Dear friends,

As the delegates to the Constitutional Convention prepared to sign the final document in 1787, Benjamin Franklin pointed to a carving of the sun on the back of George Washington’s chair. For weeks, he had studied it in silence, uncertain whether it depicted a setting sun—that victory in the Revolution was already America’s high-water mark—or a rising one, signaling a new dawn and bright future for liberty.

At last, he said, he knew: It was a rising sun.

Many grapple with this same question today. Are we witnessing the decline of liberty—or its renewal?

But debating whether freedom’s sun will rise or fall accomplishes little. Rather, let’s focus on dedicating our utmost effort to keep that sun rising for future generations. As the greatest beneficiaries of its continual rise from Franklin’s time until our own, this is a moral responsibility we owe future generations.

And it starts with a dedication to the principles of liberty to which Cato has adhered since its founding in 1977. In last year’s annual report, we enumerated these principles publicly for the first time, unveiling the Statement of Principles that was adopted by Cato’s board of directors.

Your response was overwhelming. In an era dominated by zero-sum battles for power and a willingness to trade away even long-held beliefs for near-term partisan advantage, we received so much encouragement for saying exactly where Cato stands, and for our willingness to remain anchored on that ground.

And even—or rather, especially—in the face of an ever more chaotic political land-scape, this will not change. We remain guided and inspired by the admonition Frederick Douglass made almost 175 years ago: “Stand by those principles, be true to them on all occasions, in all places, against all foes, and at whatever cost.”

This annual report, organized around our Statement of Principles, shows how they guided everything we did in 2024. It also shows how we took on some of liberty’s biggest threats—from attempts to impose government control through central bank digital currencies to federal overreach masked as “emergency” authority to increasing numbers of attacks on free speech.

We hope you also see how Cato continues its commitment to keep expanding our reach, performance, and impact—an important responsibility we owe to you, the generous Partners who make our mission possible.

Thanks to your support, the Institute remains a powerful and independent force in the battle of ideas. Rather than picking sides, we elevate the debate. Rather than chasing headlines, we seek to shape them. Whether in Congress, on campus, in schools, or in the courts, Cato’s scholars are defending freedom where it matters most: economic liberty, free speech, personal autonomy, limited government, and peace.

But we must go further. That’s why we launched the Vision for Liberty campaign—our most ambitious initiative to date. It’s a bold investment in the long-term future of the Cato Institute and the broader cause for liberty. With support from our Partners, we’re accelerating efforts to amplify the effectiveness of our ideas, broaden our reach, and prepare the next generation of leaders to carry the torch of liberty.

This campaign isn’t just about sustaining Cato’s work—it’s about multiplying our impact in the years to come. Because what we do now determines whether future generations inherit a freer, more open society—or a more centralized, coercive one.

In short, it’s about doing the most we can to keep that sun rising.

With gratitude,