Democracy Forward Foundation

Washington, DC · EIN 82-1007988 · 501(c)(3) · Publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(A)(vi))
Latest filing: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 (tax year 2024) · View the filing · Correct or respond

Democracy Forward Foundation reported $65.7 million in revenue and $29.0 million in expenses for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. Of every $100 it spent, $90.71 went to program services, $7.89 to management and general costs and $1.40 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 99.7% of the total. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $629,081 (PRESIDENT AND CEO). 33 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 1280% 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 $29M

Program services$90.71 $26M
Management & general$7.89 $2.3M
Fundraising$1.40 $406K

For context, the median across 274 covered crime & legal-related charities: $87.85 programs, $11.30 management, $0.85 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 $66M

Contributions & grants (non-government)$99.75 $66M
Investment income$0.11 $73,435
Other revenue$0.14 $91,194

The 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades

FY2025 filing. Median across 274 covered charities in this category, from their latest filings.
Measure	FY2025	Median
Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A)	90.7%	86.7%
Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A)	7.9%	11.1%
Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A)	1.4%	0.8%
Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h	$0.01	$0.01
Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12	99.7%	94.8%
Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12	0.0%	50.1%
Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12	0.0%	0.7%
Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F	$629,081	$245,814
Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A)	2.17%	1.41%
People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2	33	8
Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses	20.8	6.4
Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b	5 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

FY2025 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expense

$26M expenses · 100.0% of program spending · grants $50,000 · revenue $67,349

To protect the rights and institutions that make our nation's democracy strong by working through the legal system and administrative processes to preserve the rule of law and hold government accountable, and to educate the public about those efforts

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 CEO Officer, 55.00 hrs/week	$590,521	$0	$38,560	$629,081
DIRECTOR FOR STATE LITIGATION AND EMERGING ISSUES Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week	$233,016	$0	$29,255	$262,271
SENIOR LEGAL ADVISOR Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week	$218,407	$0	$37,452	$255,859
LEGAL DIRECTOR Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week	$236,713	$0	$9,631	$246,344
STRATEGIC INITIATIVES AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS DIRECTO Key employee, 40.00 hrs/week	$208,667	$0	$37,187	$245,854
SENIOR ADVISOR Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week	$222,353	$0	$6,602	$228,955
SENIOR COUNSEL Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week	$200,577	$0	$16,590	$217,167
GENERAL COUNCIL Key employee, 40.00 hrs/week	$176,654	$0	$20,216	$196,870

33 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Democracy Forward Foundation (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $1.6M (Part IX, line 5).

6 years of filings

Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linked

RevenueExpenses

Filing	Revenue	Expenses	Programs	Net assets	Top pay
FY2025 ⓘ	$66M	$29M	90.7%	$50M	$629,081
FY2024 ⓘ	$18M	$13M	87.8%	$14M	$492,214
FY2023 ⓘ	$12M	$8.5M	89.6%	$8.9M	$348,316
FY2022 ⓘ	$6.2M	$5.2M	86.3%	$5.1M	$292,872
FY2021 ⓘ	$5.3M	$3.7M	90.8%	$4.0M	$311,281
FY2020 ⓘ	$4.8M	$4.3M	92.0%	$2.5M	$277,736

Governance 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–1b5 · 5 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 18No
Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bNo
Employees Part I, line 587
Volunteers Part I, line 66

Largest outside contractors

FY2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only

NEWCO PUBLIC AFFAIRS STRATEGIES Strategic consulting	$367,776
STRATAGEM INITIATIVES LLC Strategic consulting	$355,000
EVERGREEN STRATEGY GROUP Strategic consulting	$282,000
FELDMAN STRATEGIES Strategic consulting	$263,305
BNMY LLC Transition & migration support	$162,907

Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 10 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.

Private foundation grants it received

7 private foundations reported grants to Democracy Forward Foundation totaling $3.7M 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 Democracy Forward Foundation's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Democracy Forward Foundation, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.

Report a correction Respond as Democracy Forward Foundation How this works

Similar-sized charities in this cause

National Conference of Bar Examiners
Madison, WI · revenue $65M · programs 87.0% · FY2025
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Alexandria, VA · revenue $67M · programs 92.3% · 2025
Maryland Legal Services Corporation
Baltimore, MD · revenue $62M · programs 99.2% · FY2025
The Village Network
Wooster, OH · revenue $68M · programs 84.8% · FY2025
Namati
Washington, DC · revenue $61M · programs 72.6% · 2025

All crime & legal-related charities · Largest charities in District of Columbia

Questions people ask

How much of Democracy Forward Foundation's spending goes to programs?

In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, Democracy Forward Foundation reported that 90.7% of its $29.0 million in expenses went to program services, 7.9% to management and general and 1.4% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).

How much does Democracy Forward Foundation pay its top executive?

The largest total compensation Democracy Forward Foundation reported for one person in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 was $629,081, for the role of PRESIDENT AND CEO (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).

Where does Democracy Forward Foundation get its money?

Of $65.7 million in revenue in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, 99.7% came from contributions and grants and 0.0% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).

Is Democracy Forward Foundation a registered charity?

The IRS lists EIN 82-1007988 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 202601359349316330 · read the filing · XML
FY2024: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, object 202501359349314470 · read the filing
FY2023: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, object 202401369349308900 · read the filing
FY2022: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, object 202311309349303801 · read the filing
FY2021: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, object 202211159349300621 · read the filing
FY2020: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, object 202111239349300806 · read the filing

All filings for EIN 82-1007988: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.