Child Trends
Child Trends reported $43.1 million in revenue and $44.6 million in expenses for calendar year 2025. Of every $100 it spent, $70.43 went to program services, $24.29 to management and general costs and $5.28 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 99.0% of the total. Government grants made up 80.5%. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $431,839 (PRESIDENT). 118 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 62% between 2019 and 2025. Source: Form 990, 2025.
Where $100 of spending went
Calendar year 2025 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $45MFor context, the median across 3,614 covered human services charities: $88.27 programs, $11.52 management, $0.21 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).
Where $100 of revenue came from
Calendar year 2025 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $43MThe 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | 2025 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 70.4% | 87.2% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 24.3% | 11.4% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 5.3% | 0.2% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | $0.06 | $0.02 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 99.0% | 20.6% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 80.5% | 2.4% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 0.0% | 70.8% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $431,839 | $274,992 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 0.97% | 1.18% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 118 | 6 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 5.2 | 6.9 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 11 of 11 | 100.0% |
A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.
What the money paid for, in its own words
2025 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expenseEarly childhood development - the early childhood development program at Child Trends provides research and technical assistance support to practitioners and policymakers to improve early childhood care, education, and systems
Sexual and reproductive health - the sexual and reproductive health program at Child Trends provides research and technical assistance to practitioners and policymakers to further prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections and diseases among adolescents and young adults
Child welfare - the child welfare program at Child Trends provides research and technical assistance to practitioners and policymakers to improve services for children and youth in the foster care system, including those served by facilities, kinship care, and in the adoption process
Highest reported compensation
2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here| Role | From this org | From related orgs | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRESIDENT Officer, 37.50 hrs/week | $351,362 | $0 | $80,477 | $431,839 |
| CHIEF RESEARCH OFFICER Officer, 37.50 hrs/week | $284,244 | $0 | $65,861 | $350,105 |
| CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER Officer, 35.10 hrs/week | $271,072 | $0 | $72,556 | $343,628 |
| SR. RESEARCH SCHOLAR Highest compensated employee, 36.20 hrs/week | $228,479 | $0 | $66,827 | $295,306 |
| SR. RESEARCH SCHOLAR Highest compensated employee, 37.50 hrs/week | $227,266 | $0 | $57,773 | $285,039 |
| VP FOR ECD & PARTNERS Key employee, 37.50 hrs/week | $248,384 | $0 | $27,115 | $275,499 |
| SR. RESEARCH SCHOLAR Highest compensated employee, 37.50 hrs/week | $208,646 | $0 | $65,540 | $274,186 |
| SR. RESEARCH SCHOLAR Highest compensated employee, 36.70 hrs/week | $217,645 | $0 | $54,921 | $272,566 |
118 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Child Trends (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $2.2M (Part IX, line 5).
7 years of filings
Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linkedGovernance answers, as filed
2025 · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means- Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b11 · 11 independent
- Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
- Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
- Whistleblower policy Part VI 13Yes
- Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
- Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aYes
- Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
- Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2No
- Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
- Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
- Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26No
- Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4Yes
- Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18No
- Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bNo
- Employees Part I, line 5270
- Volunteers Part I, line 611
Largest outside contractors
2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only| ZERO TO THREE Research | $1,415,171 |
| MATHEMATICA INC Non profit services | $603,272 |
| AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH Research | $399,862 |
| ELEVEN11 GROUP Consulting | $141,583 |
| M HARRIS & CO Consulting | $118,000 |
Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 5 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.
Private foundation grants it received
12 private foundations reported grants to Child Trends totaling $5.5M on their tax year 2023 Form 990-PF returns. See which foundations, on WHOFUNDS.
Source: WHOFUNDS open grant graph, matched from Form 990-PF Part XV.
Correct a figure or respond
Every number above is copied from Child Trends's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Child Trends, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
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Of every $100 Child Trends spent in 2025, $70.43 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
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Questions people ask
How much of Child Trends's spending goes to programs?
In calendar year 2025, Child Trends reported that 70.4% of its $44.6 million in expenses went to program services, 24.3% to management and general and 5.3% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does Child Trends pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation Child Trends reported for one person in calendar year 2025 was $431,839, for the role of PRESIDENT (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does Child Trends get its money?
Of $43.1 million in revenue in calendar year 2025, 99.0% came from contributions and grants (including 80.5% from government grants) and 0.0% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is Child Trends a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 13-2982969 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(a)(vi))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.
Sources
- 2025: Form 990 for calendar year 2025, object 202641349349308739 · read the filing
- 2024: Form 990 for calendar year 2024, object 202511359349302881 · read the filing
- 2023: Form 990 for calendar year 2023, object 202411349349300546 · read the filing
- 2022: Form 990 for calendar year 2022, object 202301319349305530 · read the filing
- 2021: Form 990 for calendar year 2021, object 202211249349300511 · read the filing
- 2020: Form 990 for calendar year 2020, object 202141319349300909 · read the filing
- 2019: Form 990 for calendar year 2019, object 202011439349300716 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 13-2982969: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.