Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
AUTISM SPEAKS INC
AUTISM SPEAKS INC (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 1034 organizations whose IRS filings report $52,498,443 to it, the largest being VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM ($4,404,000). 495 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $29M
- Funders on record
- 1,034
- Grants received
- $52M
- Net assets
- $27M
What Autism Speaks Inc does
Mission
See schedule owe achieve our organizational mission by ensuring access to reliable information and services across the lifespan; supporting research and innovation that drives toward improved quality of life and well-being for individuals with autism throughout their lives; through advocacy, partnerships and collaboration, leveraging our assets to support, extend, and convene the work of service providers; accelerating delivery of solutions for adult quality of life needs, including transition, employment, housing, and health and wellness; and living and promoting principles of diversity, equity, access and inclusion both in and outside the organization.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Aided more than 1.6 million people. Autism response team and educational community outreach team provided support and guidance to over 66,431 people seeking autism information and resources including 9,662 contacts from the spanish-speaking community; launched a national autism information and referral service provider network with 12 organizations and led bimonthly capacity building trainings to address gaps in autism care coordination and service access. We expanded resources for autistic adults, including a toolkit for adults seeking an autism diagnosis - written by autistic adults - that was downloaded over 33,800 times. We launched a driving with autism digital training and a suite of transition resources. Continued on schedule o.we also released a healthcare transition roadmap to support the shift from pediatric to adult care, a change shown to improve long-term health and quality of life outcomes. Provided 26 new translated resources, spanish resources alone were downloaded and viewed over 25,000 times. Led regulatory charge for access to all evidenced based autism therapies for medicaid enrolled children. Over 6,000 individuals across 46 businesses have accessed the…
$10,940,480 spentof which $32,037 as grants46% of program spendingWe increase knowledge through research to deepen our understanding of autism and lead to advancements in autism diagnosis, early intervention, and personalized healthcare. Connected families in 50 states and 37 countries with resources and access to autism experts. We unveiled a new resource for the treatment of adhd, anxiety and irritability in autism, providing clinicians with a structured, evidence-informed approach that will ultimately improve care for people on the spectrum. We funded three new research projects to reveal how auditory processing differences affect autistic people, unlocking insights that could transform diagnosis, communication, and daily support. Continued on schedule o.we also supported fellowships for two early career autistic scientists to advance our understanding of autism, amplify autistic voices and reflect the real experiences of autistic people. As result from the thought leadership summit of autism aging, we joined forces with the american heart association to fund pioneering research to learn more about cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health in autistic people. In addition, we co-organized a workshop with alzheimer's association to explore the…
$6,412,768 spentof which $1,412,204 as grants27% of program spendingWe are steadfast in our commitment to improve lifelong outcomes and increase understanding and acceptance of people with autism. Expanded e-caregivers skills training enabling underserved families to build their autistic child's communication and behavior skills. 47 businesses earned their autism friendly designation, our program co-developed by people with autism to help organizations welcome and build community with autistic people. Successfully advocated for state licencing laws to provide people with autism greater access to medically necessary interventions. Engaged 3.2 million people on social media platforms where we provided resources and a supportive environment for autistic people to share their stories. Educated over 2,100 people on federal and state policy changes and accessing resources.
$6,193,190 spentof which $18,842 as grants26% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $23,546,438.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 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 2022 to 2023, from $48M to $41M (−13%).
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: 2017 0% · 2020 0% · 2021 10% · 2022 9%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
97% of AUTISM SPEAKS INC’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (7% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 7 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.
Chief executive
Keith Wargo
President/CEO
Board chair
Brian L Harper
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 237 funders to 279 funders, grant income rose $4.4M → $6.7M.
68 of 1034 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 42% 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 AUTISM SPEAKS INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 1034 funders by total. 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
AUTISM SPEAKS INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 8% of grant income, and it takes 11 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 11 funders to its left
60% 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 AUTISM SPEAKS INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 25% · 2018 34% · 2019 18% · 2020 10% · 2021 9% · 2022 10% · 2023 16% — diversifying over time.
“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.
How long its funders stay
27% of AUTISM SPEAKS INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 48% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
AUTISM SPEAKS INC draws 93% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 44 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $22M arriving through sponsors registered in 28 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
AUTISM SPEAKS INC's funding base is broadening — from 237 funders to 279 as grant income climbed.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,969 health nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Government funding AUTISM SPEAKS INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $8k on record.
- NJ$5k
- FL$3k
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 AUTISM SPEAKS INC
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
69% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
89%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 28 states
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Autism Speaks Canada · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for AUTISM SPEAKS INC: 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 AUTISM SPEAKS INC?
- AUTISM SPEAKS INC (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 1034 organizations whose IRS filings report $52,498,443 to it, the largest being VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM ($4,404,000). 495 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does AUTISM SPEAKS INC have?
- IRS filings report 1034 organizations giving $52,498,443 in grants to AUTISM SPEAKS INC, 495 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of AUTISM SPEAKS INC?
- VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM is the largest funder on record, with $4,404,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like AUTISM SPEAKS INC 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.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 1034 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing