ProCon.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity that has no government affiliations of any kind. Our purpose is educational. We do not express opinions on our research projects ("issue websites").

Our mission statement is:

"Promoting critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship by presenting controversial issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan primarily pro-con format."

We accomplish our mission by researching issues that we feel are complicated and important and work to present them in a balanced, comprehensive, straightforward, and primarily pro-con format for free and without advertising on the internet.

Benjamin Franklin commented on the practical use of pros and cons in 1772:

"When these difficult Cases occur, they are difficult chiefly because while we have them under Consideration all the Reasons pro and con are not present to the Mind at the same time... To get over this, my Way is, to divide half a Sheet of Paper by a Line into two Columns, writing over the one Pro, and over the other Con... And tho' the Weight of Reasons cannot be taken with the Precision of Algebraic Quantities, yet when each is thus considered separately and comparatively, and the whole lies before me, I think I can judge better, and am less likely to take a rash Step..."

Benjamin Franklin
(September 19, 1772 letter to Joseph Priestley)

Specifically, ProCon.org has (as of Mar. 31, 2009): over 1,000 questions on controversial issues with over 7,500 pro, con, and not clearly pro or con statements date and source information for all research cited Over 4,800 biographies for the sources used on the sites been used by over 430 schools in 45 states and 13 countries research done or vetted by experienced professionals information for multiple age and reading levels a Spanish version of our homepage strict editorial guidelines to ensure journalistic integrity been referenced by the mainstream media over 100 times (BBC, Forbes, NY Times, LA Times, etc.) been archived by the Library of Congress for having "materials of historical importance"

Steven C. Markoff, the Chairman of ProCon.org, has been active in trying to find pros and cons of various controversial issues since 1986. He created an organization to pursue this effort, and after going through several iterations, that organization became ProCon.org on July 12, 2004. Read a detailed personal statement from Mr. Markoff about the origins and background of ProCon.org, or read the organization's history and highlights below.

