Institute is the registered trade name of HSI Research Foundation, a Delaware nonprofit corporation (EIN 42-1954110) incorporated April 15, 2026. Its application for 501(c)(3) determination is anticipated in 2026. Until then, tax-deductible contributions are received through the Foundation's fiscal sponsor, Fiscal Sponsorship Allies, Inc. (EIN 85-0839183), a 501(c)(3) public charity that retains variance power over donated funds in accordance with applicable law. Founding Patron arrangements are structured individually; tax treatment and other questions are discussed in those conversations.
For prospective Founding Patrons.
Founding Patron arrangements are structured individually and conducted in confidence. Inquiries are received by the Executive Director, and a structured conversation typically follows within the same week.
Inquire about Founding Patronage →