Patrck: Week 1 (January 17-21)

When I chose to pursue a residency with the Academy on Capitalism and Limited Government Foundation in Champaign, Illinois, I had no idea what to expect. After all, the
organization had only been in existence for approximately four years and operated on a small-scale that included only one employee, President and CEO Dr. Matthew Brown, to oversee its operations. Only recently had the organization's existence been publicized even locally as a result of its former "sixth degree of separation-style" connection to the University of Illinois. As I learned in my first week at the organization though, the uproar surrounding ACLGF's history and/or former ties constituted--to borrow a phrase from Shakespeare--"much adieu about nothing." I say this because the organization exists simply to serve as an educational resource for students and faculty interested in studying the the underpinnings of limited government and economic freedom. It does this by sponsoring research grants, nonpartisan debates, and other lectures at all three University of Illinois campuses. Yet, even in spite of the non-threatening nature of such an agenda, some faculty members charged that ACLGF's remote connection to the University presented a conflict of interest that was at odds with the University's commitment to ideological neutrality. These fears forced ACLGF to discontinue its fundraising efforts on behalf of the University and instead redirect those efforts to funding itself as a standalone non-profit organization and private educational entity. While my object in this post is not to get bogged down in the nuances of ACLGF's history, providing at least a cursory summary of it is helpful in understanding the organization I joined as an intern this week.

Upon reporting for work on Monday the 17th, my initial predictions about my internship not fitting the traditional "internship mold" were affirmed. Not only would I, as the organization's second staff member, be working directly under Dr. Brown; I would also receive my own "corner office" at least until our organization grew into its spacious new Green St. office suite! Furthermore, within minutes of my arrival at the office, I began learning what it took to build a non-profit from literally "the ground up" given that I was tasked with installing our new office's technological infrastructure (i.e. the new office phone system, new office computers, new wireless printers, new office e-mail accounts, etc.). Once this groundwork was laid, I finished out the week by taking our handwritten accounting entries and adding them to our Quickbooks accounting software database.