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Charlie Copeland

Writer

Director, Center for Economic & Fiscal Policy

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Join date: Aug 16, 2025

About

Charlie Copeland is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. He holds a BS and an MBA from Duke University.

 

Mr. Copeland is a prominent community leader in ISI's home state of Delaware. From 2002 through 2008, he served as a Delaware State Senator, rising to Senate Minority Leader's position. He emerged as a leading voice for government accountability, education reform, and criminal justice reform during his service.

 

Mr. Copeland serves as Board Chair of the Longwood Foundation, which has made more than $2 billion in grants to nonprofits since Pierre S. du Pont founded it in 1937. He also co-founded and serves as President of the Board of the Challenge Program, a nonprofit organization that trains at-risk youth in construction skills, and Vice President of the Board of the Mt. Cuba Center, which has protected more than 2,500 acres of open space in the Brandywine Valley.

Posts (46)

Nov 11, 2025 ∙ 4 min
Delaware’s Budget Woes: A Crisis Made in Dover, Not Washington
Delaware’s $400 million budget shortfall isn’t the result of federal tax changes—it’s the outcome of years of unchecked state spending. As the Caesar Rodney Institute explains, Dover’s leaders have expanded budgets through off-book appropriations and relied on temporary federal aid to mask structural problems. With surpluses fading, Delaware faces a fiscal crisis of its own making, demanding real reform—not blame-shifting to Washington.
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Sep 25, 2025 ∙ 3 min
Delaware Policy Choices Caused the Property Tax Problem
Delaware Policy Choices Caused the Property Tax Problem By Charlie Copeland Center for Economic & Fiscal Policy September 24, 2025 The recent property tax reassessment in New Castle County (NCC) has stirred public debate, with homeowners facing higher tax bills while many commercial properties saw their assessments fall. On the surface, this might seem like a quirk of appraisal methodology. However, a deeper examination reveals a more fundamental truth: Delaware and NCC's economic and fiscal...
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Sep 6, 2025 ∙ 4 min
Delaware’s Top Revenue Sources: A Decade of Change
Delaware's Top Revenue Sources: A Decade of Change    Tracking Delaware's Tax Shifts and What's Ahead By Charlie Copeland Center for Economic & Fiscal Policy September 6, 2024     "Sometimes called Delaware's 'hidden sales tax,' the tax is levied on the seller of goods and services in the state, rather than the consumer."-- Jonathan Starkey, former News Journal reporter and current Chief of Staff to Governor Carney writing about Delaware's Gross Receipts Tax.       In 2014, the  News Journal ...
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