Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
ALLIANCE FOR INNOVATIVE REGULATION INSTITUTE
ALLIANCE FOR INNOVATIVE REGULATION INSTITUTE (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 5 organizations whose IRS filings report $9,755,858 to it, the largest being Silicon Valley Community Foundation ($5,951,000). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 61% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $4.7M
- Funders on record
- 5
- Grants received
- $9.8M
- Net assets
- $172k
What Alliance for Innovative Regulation Institute does
Mission
Air is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) promoting the use of "responsible innovation" to help solve systemic financial sector challenges. Air envisions a financial system that is fully fair, innovative and highly resilient.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2024 return the organization reported starting a significant new program.
Digital identity - air launched a two-year initiative focused on exploring the potential that robust digital identity systems can advance critical goals in financial services, particularly in expanding financial inclusion, protecting privacy, and combating money laundering and other financial crimes. Air, in partnership with the aspen institute financial security program, led a series of online and in-person roundtables focused on addressing the barriers to widespread digital id adoption. Voluntary carbon markets - conducted extensive research on climate issues crisis and voluntary carbon markets (vcm). A focal point of our research addressed the need for better carbon accounting practices, development and greater use of financial products and services in vcms, and areas where the public sector should be involved. In 2024 air released a whitepaper and a series of micro-content raising awareness of both the public and private sectors to create a more liquid, efficient, and transparent market. Public policy education - aircontinues to raise awareness related to technology developments such as the availability of vastly expanded digital data and the emergence of increasingly powerful artificial intelligence tools like machine learning and generative ai. The project's goal is to educate and engage u.s. Congressional leaders regarding the need for regulator modernization and position air as a trusted bipartisan source of expertise and insight on matters related to financial and…
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 2).
Gates foundation - leveraging a four (4) year grant from the bill and melinda gates foundation, air partners with various entities and key stakeholders to ensure that consumers of digital financial services (dfs) in low-and middle-income countries (lmics), particularly vulnerable consumers, benefit from technology tools and policy guidance that helps identify and mitigate risks of dfs. In 2024, we executed two key initiatives, the digital payment west africa techsprint and the generativeai program. The virtual digital payment techsprint focused on detecting and combating payment fraud in west africa. This event brought together a range of stakeholders, including technology companies, consumer protection agencies, payment service providers, innovators, regulators, and subject matter experts to collaboratively create solutions.the generative ai program started with convening the tech community and regulators to debate and explore the possibilities and risks of generativeai. In addition to these specific events, our leadership team continues to be visible on the global stage on key consumer protection issues and the use of emerging technology, building our reputation as thought…
$1,063,947 spent$44,602 earned by the program30% of program spendingFederal housing finance agency (fhfa) - we received a contract from partnered with the fhfa's office of financial technology ("oft") to plan, and execute, and host a techsprint focused on how the responsible use of generative artificial intelligence ("genai") can promote a better transparent, fair, and inclusive housing finance system, while fostering sustainable homeownership and rental opportunities. Bank fintech arrangements - we partnered with the american fintech council to deliver a miniature techsprint focused on bank/fintech arrangements and what is at stake if they don't address regulator concerns. Specifically, the sprint addressed how regulators might gain more visibility into and thereby knowledge of fintech's technologies, business activities, banking relationships, and risk profile so that all parties can be informed about potential risks to the banking system and financial consumers. Over one and a half days teams formed to identify solutions to address the challenges with bank/fintech arrangements. As a follow-up to the mini techsprint with the afc, the air team held a longer techsprint and demonstration day in february 2025. The techsprint focused on exploring key…
$946,494 spent$115,000 earned by the program26% of program spendingDepartment of state anti-corruption innovation lab (aset) - air was selected by the state department's bureau of international narcotics and law enforcement affairs (inl) to identify new technologies that can thwart illegal transactions tied to global corruption. The anti-corruption solutions through emerging technologies (aset) program included techsprints and other initiatives to develop potential digital tools. After completing a techsprint in 2022, we moved to scoping, designing and executing a techsprint in 2024 focused on anti-corruption in project financing with particular interest in latin american and caribbean markets. Our key frame of reference was to focus on technology that can be used to detect and prevent corruption in development projects.
$944,428 spent26% of program spendingMinority depository institution digital transformation project - with funding from visa and citi, air continues to partner with the national bankers association (nba), the national bankers association foundation (nbaf), and visa to help federally-designated minority depository institutions (mdis) strengthen their digital capabilities via the mdi connecttech and mdi accelerate programs. In 2024 air partnered with an external consulting firm to finalize the technology assessments for the 15 banks in the initial cohort. We partnered with the nbaf to design a disbursement rubric and create a playbook outline. Additionally, we held an in-person convening, mdi innovate, where we focused on both the issues and solutions facing mdis.
$624,226 spent17% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $3,579,095.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2019, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2019, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $596k to $1.8M (+201%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2020 8% · 2021 10% · 2022 22% · 2023 23% · 2024 30%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
96% of ALLIANCE FOR INNOVATIVE REGULATION INSTITUTE’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (48% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 6 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Board chair
Jo Ann Barefoot
Chair and president
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2019 → 2023: the base held at 1 funder, grant income rose $300k → $2.3M.
3 of 5 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 61% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of ALLIANCE FOR INNOVATIVE REGULATION INSTITUTE’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
ALLIANCE FOR INNOVATIVE REGULATION INSTITUTE leans on a few funders — its largest provides 61% of grant income and the top three 100%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
61% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund ALLIANCE FOR INNOVATIVE REGULATION INSTITUTE.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2019 100% · 2020 75% · 2021 87% · 2022 82% · 2023 100% — broadly stable.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Where its funders are
61% of ALLIANCE FOR INNOVATIVE REGULATION INSTITUTE's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $3.8M that is directly attributable, 100% of it comes from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 2 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $6.0M arriving through sponsors registered in 3 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
ALLIANCE FOR INNOVATIVE REGULATION INSTITUTE has grown faster than three-quarters of the 11,752 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 11,752 education nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Government funding ALLIANCE FOR INNOVATIVE REGULATION INSTITUTE receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $2.7M on record.
- Department of State$2.2M
- Department of the Treasury$476k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like ALLIANCE FOR INNOVATIVE REGULATION INSTITUTE
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Washington, D.C.
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
65% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
80%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 4 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for ALLIANCE FOR INNOVATIVE REGULATION INSTITUTE: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds ALLIANCE FOR INNOVATIVE REGULATION INSTITUTE?
- ALLIANCE FOR INNOVATIVE REGULATION INSTITUTE (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 5 organizations whose IRS filings report $9,755,858 to it, the largest being Silicon Valley Community Foundation ($5,951,000). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 61% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does ALLIANCE FOR INNOVATIVE REGULATION INSTITUTE have?
- IRS filings report 5 organizations giving $9,755,858 in grants to ALLIANCE FOR INNOVATIVE REGULATION INSTITUTE, 3 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of ALLIANCE FOR INNOVATIVE REGULATION INSTITUTE?
- Silicon Valley Community Foundation is the largest funder on record, with $5,951,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like ALLIANCE FOR INNOVATIVE REGULATION INSTITUTE find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington, D.C.. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Alliance for Innovative Regulation Institute →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2019–2024), and the filings of 5 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing