Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES
INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 108 organizations whose IRS filings report $26,458,168 to it, the largest being FREEDOM TOGETHER FOUNDATION ($3,250,000). 67 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $5.7M
- Funders on record
- 108
- Grants received
- $26M
- Net assets
- $11M
What Institute for Policy Studies does
Mission
The Institute for Policy Studies (the institute) is a 60-year-old organization that is dedicated to building a more equitable, ecologically sustainable, and peaceful society.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2023 return the organization reported a significant change in how it conducts a program.
The economic hardship reporting project received its own tax exempt status, and effective 12/31/2022 it was no longer operating as a fiscally sponsored organization under Institute for Policy Studies.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 3).
New economy - ips has been a leader in strengthening responses to the global economy by providing research, writing and communication. This project has produced countless research reports, articles, forums, and books.
$1,796,550 spentof which $52,955 as grants45% of program spendingCommon security - this project works to combat economic inequality, achieve climate justice, and build peace requiring solutions designed to dismantle systemic racism. It's focused on foreign policy based on human rights, international law, and diplomacy over military intervention.
$870,926 spent22% of program spendingAffiliates - the black worker initiative (bwi) project carries out research and advocacy for black workers in the united states south, with a focus on alabama. The national priorities project (npp) carries out research and advocacy that helps the public understand national priorities through the lens of the federal budget.
$524,513 spent$154,531 earned by the program13% of program spendingCommunications - inequality.org - inequality.org is the premier portalfor the public at large, journalists, teachers, students, academics,activists, and any others seeking information and analysis on wealthand income inequality. Ultimately, the institute's mission is to createand curate high-quality research and information, along with compellingstories, with the goal of ending economic inequality in the u.s. Andabroad. Otherwords - otherwords is a free, non-profit editorial servicethat distributes progressive commentaries to heartland newspapersacross the united states. Foreign policy in focus - foreign policy infocus (fpif) is a "think tank without walls" connecting the researchand action of more than 600 scholars, advocates, and activists seekingto make the united states a more responsible global partner. Fpifprovides timely analysis of u.s. Foreign policy and internationalaffairs and recommends policy alternatives.
$529,465 spent13% of program spendingSpecial projects - the institute nurtured the development of severalprojects working to build a more just, peaceful, and sustainable worldin the u.s. And around the globe.
$206,920 spentof which $28,800 as grants5% of program spendingNext leaders - the next leaders program brings in 10-15 next leader interns each year for 10 week paid internships, with an emphasis on low-income students and people of color.
$108,619 spent3% of program spending
The 6 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $4,036,993.
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 2019 to 2020, from $8.4M to $11M (+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 6%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
92% of INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (97% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 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
Tope Folarin
Executive director
Board chair
Sarita Gupta
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 27 funders to 40 funders, grant income rose $1.3M → $4.2M.
28 of 108 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 24% 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 INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 108 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
INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 12% of grant income, and it takes 7 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 7 funders to its left
27% 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 INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 22% · 2018 17% · 2019 14% · 2020 14% · 2021 13% · 2022 15% · 2023 12% — 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
42% of INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES'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
INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES draws 90% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 19 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $6.4M arriving through sponsors registered in 13 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
INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 1,608 international nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,608 international nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES
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
84% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
68%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 7 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES: 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 INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES?
- INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 108 organizations whose IRS filings report $26,458,168 to it, the largest being FREEDOM TOGETHER FOUNDATION ($3,250,000). 67 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES have?
- IRS filings report 108 organizations giving $26,458,168 in grants to INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES, 67 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES?
- FREEDOM TOGETHER FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $3,250,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES 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 108 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