Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
Council of Graduate Schools
Council of Graduate Schools (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $3,380,082 to it, the largest being THE ANDREW W MELLON FOUNDATION ($2,657,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $8.1M
- Funders on record
- 3
- Grants received
- $3.4M
- Net assets
- $13M
What Council of Graduate Schools does
Mission
Dedicated to the improvement and advancement of graduate education. As the largest national association organized specifically to represent the interests of graduate education, the Council offers many opportunities for deans and graduate school personnel to exchange ideas and share information on major issues in graduate education.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Grants: The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) uses grant funding to support a range of initiatives intended to advance graduate education such as those intended to promote graduate student success, advance financial education, leverage international experiences, promote diversity and inclusion, and better understand the impact of graduate education on the workforce.
$4,459,533 spentof which $1,255,000 as grants$149,833 earned by the program77% of program spendingMeetings and Workshops:CGS holds an annual meeting in December where participants explore important and current issues in graduate education. The meeting also provides opportunities for graduate leaders to exchange ideas and information. Graduate deans, associate and assistant deans, faculty and staff from colleges and universities, association, federal and state agencies, and other education related administrators, graduate students, and others interested in graduate education are invited. Pre-meeting workshops and plenary sessions, concurrent sessions, annual awards ceremony, and the Lapidus luncheon lecture comprise the annual meeting. Exhibits also are available to meeting attendees. CGS conducts a summer workshop for graduate deans with a fresh focus on hot topics that affect every facet of graduate education. Complementing the workshop is the new deans institute, a program tailored to orient new deans and integrate the workshop experience. CGS invites graduate deans, associate and assistant deans, and other faculty and staff from colleges, universities and associations to network with their colleagues. The CGS Board of Directors, staff and other specialists serve as core…
$847,404 spent$1,035,063 earned by the program15% of program spendingMember Services: Leading effort to reach out to a growing number and different types of graduate schools for membership to provide relevant support and fulfill the needs of a dynamic and ever-changing membership.
$471,175 spent$2,893,373 earned by the program8% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $5,778,112.
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 2018 to 2019, from $13M to $15M (+18%).
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 19% · 2018 15% · 2019 9% · 2020 19% · 2021 19% · 2022 39% · 2023 13% · 2024 38%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
39% of Council of Graduate Schools’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (48% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 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.
Board chair
Susan Carvalho
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 2 funders, grant income rose $50k → $936k.
From the IRS filings of Council of Graduate Schools’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
Council of Graduate Schools leans on a few funders — its largest provides 79% 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
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2019 82% · 2021 100% · 2022 100% · 2023 71% — 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.
Where its funders are
Council of Graduate Schools draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 2 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. 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
Council of Graduate Schools is better cushioned than half 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 Council of Graduate Schools receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $19k on record.
- Membership in Organizations$19k
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 Council of Graduate Schools
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
71% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
94%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Council of Graduate Schools: 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 Council of Graduate Schools?
- Council of Graduate Schools (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $3,380,082 to it, the largest being THE ANDREW W MELLON FOUNDATION ($2,657,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does Council of Graduate Schools have?
- IRS filings report 3 organizations giving $3,380,082 in grants to Council of Graduate Schools, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Council of Graduate Schools?
- THE ANDREW W MELLON FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $2,657,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Council of Graduate Schools 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 3 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