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Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit

DEMOCRACY A JOURNAL OF IDEAS INC

DEMOCRACY A JOURNAL OF IDEAS INC (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 19 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,004,576 to it, the largest being CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTION ($500,000). 9 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2025
$807k
Funders on record
19
Grants received
$2.0M
Net assets
$584k
9/19 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 66%
01What it does

What Democracy a Journal of Ideas Inc does

Mission

To build a vibrant and vital progressivism for the twenty-first century that builds on the movement's proud history, is true to its central values, and is relevant to present times, publish the quarterly nonpartisan journal, "Democracy, A Journal of Ideas."

As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.

Programs

  1. 1. Published four quarterly issues of a periodical which spurs intellectual debate, on issues facing Americans and the worldwide society. 2. Organized a large conference in the spring (100 plus attendees, including press) devoted to discussion of important public issues. 3. Jointly organized occasional dinners including invited guests and speakers to discuss issues addressed in the pages of the Journal.

    $546,044 spent$3,236 earned by the program
    100% of program spending
  2. Other program services, not described on the e-filed return.

    $0 spent
    0% of program spending

The 2 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $546,044.

02The organization over time

The organization over time

Each line starts at 100 in 2019, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2019, 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.

100 = 20192019 Revenue 100 ($449k) Expenses 100 ($493k) Net assets 100 ($361k)2020 Revenue 132 ($592k) Expenses 97 ($476k) Net assets 104 ($375k)2021 Revenue 149 ($667k) Expenses 96 ($473k) Net assets 156 ($565k)2022 Revenue 126 ($568k) Expenses 99 ($488k) Net assets 178 ($645k)2023 Revenue 186 ($835k) Expenses 119 ($589k) Net assets 246 ($890k)2024 Revenue 115 ($515k) Expenses 162 ($798k) Net assets 168 ($607k)2025 Revenue 180 ($807k) Expenses 148 ($730k) Net assets 161 ($584k)
2019202020212022202320242025
Revenue (180)Expenses (148)Net assets (161)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $890k to $607k (−32%).

$368k
$376k
$573k
$662k
$890k
$607k
$591k
2019202020212022202320242025
Total assetsTotal liabilities

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.

2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

Government-grant reliance: 2021 7% · 2025 0%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.

100% of DEMOCRACY A JOURNAL OF IDEAS INC’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (57% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 25,057 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 7 reported years ran a deficit.

−$44k
’19
$116k
’20
$194k
’21
$79k
’22
$246k
’23
−$283k
’24
$76k
’25
9.6
months of
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.

2019202020212022202320242025
Listed10888886
Joined·+1+0+0+0+1+1
No longer listed·300013
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2018 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 8 funders, grant income rose $65k → $500k.

4 of 19 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 20% 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 DEMOCRACY A JOURNAL OF IDEAS INC’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

DEMOCRACY A JOURNAL OF IDEAS INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 25% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left

61% 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 DEMOCRACY A JOURNAL OF IDEAS INC.

25%
largest funder
49%
top three
~8
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2018 100% · 2019 56% · 2020 61% · 2021 54% · 2022 27% · 2023 20% — 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

13% of DEMOCRACY A JOURNAL OF IDEAS INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 47% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y+4y

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

DEMOCRACY A JOURNAL OF IDEAS INC draws 91% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 8 states in all.

NY
CA
CO
VA
DE
AZ
DC
FL

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
Washington, D.C. out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $395k 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.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

DEMOCRACY A JOURNAL OF IDEAS INC runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 17,450 education nonprofits its size.

Operating margin9% · above the median
Months of reserve9.6mo · above the median
Revenue growth (annualized)10% · above the median

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 17,450 education nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025

Organizations like DEMOCRACY A JOURNAL OF IDEAS 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

05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

75% of spending goes to programs.

Program 75%Management 18%Fundraising 7%

Governance

5
board members
80%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy–Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990–Audited financials

Public support

72%

Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

DC

Part of a family of 1 related entity

  • Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions · exempt

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for DEMOCRACY A JOURNAL OF IDEAS 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.

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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 DEMOCRACY A JOURNAL OF IDEAS INC?
DEMOCRACY A JOURNAL OF IDEAS INC (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 19 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,004,576 to it, the largest being CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTION ($500,000). 9 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does DEMOCRACY A JOURNAL OF IDEAS INC have?
IRS filings report 19 organizations giving $2,004,576 in grants to DEMOCRACY A JOURNAL OF IDEAS INC, 9 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of DEMOCRACY A JOURNAL OF IDEAS INC?
CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTION is the largest funder on record, with $500,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like DEMOCRACY A JOURNAL OF IDEAS 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.

Play a game about who funds Democracy a Journal of Ideas →

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2019–2025), and the filings of 19 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