Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
INDEPENDENT SECTOR
INDEPENDENT SECTOR (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 117 organizations whose IRS filings report $45,423,899 to it, the largest being NATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TRUST ($6,150,000). 72 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $11M
- Funders on record
- 117
- Grants received
- $45M
- Net assets
- $15M
What Independent Sector does
Mission
We unite nonprofits and philanthropy to strengthen the charitable sector, identifying structural challenges and mobilizing the sector around policy and practice solutions.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Public policy:Independent Sector works with nonprofits, philanthropies, corporate-giving programs, and lawmakers to shape and advocate for policy solutions and legislation that advance the common good, encourage organizations to become better advocates, and create healthy, equitable communities where everyone thrives.Independent Sector president and ceo dr. Akilah watkins shared our 2025 tax policy agenda with house and senate budget leaders, urging lawmakers to strengthen the nonprofit sector's financial resources, workforce, civic engagement, and public trust. Throughout the reconciliation process, Independent Sector tracked provisions affecting nonprofits and partnered with council on foundations, national council of nonprofits, and united philanthropy forum to raise concerns about harmful proposals in the house bill. Together, the organizations led a sign-on letter from more than 2,000 nonprofits in all 50 states urging congress to remove provisions that would harm nonprofits and philanthropy.Independent Sector also commissioned research on two proposed limits to charitable giving incentives a 35% cap on itemized deductions for high-income taxpayers and a 1% floor on corporate…
$2,694,182 spentof which $25,000 as grants32% of program spendingCapacity building:in 2025, Independent Sector established the nation's first center of excellence on the nonprofit workforce to strengthen the effectiveness, sustainability, and equity of the charitable sector. The center was created to support the nation's 1.9 million charitable organizations and approximately 13 million nonprofit employees, recognizing that a strong workforce including salaried staff, stipend-supported leaders, and volunteers is essential to mission delivery and public trust.the center will advance Independent Sector's mission by building national infrastructure for workforce leadership development, learning, and collaboration across the charitable sector. Its work will focus on improving workforce capacity, leadership readiness, and long-term sector resilience.in its inaugural year, the center launched pilot initiatives across three workforce segments salaried staff, stipended leaders, and volunteers serving current and emerging leaders at multiple career stages. Key accomplishments included:- leadership development communities of practice that strengthened peer learning, leadership skills, and cross-organizational collaboration among nonprofit professionals. -…
$2,178,101 spent$352,014 earned by the program26% of program spendingResearch:Independent Sector identifies and informs sector issues through research, analysis, cross-sector dialogue, and communication. Our research is the foundation to drive structural change through the federal policymaking process, and to develop standards of practice, tools and training to empower organizations and their leaders. Independent Sector analyzes and shares insights on four core dimensions of the charitable sector's health: finances, workforce, public trust and governance, and policy advocacy. These findings are compiled in the annual health of the u.s. Nonprofit sector report, released in december 2025, and used to inform policy and practice interventions that strengthen the sector. In 2025, Independent Sector conducted its sixth annual survey on public trust in nonprofits and philanthropy, in partnership with edelman data & intelligence. The survey found that nonprofits remain the most trusted sector in american society, even as trust in other sectors has declined.in april during national volunteer week, Independent Sector and the do good institute at the university of maryland announced the estimated value of volunteer hour. The 2025 value of volunteer time,…
$1,528,761 spent18% of program spendingCommunications:communications at Independent Sector focuses on increasing awareness and understanding of our mission to strengthen and preserve a charitable sector that is healthy, trusted, and equitable, and capable of helping all people in the united states thrive. Guided by data-driven insights, our communications strategies are designed to reach broad and diverse audiences while expanding Independent Sector's visibility, influence, media reach, and stakeholder engagement. Through strategic promotion of our public policy, research, programs, and membership initiatives, we help members, partners, and policymakers better understand the value and impact of the nonprofit sector. Analytics and audience insights inform our outreach efforts, enabling us to communicate more effectively how Independent Sector's work supports organizations in advancing their missions and increasing their impact.
$1,591,382 spent19% of program spendingMembership:membership at Independent Sector provides full access to opportunities to meet, collaborate with, and learn from fellow changemakers and thought leaders through Independent Sector events and convenings; virtually and in-person. Members hear directly from policy and other charitable sector experts on issues impacting the sector and increase individual and organizational knowledge and skills through webinars and workshops. The is masterclass series, member portal, member huddles, monthly policy update, and curated virtual learning opportunities were designed to amplify the impact of individual nonprofits and foundations through shared concepts and best practices. This "vital meeting ground" propelled the collaborative value creation (cvc) framework helping organizations move beyond simple cooperation and concept to achieve systemic, large-scale impact as active advocates who are trusted and well governed, financially robust with a thriving workforce. Under the revised engagement continuum 29% more is members have moved from promoting (validators of association content and mission) to actively creating (e.g. Session proposals and surveys) and even serving (ad-hoc, micro,…
$477,520 spent6% of program spending
The 5 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $8,469,946.
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 2021 to 2022, from $44M to $30M (−32%).
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 11%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
88% of INDEPENDENT SECTOR’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (80% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 5 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
Akilah Watkins
President & chief executive officer
Board chair
Rev Adam Russell Taylor
Chairman
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2022 and FY2023 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 27 funders to 45 funders, grant income fell $3.9M → $2.9M.
19 of 117 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 22% 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 INDEPENDENT SECTOR’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 117 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
INDEPENDENT SECTOR has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 14% of grant income, and it takes 6 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 6 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 25% · 2018 23% · 2019 20% · 2020 48% · 2021 21% · 2022 31% · 2023 17% — 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
51% of INDEPENDENT SECTOR's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 62% 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
INDEPENDENT SECTOR draws 99% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 23 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $9.9M arriving through sponsors registered in 12 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
INDEPENDENT SECTOR receives grants from 117 organizations whose IRS filings report $45M to it.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 490 philanthropy nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Government funding INDEPENDENT SECTOR receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $700 on record.
- DIRECT STATE SERVICES - NON-SALARY$700
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 INDEPENDENT SECTOR
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
77% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
62%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 32 states
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- 1620 Is LLC · disregarded
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for INDEPENDENT SECTOR: 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 INDEPENDENT SECTOR?
- INDEPENDENT SECTOR (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 117 organizations whose IRS filings report $45,423,899 to it, the largest being NATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TRUST ($6,150,000). 72 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does INDEPENDENT SECTOR have?
- IRS filings report 117 organizations giving $45,423,899 in grants to INDEPENDENT SECTOR, 72 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of INDEPENDENT SECTOR?
- NATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TRUST is the largest funder on record, with $6,150,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like INDEPENDENT SECTOR 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 FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 117 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