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Judicial Watch
Judicial Watch reported $102.3 million in revenue and $57.4 million in expenses for calendar year 2025. Of every $100 it spent, $64.31 went to program services, $11.99 to management and general costs and $23.70 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 80.5% of the total. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $1,208,119 (PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR). 39 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 12% between 2019 and 2025. Source: Form 990, 2025.
Where $100 of spending went
Calendar year 2025 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $57MFor context, the median across 185 covered public & societal benefit charities: $88.81 programs, $11.18 management, $0.01 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 $102MThe 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | 2025 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 64.3% | 84.9% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 12.0% | 10.7% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 23.7% | 0.0% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | $0.17 | $0.01 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 80.5% | 83.8% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 0.1% | 3.2% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $1,208,119 | $357,133 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 2.10% | 1.52% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 39 | 12 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 121.2 | 10.5 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 0 of 3 | 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 expensePublic education - Judicial Watch fulfills its educational mission by disseminating information about its public advocacy, litigation, monitoring and investigations, and other activities, to the public through its website, monthly newsletter, and email updates and blogs, as well as regular mailings, periodic special reports and other public outreach efforts
Legal - Judicial Watch prosecutes numerous lawsuits, typically on its own behalf but also on behalf of like-minded individuals or entities, to promote integrity, transparency and accountability in government and fidelity to the rule of law. Judicial Watch has prosecuted or defended lawsuits in furtherance of its public interest mission and obtained many noteworthy successes
Investigations/research - Judicial Watch monitors and investigates the actions of federal, state and local government entities and public officials, typically using open records laws such as the freedom of information act. Judicial Watch has served open records requests and secured the release of previously undisclosed government records into the public domain. Judicial Watch also maintains databases of the records it obtains and makes these records available to the public
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, DIRECTOR Director/trustee, officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $1,157,336 | $0 | $50,783 | $1,208,119 |
| TREASURER, SECRETARY, DIRE Director/trustee, officer, 50.00 hrs/week | $931,891 | $0 | $38,104 | $969,995 |
| DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATIONS Director/trustee, 40.00 hrs/week | $889,401 | $0 | $45,181 | $934,582 |
| SENIOR ATTORNEY Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $456,053 | $0 | $44,934 | $500,987 |
| DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT Key employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $453,436 | $0 | $45,815 | $499,251 |
| SENIOR ATTORNEY Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $370,864 | $0 | $38,917 | $409,781 |
| CONTROLLER Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $323,806 | $0 | $37,973 | $361,779 |
| ATTORNEY Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $320,393 | $0 | $40,288 | $360,681 |
39 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Judicial Watch (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $3.6M (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–1b3 · 0 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 4No
- 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 566
Largest outside contractors
2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only| BANK OF AMERICA Investment management fees | $1,352,391 |
| POLITICAL MEDIA INC Email distribution & management | $1,261,058 |
| INTERMARKETS INC Digital advertising | $960,000 |
| WHAT IF HOLDINGS LLC Digital advertising | $720,000 |
Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 15 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.
Private foundation grants it received
400 private foundations reported grants to Judicial Watch totaling $3.1M 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 Judicial Watch's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Judicial Watch, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
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Of every $100 Judicial Watch spent in 2025, $64.31 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
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Similar-sized charities in this cause
- InclusivNew York, NY · revenue $101M · programs 93.0% · 2025
- Transportation Research CenterEast Liberty, OH · revenue $107M · programs 91.3% · FY2025
- American National Standards InstituteNew York, NY · revenue $101M · programs 69.1% · 2025
- Institute of Nuclear Power OperationsAtlanta, GA · revenue $121M · programs 73.4% · 2025
- Conference of State Bank SupervisorsWashington, DC · revenue $98M · programs 92.5% · 2024
All public & societal benefit charities · Largest charities in District of Columbia
Questions people ask
How much of Judicial Watch's spending goes to programs?
In calendar year 2025, Judicial Watch reported that 64.3% of its $57.4 million in expenses went to program services, 12.0% to management and general and 23.7% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does Judicial Watch pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation Judicial Watch reported for one person in calendar year 2025 was $1,208,119, for the role of PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does Judicial Watch get its money?
Of $102.3 million in revenue in calendar year 2025, 80.5% came from contributions and grants and 0.1% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is Judicial Watch a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 52-1885088 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 202631899349301758 · read the filing · XML
- 2024: Form 990 for calendar year 2024, object 202501959349301320 · read the filing
- 2023: Form 990 for calendar year 2023, object 202412149349301561 · read the filing
- 2022: Form 990 for calendar year 2022 (amended), object 202323259349300717 · read the filing
- 2021: Form 990 for calendar year 2021, object 202242099349300939 · read the filing
- 2020: Form 990 for calendar year 2020, object 202112099349300006 · read the filing
- 2019: Form 990 for calendar year 2019, object 202011769349301216 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 52-1885088: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.