July 12, 2004:	ProCon.org's Articles of Incorporation (PDF 991KB) are certified by the California Secretary of State, and thus ProCon.org is officially born.
Dec. 4, 2004:	Hired our first Managing Editor, Kamy Akhavan.
Feb. 2005:	Surpassed 1,000,000 cumulative sessions since inception on ProCon.org's websites.
May 2005:	"Promoting Informed Citizenship" becomes the official slogan of ProCon.org. [Amended on May 18, 2007 to "Promoting education and informed citizenship." Amended again on July 7, 2009 to "Promoting critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship."]
June 6, 2005:	The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) referenced ProCon.org in its article announcing the Supreme Court's controversial Gonzalez v. Raich decision. Our site appeared first among the three recommended links (ahead of the DEA and NORML).
Sep. 1, 2005:	ProCon.org moves to 233 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 200 in Santa Monica, California.
Oct. 13, 2005:	Forbes Magazine made ProCon.org the only website referenced in an article about marijuana and the brain. The article was reprinted in Yahoo! News, Drkoop.com (the former U.S. Surgeon General's website), numerous local TV news station websites (such as KLEX in Lexington, KY, KLAS in Las Vegas, and KPHO in Phoenix), and health-related sites such as Health Central, Health Finder, and Medicine Net.
Oct. 26, 2005:	ProCon.org is declared by the State of California Franchise Tax Board as a charitable corporation (PDF 991KB) and thus exempt from state franchise or income tax under code section 2370ld.
Jan. 23, 2006:	ProCon.org selected as a "Yahoo! Pick" The Yahoo! editors wrote: "You're guaranteed to disagree with 50% of what you read here, but you'll come away better informed and -- if the site's founders are proved out -- a better citizen, to boot."
Feb. 26, 2006:	First radio interview for ProCon.org took place on WLPO radio in Oglesby, Illinois. In the 23-minute interview, host John Small commented "Fascinating website. I think we can learn something. Anybody who has access to a computer can learn a little more about their world and get a little ammunition to battle the office bully over an issue but it's also just to better your brain."
June 22, 2006:	The winner of the ProCon.org logo contest was selected out of 166 logos from 42 contestants in 8 countries.
Feb. 2007:	Surpassed 5,000,000 cumulative sessions since inception on ProCon.org's websites.
Feb. 25, 2007:	First time ProCon.org presents its pro and con statements in a newspaper. The Westside Chronicle, a weekly newspaper in Los Angeles, ran our pro-con presentations for five issues. The newspaper hit hard times and shut its doors by summer 2007.
Mar. 12, 2006:	60 Minutes, the CBS weekly television news magazine, listed ProCon.org as one of only three recommended links on its website section titled "The Science of Sexual Orientation." The other two links were to specific studies on sexual orientation.
Sep. 26, 2006:	The New York Times referenced ProCon.org in its article "Supporters of A.C.L.U. Call for Ouster of Its Leaders" by Stephanie Strom.
Jan. 30, 2007:	A search function was added to all ProCon.org websites.
Mar. 30, 2007:	Received 501(c)(3) nonprofit status from the IRS 21 months after we applied for it on June 28, 2005.
July 27, 2007:	The Congressional Research Service, a division of the Library of Congress, referenced ProCon.org four times in its report to Congress titled "Medical Marijuana: Review and Analysis of Federal and State Policies."
Oct. 2007:	The number of schools that referenced ProCon.org in their educational materials surpassed 100 for the first time, with 109 middle schools, high schools, colleges, and universities having included ProCon.org in their lesson plans or other educational resources.
Oct. 11, 2007:	ProCon.org appeared on television for the first time. LATV, a television station based in Los Angeles, conducted an interview with Managing Editor Kamy Akhavan about medical marijuana.
Nov. 14, 2007:	Received our first online donation ($100) after setting up an on-line mechanism to receive contributions electronically.
Nov. 29, 2007:	Created seven videos asking the 2008 presidential candidates for their views on our questions about hate crimes, the cost of higher education, mandatory civil service, aid to Darfur, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the death penalty, and medical marijuana. The videos were posted on YouTube.com as part of its Republican debate contest.
Dec. 12, 2007:	Launched 2008 Election ProCon.org marking our first website in the realm of election politics.
Feb. 29, 2008:	Launched an RSS feed so visitors to ProCon.org could receive free ongoing updates about ProCon.org's new content.
Mar. 2008:	National Public Radio (NPR) ran dozens of messages referencing ProCon.org and our 2008 election website.
Apr. 17, 2008:	ProCon.org created its first User Survey to learn more about our readers and what they thought of their experiences at ProCon.org.
Apr. 20, 2008:	The Library of Congress honored ProCon.org by requesting permission to archive three of our websites (ProCon.org, 2008 Election ProCon.org, and US Iraq ProCon.org) because The Library of Congress considered our three sites "materials of historical importance to the Congress and to the American people."
May 7, 2008:	Surpassed 10,000,000 cumulative sessions since inception on ProCon.org's websites.
May 9, 2008:	Referenced seven times by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) - the largest organization of social studies teachers in the United States - in their Middle Level Learning publication, their homepage, and their Social Studies Professional publication.
May 14, 2008:	ProCon.org is referenced in official government legislation for the first time (that we know of). The Northern Marianas Commonwealth issued a formal legislative recommendation from the House of Representative’s Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Operations that cited a case summary from our aclu.procon.org website.
June 30, 2008:	Unveiled newdesign for all ProCon.org websites with over 10 new features including search function on all pages, email this page function on all pages, scrolling news, faster server, time and date stamp on all pages, and more. Also upgraded was the content management system which made adding and editing content more efficient. The revamp project took over 25 people from six companies in five cities nearly 2 years and 9,000 hours to complete. [Watch our internal video about the conversion process and new site launch.]
Sep. 24, 2008:	ProCon.org User Survey passes 1,000 responses. See the survey results.
Feb. 2, 2009:	ProCon.org was honored to receive the "Best Non-Profit to Work For" award in a national competition. ProCon.org was one of five winners in its class of "non-profits with an operating budget of under $2.5 million." There were 15 winners total. There are roughly 1,000,000 nonprofit organizations in the United States.
Feb. 12, 2009:	ProCon.org passes the 100 mark for number of times our sites have been referenced in the media.
Mar. 16, 2009:	The Spanish language version of ProCon.org's homepage was launched in Spain at www.procon.org.es and in Argentina at www.procon.ar.com.

Our annual calendar reports include a message from our Chairman, financial information, and details of ProCon.org's major accomplishments for the year. The 990 reports are the required filings we submit to the IRS annually.

 

2008		2007		2006
Annual Report		Annual Report		Annual Report
Audited Financials		Audited Financials		990 Report
		990 Report
2005		2004
Annual Report		Annual Report
990 Report

 

The biography of each Board member listed below (in alphabetical order by last name) can be viewed by clicking on his/her name.

