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Institute for Justice
Institute for Justice reported $55.3 million in revenue and $47.6 million in expenses for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. Of every $100 it spent, $81.34 went to program services, $9.83 to management and general costs and $8.83 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 83.2% of the total. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $859,654 (President and Chief Counsel). 88 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 57% between FY2020 and FY2025. Source: Form 990, FY2025.
Where $100 of spending went
The fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $48MFor context, the median across 132 covered civil rights, social action & advocacy charities: $84.11 programs, $11.40 management, $4.49 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).
Where $100 of revenue came from
The fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $55MThe 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | FY2025 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 81.3% | 82.1% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 9.8% | 11.1% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 8.8% | 4.4% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | $0.09 | $0.05 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 83.2% | 94.9% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 2.9% | 0.3% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $859,654 | $321,771 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 1.81% | 1.81% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 88 | 8 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 35.4 | 10.5 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 8 of 9 | 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
FY2025 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expenseTo protect the constitutional rights of americans through litigation, to educate the public about issues vital to liberty through media, activism, and outreach, to apply social science and policy research methods to those issues that the organization litigates, and to train lawyers and law students
Highest reported compensation
FY2025 · 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 and Chief Counsel Director/trustee, officer, 40.0 hrs/week | $797,018 | $0 | $62,636 | $859,654 |
| Senior Vice President and Litigation Director Key employee, 40.0 hrs/week | $673,010 | $0 | $51,385 | $724,395 |
| CFO and General Counsel/Secretary & Treasurer Officer, 40.0 hrs/week | $563,668 | $0 | $61,703 | $625,371 |
| Chief Operating Officer Key employee, 40.0 hrs/week | $532,467 | $0 | $67,096 | $599,563 |
| Vice President for Strategic Relations Highest compensated employee, 40.0 hrs/week | $476,608 | $0 | $78,168 | $554,776 |
| Managing Vice President and Senior Attorney Highest compensated employee, 40.0 hrs/week | $424,402 | $0 | $70,260 | $494,662 |
| Vice President for Development Key employee, 40.0 hrs/week | $377,712 | $0 | $64,060 | $441,772 |
| Deputy Litigation Director Highest compensated employee, 40.0 hrs/week | $370,551 | $0 | $70,070 | $440,621 |
88 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Institute for Justice (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $3.4M (Part IX, line 5).
6 years of filings
Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linkedGovernance answers, as filed
FY2025 · 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–1b9 · 8 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 18Yes
- Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bNo
- Employees Part I, line 5239
- Volunteers Part I, line 630
Largest outside contractors
FY2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only| Ocean Solutions LLC IT services | $481,420 |
| Doyle Printing & Offset Co Incorporated Printing and mailing services | $247,538 |
| Veritext Corp Transcript services | $196,361 |
| Monument Advocacy Lobbying consultant | $130,000 |
| Endgame Strategies LLC Lobbying consultant | $120,000 |
Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 7 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.
Private foundation grants it received
146 private foundations reported grants to Institute for Justice totaling $13M 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 Institute for Justice's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Institute for Justice, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
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Of every $100 Institute for Justice spent in FY2025, $81.34 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
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Questions people ask
How much of Institute for Justice's spending goes to programs?
In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, Institute for Justice reported that 81.3% of its $47.6 million in expenses went to program services, 9.8% to management and general and 8.8% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does Institute for Justice pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation Institute for Justice reported for one person in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 was $859,654, for the role of President and Chief Counsel (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does Institute for Justice get its money?
Of $55.3 million in revenue in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, 83.2% came from contributions and grants and 2.9% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is Institute for Justice a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 52-1744337 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. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.
Sources
- FY2025: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, object 202503459349301325 · read the filing · XML
- FY2024: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, object 202413399349300701 · read the filing
- FY2023: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, object 202303499349301515 · read the filing
- FY2022: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, object 202203359349300610 · read the filing
- FY2021: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, object 202133229349301508 · read the filing
- FY2020: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, object 202130489349300733 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 52-1744337: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.