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Donors Trust
Donors Trust reported $294.4 million in revenue and $291.5 million in expenses for calendar year 2024. Of every $100 it spent, $98.14 went to program services, $1.27 to management and general costs and $0.59 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 78.8% of the total. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $507,792 (President and CEO). 8 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue fell 18% between 2020 and 2024. Source: Form 990, 2024.
Where $100 of spending went
Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $292MFor context, the median across 1,001 covered philanthropy, voluntarism & grantmaking charities: $91.65 programs, $6.50 management, $1.85 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).
Where $100 of revenue came from
Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $294MThe 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | 2024 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 98.1% | 90.2% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 1.3% | 6.4% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 0.6% | 1.8% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | $0.01 | $0.02 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 78.8% | 79.9% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $507,792 | $325,675 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 0.17% | 1.56% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 8 | 3 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 56.1 | 56.6 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 4 of 5 | 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
2024 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expenseA Donor Advised Fund (DAF) program allowing DAF contributors to advise grants that support charities which alleviate, through education, research and private initiatives, society's most pervasive and radical needs, including those relating to social welfare, health, environment, economics, governance, foreign relations and arts and culture; and which encourage private philanthropy and individual giving and responsibility as an answer to society's needs, as opposed to governmental involvement
Donors Trust serves as an incubator for organizations with missions that align with that of Donors Trust and that are in the process of applying for tax-exempt status, thereby allowing these start-up organizations a chance to begin operations while waiting for formal recognition of their non-profit status
Donors Trust initiated a program to make grants to foreign NGOs for which Donors Trust receives an equivalency determination that finds had the foreign organization been (1) a U.S. based organization and (2) applied for tax-exempt status the NGO would have received recognition as a 501(c)(3) publicly supported charity
Highest reported compensation
2024 · 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 CEO Director/trustee, officer, 42.00 hrs/week | $399,997 | $0 | $107,795 | $507,792 |
| CFO, COO and Treasurer Officer, 42.00 hrs/week | $312,413 | $0 | $90,437 | $402,850 |
| Vice President Officer, 45.00 hrs/week | $240,536 | $0 | $72,252 | $312,788 |
| Vice President of Programs Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $236,087 | $0 | $67,758 | $303,845 |
| CTO Officer, 45.00 hrs/week | $188,141 | $0 | $46,988 | $235,129 |
| Philanthropic Advisor Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $186,290 | $0 | $46,366 | $232,656 |
| Controller Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $163,134 | $0 | $49,712 | $212,846 |
| Philanthropic Advisor Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $170,558 | $0 | $25,584 | $196,142 |
8 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Donors Trust (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $1.8M (Part IX, line 5).
5 years of filings
Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linkedGovernance answers, as filed
2024 · 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–1b5 · 4 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 11aNo
- 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 18No
- Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bYes
- Employees Part I, line 518
- Volunteers Part I, line 64
Largest outside contractors
2024 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only| Health Policy Matters LLC Project management | $720,000 |
Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 1 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.
Private foundation grants it received
25 private foundations reported grants to Donors Trust totaling $23M 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 Donors Trust's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Donors Trust, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
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Of every $100 Donors Trust spent in 2024, $98.14 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
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Questions people ask
How much of Donors Trust's spending goes to programs?
In calendar year 2024, Donors Trust reported that 98.1% of its $291.5 million in expenses went to program services, 1.3% to management and general and 0.6% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does Donors Trust pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation Donors Trust reported for one person in calendar year 2024 was $507,792, for the role of President and CEO (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does Donors Trust get its money?
Of $294.4 million in revenue in calendar year 2024, 78.8% came from contributions and grants and 0.0% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is Donors Trust a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 52-2166327 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 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.
Sources
- 2024: Form 990 for calendar year 2024, object 202513179349312256 · read the filing · XML
- 2023: Form 990 for calendar year 2023, object 202423189349304787 · read the filing
- 2022: Form 990 for calendar year 2022, object 202323049349300742 · read the filing
- 2021: Form 990 for calendar year 2021, object 202243199349308799 · read the filing
- 2020: Form 990 for calendar year 2020, object 202133199349305758 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 52-2166327: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.