New York · Nonprofit
CENTER FOR INQUIRY INC
CENTER FOR INQUIRY INC (New York) receives grants from 63 organizations whose IRS filings report $12,041,309 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($4,782,450). 29 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 74% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $5.6M
- Funders on record
- 63
- Grants received
- $12M
- Net assets
- $5.9M
What Center for Inquiry Inc does
Mission
To sponsor programs and activities that advance humanism and skepticism. To advocate and defend a nonreligious life stance rooted in science, naturalistic philosophy, humanist ethics, and to serve and support adherents of that life stance. To publish scholarly magazines and newsletters and to hold educational conferences to increase public appreciation for science education. To educate consumers regarding and protect consumers from pseudoscience. Cosponsered the scopes trial centennial conference in chattanooga, tennessee july 18-20, 2025.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Publicationsfree inquiry magazinefree inquiry publishes articles explaining the principles of secular humanism and supporting those living out its ideals. It explores the contributions of science as they increase our understanding of the world and our ability to improve it. It also examines the damage done by ignorance, intolerance, and superstition. The readership includes scholars, researchers, and lay readers with diverse backgrounds. In addition to articles, free inquiry publishes a very limited amount of poetry.skeptical inquirer magazineskeptical inquirer explores extraordinary claims from a scientific perspective. They examine what the scientific community knows about controversial subjects within the realms of the paranormal and elsewhere. The publications expose pseudoscience and provide expert commentary on hot button issues within society. They avoid the sensationalism often presented by the press, television, and movies and provide critical thinking tools to examine the information presented within the media and online.
$1,251,057 spent$677,511 earned by the program24% of program spendingOutreach program regional officesprofessionally-staffed offices (centers for inquiry) in selected cities carry out aspects of our national agenda germane to certain locations, such as outreach to the entertainment industry in los angeles. In addition, each regional center provides educational and social programming for interested individuals residing within several hours' drive of the facility, including lectures, seminars, social gatherings, opportunities to celebrate life milestones, and the like.outreach and community programs promotes formation of local community groups and on-campus student groups focused on our issues, nationwide. Provides educational materials, speakers, and other resources for such groups. Transports selected campus and community leaders to headquarters for annual training seminars.
$427,643 spent$4,074 earned by the program8% of program spendingSecular rescue programsecular rescue is a program of the center for inquiry designed to provide emergency assistance to writers, bloggers, publishers, and activitists who face threats due to their beliefs or expressions regarding religion.
$196,059 spent4% of program spendingAdditional program expenses are for media/investigation productions programs, library program, educational program including conference events, the robert green ingersoll birthplace museum program.
$3,293,486 spent64% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $5,168,245.
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 2017 to 2018, from $11M to $5.9M (−45%).
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.
80% of CENTER FOR INQUIRY INC’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (63% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 9 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
Robyn Blumner
CEO & president
Board chair
Edward Tabash
Chairperson
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 13 funders to 23 funders, grant income rose $705k → $986k.
14 of 63 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 74% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $2.0M from one payer (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Center for Inquiry Development Fund). These are real filings, and they are not money CENTER FOR INQUIRY INC raised.
From the IRS filings of CENTER FOR INQUIRY INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 63 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 INQUIRY INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 40% of grant income and the top three 67%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
75% 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 INQUIRY INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 72% · 2018 86% · 2019 63% · 2020 41% · 2021 26% · 2022 41% · 2023 22% — 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
42% of CENTER FOR INQUIRY INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 46% 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
74% of CENTER FOR INQUIRY INC'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 $3.1M that is directly attributable, 99% of it comes from funders outside New York, across 20 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $9.0M arriving through sponsors registered in 11 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 INQUIRY INC's revenue fell 49% between 2017 and 2025.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,430 arts & culture nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like CENTER FOR INQUIRY 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 New York
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
78% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
84%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 38 states
Part of a family of 2 related entities
- Center for Inquiry Development Fund · exempt
- Center for Inquiry Holding Corporation · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for CENTER FOR INQUIRY 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 CENTER FOR INQUIRY INC?
- CENTER FOR INQUIRY INC (New York) receives grants from 63 organizations whose IRS filings report $12,041,309 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($4,782,450). 29 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 74% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does CENTER FOR INQUIRY INC have?
- IRS filings report 63 organizations giving $12,041,309 in grants to CENTER FOR INQUIRY INC, 29 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of CENTER FOR INQUIRY INC?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $4,782,450 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like CENTER FOR INQUIRY INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New York. 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 Center for Inquiry →
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 63 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