A. A. Searle Field, J.D. Phone: Not Listed Fax: Not Listed Email: field@skilledleader.com B. John Kurtz, J.D. Phone: 208-344-6000 Fax: Not Listed Email: jfk@hteh.com C. Jadwiga S.Z.-Markoff, M.D., Ph.D. Phone: 310-587-1470 Fax: Not Listed Email: hmmarkoff@aol.com

D. Steven C. Markoff, Chairman & Founder Phone: 310-587-1470 Fax: 310-393-2471 Email: scmarkoff@aol.com E. Stanley F. Shimohara, C.P.A., M.B.A., J.D. Phone: 310-477-6161 Fax: 310-477-3010 Email: sfshimohara@skmc-cpa.com

The biography of each ProCon.org researcher, the IT Manager, and the Managing Editor (presented below in alphabetical order by last name) can be viewed by clicking on his/her name.

A. Kambiz Akhavan, Managing Editor Phone: 310-587-1407 Fax: 310-393-2471 Email: kamy@procon.org B. Tracey DeFrancesco, Researcher Projects: Medical Marijuana, 2008 Election, Sports and Drugs Phone: 310-451-9596 Ext. 115 Fax: 310-393-2471 Email: tracey@procon.org C. Jeffrey Hendricks, Researcher Projects: Milk, Felon Voting, Alternative Energy Phone: 310-451-9596 Ext. 108 Fax: 310-393-2471 Email: jeffrey@procon.org D. Marcus Hirn, IT Manager/Webmaster Phone: 310-451-9596 Ext. 111 Fax: 310-393-2471 Email: marcus@procon.org

E. Javier H. Inda, Researcher Projects: Voting Machines, Immigration, Death Penalty, Israeli-Palestinian Phone: 310-451-9596 Ext. 113 Fax: 310-393-2471 Email: javier@procon.org F. Monica Kline, Researcher Projects: ACLU, Born Gay, Under God Phone: 310-451-9596 Ext. 114 Fax: 310-393-2471 Email: monica@procon.org G. Relic Sun, Researcher Projects: Prostitution, Insider Trading Phone: 310-451-9596 Ext. 108 Fax: 310-393-2471 Email: relic@procon.org H. Jodi Young, Senior Researcher Projects: US - Iraq, 2008 Election, Euthanasia, Big Three Auto Phone: 310-451-9596 Ext. 110 Fax: 310-393-2471 Email: jodi@procon.org

Interns & Volunteers ProCon.org Alumni

ProCon.org, since its inception on July 12, 2004, has been primarily funded, directly and indirectly, by Steve and Jadwiga Markoff. The Markoffs funding goals for ProCon.org have been:

1. To fund the Markoff's vision of ProCon.org through its initial development. This goal was accomplished in 2005 when ProCon.org had built and launched six websites in the pro-con format.

2. To ensure that people cared about the content and information that ProCon.org offered. This goal was accomplished to the Markoff's satisfaction in 2007 when ProCon.org surpassed eight million website sessions for the year and had 38 total media references.

3. For ProCon.org to receive 40% third party funding. This goal should occur by December 31, 2010.

See our Financial Information page for details on our 2004 - 2007 program service expenditures, management and general expenses, and our fundraising expenses.

2004-2008 Financial Information for ProCon.org

I. 2008 Financial Summary II. 2008 vs. 2004 - 2007 Expenses: A Graphical Breakdown III. Detailed Chart of Financial Data, 2004-2008 IV. Definitions of Terms Used

I. 2008 Financial Summary In 2008 ProCon.org received total gross income from donations of $776,297 up from $725,245 in 2007. Of our $748,585 in 2008 expenses, $652,295 (87.1%) was spent on program services, $54,455 (7.3%) on management and general expenses, and $41,385 (5.6%) on fundraising expenses. ProCon.org operates with such a high percentage of its expenditures in program services for several reasons including: we spend small amounts to yield large amounts of funds raised, our operation is remarkably efficient, and our Chairman has refused a salary since we started. II. 2008 vs. 2004 - 2007 Expenses: A Graphical Breakdown

III. Detailed Chart of Financial Data, 2004 - 2008

 

