Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
INSTITUTE ON RELIGION & DEMOCRACY INC
INSTITUTE ON RELIGION & DEMOCRACY INC (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 24 organizations whose IRS filings report $6,137,709 to it, the largest being Donors Trust Inc ($2,150,000). 16 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $1.9M
- Funders on record
- 24
- Grants received
- $6.1M
- Net assets
- $135k
What Institute on Religion & Democracy Inc does
Mission
The institute on religion & democracy is an ecumenical think tank committed to responsible christian witness in society rooted in historic church teaching and christian realism.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2023 return the organization reported starting a significant new program.
In 2023 the institute acquired in defense of christians to expand its religious liberty emphasis.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 2).
Providence: this program examines global statecraft with christian realism. Through publications and conferences, providence uplifts the best of historic christian political theology, to foster wider conversations about spirituality in polities, and to create a community of serious christian public thinkers serving america and the world.
$426,605 spent28% of program spendingUnited methodist action committee: irds united methodist action committee published the quarterly um action briefing newsletter, and monitors church activities, including the public witness of united methodist leaders and church public policy statements.
$261,361 spent17% of program spendingIn defense of christian: idc advocates for the protection and preservation of christianity in the middle east and beyond.
$181,787 spent12% of program spendingJohn wesley institute: the john wesley institute (jwi) exists to make faithful scholarship accessible to the christian faithful. Jwi hosts several conferences and seminars throughout the year.
$174,596 spent12% of program spendingThe new whiggery: the new whiggery exists to promote the best of the american constituional tradition and to evaluate political decisions in light of history, first principles, prudence, and a moral framework grounded in natural law.
$114,080 spent8% of program spendingCampus outreach: the campus outreach initiative sends distinguished scholars to universities, colleges, and seminaries throughout the country to speak on political theology and create on-campus student groups to expand these conversations.
$63,500 spent4% of program spendingOther programs
$283,767 spent$2,205 earned by the program19% of program spending
The 7 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,505,696.
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.
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 $592k to $1.4M (+132%).
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: 2020 9% · 2021 7% · 2023 6%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
98% of INSTITUTE ON RELIGION & DEMOCRACY INC’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (97% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 6 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
Dr Paul Marshall
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 5 funders to 9 funders, grant income rose $308k → $917k.
12 of 24 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 45% 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 ON RELIGION & DEMOCRACY 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
INSTITUTE ON RELIGION & DEMOCRACY INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 35% of grant income and the top three 73%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
57% 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 ON RELIGION & DEMOCRACY INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 81% · 2018 60% · 2019 43% · 2020 35% · 2021 52% · 2022 50% · 2023 44% — 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
56% of INSTITUTE ON RELIGION & DEMOCRACY INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 67% 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 ON RELIGION & DEMOCRACY INC draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 10 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.8M arriving through sponsors registered in 9 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 ON RELIGION & DEMOCRACY INC's funding base is broadening — from 5 funders to 9 as grant income climbed.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 978 civil rights nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like INSTITUTE ON RELIGION & DEMOCRACY 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
74% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
75%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 30 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for INSTITUTE ON RELIGION & DEMOCRACY 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 INSTITUTE ON RELIGION & DEMOCRACY INC?
- INSTITUTE ON RELIGION & DEMOCRACY INC (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 24 organizations whose IRS filings report $6,137,709 to it, the largest being Donors Trust Inc ($2,150,000). 16 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does INSTITUTE ON RELIGION & DEMOCRACY INC have?
- IRS filings report 24 organizations giving $6,137,709 in grants to INSTITUTE ON RELIGION & DEMOCRACY INC, 16 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of INSTITUTE ON RELIGION & DEMOCRACY INC?
- Donors Trust Inc is the largest funder on record, with $2,150,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like INSTITUTE ON RELIGION & DEMOCRACY 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 2019–2024), and the filings of 24 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