Washington · Nonprofit
CITIZEN ACTION DEFENSE FUND
CITIZEN ACTION DEFENSE FUND (Washington) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $996,750 to it, the largest being PROJECT 42 ($850,000). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $737k
- Funders on record
- 6
- Grants received
- $997k
- Net assets
- $34k
What Citizen Action Defense Fund does
Mission
To sustain, defend and provide the means to preserve the individual constitutional rights of all washingtonians, including freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, freedom of movement, due process and equal protection, particularly during declared states of emergencies, and to carry on other charitable activities associated with this purpose as allowed by law.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Litigation - cadf files lawsuits, represents affected parties, and intervenes in other cases when the state enacts laws that violate the state or federal constitutions, when government officials take actions that infringe upon first amendment or other constitutional rights, or when agencies promulgate rules in violation of state law.cadf v. Ofm. Cadf prevailed in litigation against the governor's office of financial management for withholding documents from billion-dollar negotiations with public sector unions.undivided media v. City of seattle. Cadf filed a public records lawsuit in state court to obtain records regarding a councilmember's public safety vote.cadf et al. V. State building code council. Lawsuit filed in federal court to block or delay restrictions to the natural gas infrastructure that harmed businesses and homeowners in washington state.smith v. Wsdot. Cadf defended a whistleblower who was forced out of his job after he was pressured to lie about the impacts of the governor's cap and trade program on fuel costs.n. Pearl st. V. Tacoma. Cadf challenged an unconstitutional measure (the tacoma initiative) that will increase the cost of housing in tacoma.doriot v.…
$450,383 spent95% of program spendingCommunication - cadf engages with the media, the public, state and federal partner organizations, lawmakers and staff, and donors on legal issues that advance free markets, restrain government overreach or defend constitutional rights.
$24,961 spent5% of program spendingEducation - cadf educates washington citizens about legal issues that impact their freedom and rights under the federal and state constitutions. Cadf also provides a guide to assist and educate state voters on the record of decisions of judges and whether they are biased or inconsistent with constitutional principles, public safety, and common sense.
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $475,344.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2020, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2020, 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 2020 to 2021, from $34k to $15k (−54%).
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.
100% of CITIZEN ACTION DEFENSE FUND’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (94% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 4 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
Jackson Maynard
Executive director
Board chair
Dann Mead Smith
Chairman of the board
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2020 → 2023: the base held at 1 funder, grant income rose $100k → $375k.
4 of 6 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 12% 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 CITIZEN ACTION DEFENSE FUND’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
CITIZEN ACTION DEFENSE FUND leans on a few funders — its largest provides 85% of grant income and the top three 98%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
97% 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 CITIZEN ACTION DEFENSE FUND.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2020 100% · 2022 100% · 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
97% of CITIZEN ACTION DEFENSE FUND's grant income comes from Washington funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $122k arriving through sponsors registered in 4 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
CITIZEN ACTION DEFENSE FUND has grown faster than three-quarters of the 2,538 crime & legal nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,538 crime & legal nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Organizations like CITIZEN ACTION DEFENSE FUND
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
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
65% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for CITIZEN ACTION DEFENSE FUND: 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 CITIZEN ACTION DEFENSE FUND?
- CITIZEN ACTION DEFENSE FUND (Washington) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $996,750 to it, the largest being PROJECT 42 ($850,000). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does CITIZEN ACTION DEFENSE FUND have?
- IRS filings report 6 organizations giving $996,750 in grants to CITIZEN ACTION DEFENSE FUND, 1 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of CITIZEN ACTION DEFENSE FUND?
- PROJECT 42 is the largest funder on record, with $850,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like CITIZEN ACTION DEFENSE FUND find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington. 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 2020–2024), and the filings of 6 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