		For the 12 Months Ending Dec. 31, 2008	% of Total	For the 12 Months Ending Dec. 31, 2007	% of Total	For the 12 Months Ending Dec. 31, 2006	% of Total	For the 12 Months Ending Dec. 31, 2005	% of Total	For the 6 Months Ending Dec. 31, 2004	% of Total
1. Fundraising:
	- Total Contributions (Unrestricted)	$ 776,297	100%	$725,245	100%	$ 516,726	100%	$ 373,120	100%	$ 86,326	100%
	- Total	$ 776,297	100%	$725,245	100%	$ 516,726	100%	$ 373,120	100%	$ 86,326	100%
2. Efficiency of Expenditures:
	- Program Services Expenditures*	$ 652,295	87.1%	$ 620,836	91.0%	$ 496,436	91.4%	$ 319,027	92.2%	$ 77,629	90.4%
	- Management and General Expenses**	$ 54,455	7.3%	$ 42,674	6.3%	$ 32,512	6.0%	$ 27,128	7.8%	$ 8,173	9.6%
	- Fundraising Expenses	$ 41,835	5.6%	$ 18,541	2.7%	$ 14,000	2.6%	0	0	0	0
	- Total	$ 748,585	100%	$ 682,051	100%	$ 542,948	100%	$ 346,155	100%	$ 85,802	100%
3. Excess <Deficit> of Operating Revenue over <under> Expenses:		$ 27,712	-	$ 43,194	-	<$26,222>	-	$ 26,965	-	$ 525	-
4. Balance Sheet:		as of 12/31/08		as of 12/31/07		as of 12/31/06		as of 12/31/05		as of 12/31/04
	Assets:
	- Cash and Cash Equivalents	$ 99,443	-	$ 76,599	-	$ 17,183	-	$ 33,746	-	$ 534	-
	- Receivables	$ 5,648	-	$ 3,200	-	$ 2,720	-	2,098	-	0	-
	- Total Assets	$ 105,091	-	$ 79,799	-	$ 19,903	-	$ 35,844	-	$ 534	-
	Liabilities:
	- Payables and Accrued Expenses	$ 32,917	-	$ 35,337	-	$ 18,636	-	$ 8,354	-	$ 10	-
	- Total Liabilities	$ 32,917	-	$ 35,337	-	$ 18,636	-	$ 8,354	-	$ 10	-
	Equity:
	- Net Worth	$ 72,174	-	$ 44,462	-	$ 1,268	-	$ 27,489	-	$ 525	-
	Total Liabilities and Net Worth	$ 105,091	-	$ 79,799	-	$ 19,903	-	$ 35,844	-	$ 534	-

 

IV. Definitions of Terms Used
[Definitions provided by the Internal Revenue Service - http://www.irs.gov/instructions/i990-ez/ar02.html#d0e5239]

Program services are mainly those activities that the reporting organization was created to conduct and which, along with any activities commenced subsequently, form the basis of the organization's current exemption from tax.

Overall management expenses usually include the salaries and expenses of the chief officer of the organization and that officer's staff. General expenses include those for meetings of the board of directors or similar group; committee and staff meetings (unless held in connection with specific program services or fundraising activities); general legal services; accounting (including patient accounting and billing); general liability insurance; office management; auditing, personnel, and other centralized services; preparation, publication, and distribution of an annual report; and investment expenses.

Fundraising expenses are the total expenses incurred in soliciting contributions, gifts, grants, etc.

Please help keep ProCon.org free of charge and free of advertising. Donate as little as $5, $10, or $25 (or more) today.

You can make your donation by credit card or by check (payable to "ProCon.org" at 233 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 200, Santa Monica, CA 90401).

We accept anonymous donations although we would prefer to have your name and email so we can thank you for the support.

For information regarding matching gift donations or charitable contributions in other forms (stock transfer, wire transfer, bequests, etc.), please contact ProCon.org President/Chairman Steve Markoff by email at steve [@] procon.org or by phone at 310-587-1470.

ProCon.org is designated a California non-profit charitable corporation (PDF 991KB) and a non-profit 501(C)(3) charitable organization (PDF 143KB) by the IRS. Donations to ProCon.org are normally tax-deductible given our 501(c)(3) status. However, your may want to consult with a tax professional to be sure.

If you have found any of ProCon.org's sites useful, or agree with our mission, please make a donation today. We appreciate your contributions to our efforts.

Funds are used primarily to continue our research programs and maintain our websites. For more details on how we spend the money we raise, please visit our Financial Information section.

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ProCon.org content is offered as a public benefit in accordance with our 501(c)(3) status. All the information on our sites can be viewed free of charge, and reprinting is allowed under the guidelines outlined in our Terms of Use policy.

The information on the ProCon.org websites has been compiled using the data available to us. We strive for accuracy but cannot be held responsible for any factual errors or mistakenly attributed quotations. We are human and sometimes make mistakes. We make every effort to correct any such errors promptly when they are brought to our attention. Please Contact Us to report any errors on our sites.

Just because we quote someone does not mean we in any way agree with them or support their perspective. ProCon.org's inclusion of links or references to outside sites or organizations is not intended to in any way endorse the views expressed or products/services offered by those third parties. Similarly, we bear no responsibility for the content or views expressed on sites that link to a ProCon.org website.