Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY
CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 53 organizations whose IRS filings report $29,999,071 to it, the largest being THE FORD FOUNDATION ($8,087,707). 33 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $11M
- Funders on record
- 53
- Grants received
- $30M
- Net assets
- $16M
What Center for Democracy and Technology does
Mission
Advocating for public policies that advance democratic values in the digital age.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Privacy & data: as technology permeates all facets of society, the personal data collected, used and shared by companies and governments has wide-ranging effects on people's lives. Cdt advances laws, policies and best practices to protect people's digital privacy, and to address unfair and discriminatory uses of people's data. We champion consumers' interests, with a particular focus on the rights of historically marginalized communities.
$1,507,742 spentof which $60,000 as grants$150,000 earned by the program19% of program spendingResearch: the research team conducts and supports original, objective research to inform current policy debates. The team examines novel questions that can give context to policy conversations - and builds bridges between researchers and policymakers, to support evidence- based policymaking. The research team works closely with cdt policy teams to identify research questions but conducts independent and objective research to address these questions.
$1,318,322 spent17% of program spendingEquity in civic technology: as government agencies increasingly rely on data and technology to carry out their responsibilities, it is critical that they do so in ways that affirm individual privacy, respect civil rights, promote transparent and accountable oversight, and advance just social structures within the broader community. Cdt furthers these goals by creating solutions-oriented policy resources and actionable technical guidance.
$1,303,801 spent17% of program spendingAi governance lab: the ai governance lab develops and promotes adoption of robust, technically informed solutions for the effective regulation and governance of ai systems. The lab provides public interest expertise in rapidly developing policy and technical conversations, to advance the interests of individuals whose lives and rights are impacted by ai.
$1,121,094 spent$85,000 earned by the program14% of program spendingSecurity & surveillance: new technologies have given governments unprecedented means to access personal information. In order to ensure all people can seek information and express themselves freely, there must be reasonable checks and balances on governments' ability to access, collect, and store individuals' data. Cdt advances thoughtful solutions for government surveillance, cyber security, and other issues concerning civil liberties and new technologies.
$598,288 spentof which $105,000 as grants8% of program spendingCommunications
$567,949 spent7% of program spendingElections and democracy: cdt works to support secure, accessible, informed, and trustworthy elections. Our team monitors trends and conducts real-time research to understand how ai is impacting elections; helps voters access authoritative information about elections and campaigns; fights tech-enabled voter suppression; and supports election security and administration through our work with election officials, ai companies and online platforms, legislators, voting rights organizations, and other stakeholders.
$404,996 spent5% of program spendingFree expression: the internet and new technologies give people the ability to express themselves, access information, and find community. Cdt works to protect these activities online, and to advance platform governance approaches that promote human rights and ensure accountability for companies and governments involved. Our team works to sustain a free and open internet on both a domestic and global stage.
$354,862 spent5% of program spendingGrants made to support the operations of the cdt europe organization.
$350,000 spentof which $350,000 as grants4% of program spendingInternet architecture/open internet: the open internet team works to enable internet users to maximize the opportunities for free expression and innovation offered by an accessible, interconnected, and unrestricted platform. To help the internet retain its democratic values and openness, the team works to protect users' rights to access, create, and share content and services.
$238,784 spent3% of program spendingCompetition: powerful companies with strong market positions exist throughout the internet ecosystem, ranging from broadband providers to operating systems to digital platforms and more. Cdt develops pragmatic approaches to competition policy and works with policymakers and companies around the globe to cultivate a vibrant digital economy of the future.
$101,003 spent1% of program spending
The 11 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $7,866,841.
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 2021 to 2022, from $9.3M to $19M (+105%).
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: 2021 5%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
96% of CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (96% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 8 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
Alexandra Givens
President & CEO
Board chair
William S Bernstein
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2019 and FY2020 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 15 funders to 20 funders, grant income rose $3.1M → $4.9M.
9 of 53 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 24% 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 CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 53 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
CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 27% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
32% 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 CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 64% · 2018 23% · 2019 36% · 2020 33% · 2021 45% · 2022 41% · 2023 35% — 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
34% of CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 62% 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
CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY draws 94% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 15 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $7.3M arriving through sponsors registered in 9 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
CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 152 civil rights nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 152 civil rights nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Organizations like CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY
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
90% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
66%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 12 states
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Cdt Europe · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY: 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 CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY?
- CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 53 organizations whose IRS filings report $29,999,071 to it, the largest being THE FORD FOUNDATION ($8,087,707). 33 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY have?
- IRS filings report 53 organizations giving $29,999,071 in grants to CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY, 33 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY?
- THE FORD FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $8,087,707 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY 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 FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 53 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