Founding Patrons make the whole of HSI possible: original research across the four pillars, the open governance tools we publish free to the public, the Fellowship, and the salons that bring it all together. In return, patrons share in the work, not in its conclusions.
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 pillars.
The Searchlight every two weeks, HSI Briefs each month, Horizon Scans each quarter, and the Annual Outlook each year. Editorial team, research time, source acquisition, fact-checking, and publication infrastructure.
Convening costs across New York, London, and Tokyo, plus the annual flagship. Salons are not revenue-generating; they exist to test analysis with practitioners and to build the network within which the research lands.
The HSI Fellowship in support of exceptional doctoral scholars, and the editorial and research team working across the four pillars.
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.
The benefits below are the practical expression of being inside the founding circle of an independent institute.
Founding Patrons are named in the Institute's published register, in the inaugural Annual Outlook, and in the permanent record of HSI's founding period. Anonymous patronage is also welcome and respected.
Each Horizon Scan, Brief, and the Annual Outlook one to two weeks before public release. Searchlight issues remain on the public biweekly cadence.
Invitations to the salons in New York, London, and Tokyo, plus the annual flagship convening released alongside the Annual Outlook. Salons are by invitation only and run on Chatham House conventions.
An annual letter, sent ahead of the Annual Outlook, on the Institute's research direction, the year ahead, and the structural questions Founding Patrons most consistently raise.
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 its Annual 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 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 HSI'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.
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.
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