Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
Council on Foundations Inc
Council on Foundations Inc (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 290 organizations whose IRS filings report $41,576,010 to it, the largest being CHARLES STEWART MOTT FOUNDATION ($4,560,000). 183 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $13M
- Funders on record
- 290
- Grants received
- $42M
- Net assets
- $32M
What Council on Foundations Inc does
Mission
The Council on Foundations fosters an environment where philanthropy can thrive and cultivates a community of diverse and skilled philanthropic professionals and organizations who lead with integrity, serve as ethical stewards and advocate for progress.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Member services - the Council provides educational programs and resources about the issues and topics most impacting philanthropy, ensuring that our members have the tools they need to develop better ways of operating. The Council also provides networking opportunities, facilitates professional development, and builds bridges between foundations across the country and around the world. Through this work, the council seeks opportunities to partner with peer philanthropy serving organizations and amplify their work.
$8,264,851 spentof which $44,094 as grants$9,732,680 earned by the program75% of program spendingStrategic Communications - the Council shares the good work of philanthropy with our members, sector partners, media, and government through digital communications channels, publications, and knowledge products. We provide foundations with the information, resources, and connections they need to improve their practice and learn from their peers.
$1,417,286 spentof which $255 as grants13% of program spendingPublic Policy - the Council is a leading advocacy organization for the philanthropic sector and builds strong relationships with policy makers and regulators in order to advocate for laws and regulations that advance the greater good, enable diverse philanthropic endeavors to thrive, and spur the growth of charitable giving without increasing wealth inequality. With respect to our advocacy efforts, any activities that meet the definition of lobbying are reported on supplemental Schedule C.
$1,308,587 spentof which $226 as grants12% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $10,990,724.
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 $12M to $36M (+209%).
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 8%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
65% of Council on Foundations Inc’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (80% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 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
Kathleen Enright
President & CEO
Board chair
Peter Laugharn
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 90 funders to 131 funders, grant income rose $3.1M → $5.1M.
71 of 290 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 9% 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 Council on Foundations Inc’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 290 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
Council on Foundations Inc has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 11% of grant income, and it takes 9 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 9 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 16% · 2018 13% · 2019 20% · 2020 12% · 2021 16% · 2022 9% · 2023 14% — 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.
How long its funders stay
53% of Council on Foundations Inc's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 63% 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
Council on Foundations Inc draws 99% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 35 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $3.9M arriving through sponsors registered in 29 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
Council on Foundations Inc's funding base is broadening — from 90 funders to 131 as grant income climbed.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 828 philanthropy nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Organizations like Council on Foundations 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
82% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
59%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 21 states
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Community Foundations National Standards Board · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Council on Foundations 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 Council on Foundations Inc?
- Council on Foundations Inc (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 290 organizations whose IRS filings report $41,576,010 to it, the largest being CHARLES STEWART MOTT FOUNDATION ($4,560,000). 183 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does Council on Foundations Inc have?
- IRS filings report 290 organizations giving $41,576,010 in grants to Council on Foundations Inc, 183 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Council on Foundations Inc?
- CHARLES STEWART MOTT FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $4,560,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Council on Foundations 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 FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 290 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