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Kansas · Nonprofit

KANSAS POLICY INSTITUTE

KANSAS POLICY INSTITUTE (Kansas) receives grants from 28 organizations whose IRS filings report $5,225,681 to it, the largest being Redbud Foundation ($865,000). 24 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2024
$2.3M
Funders on record
28
Grants received
$5.2M
Net assets
$2.5M
24/28 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 55%
01What it does

What Kansas Policy Institute does

Mission

To protect constitutional rights to freedom, create greater access to better educational opportunities and allow kansans to keep more of what they earn.

As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.

Programs

  1. Kansas justice institute, llc is a public interest litigation firm protecting the freedoms guaranteed by the kansas and united states constitutions. The cases in litigation or that have been litigated during 2023 are as follows: 1. Johnson v. Smith - constitutional challenge to warrantless search regime and automatic penalties for being more than 30-minutes from home during surprise, warrantless search. Arguments advanced text, history, and tradition of fourth and fourteenth amendments. Although we pleaded a claim for attorney fees, we have not yet sought them. The case is on appeal.2. Villegas v. Regan - served as local counsel to pacific legal foundation. Lawsuit fought in-house agency prosecution to restore fairness and political accountability. We did not seek attorney fees or damages.3. Finnerty v. Ottawa - constitutional challenge to excessive and unreasonable government restrictions on the right to earn an honest living and property rights. Arguments advanced fundamental and natural right principles through state constitution. We did not seek attorney fees or damages.4. Green v. Kboc - constitutional challenge to excessive and unreasonable government restrictions on the…

    $419,991 spent
    24% of program spending
  2. The economic freedom program represents efforts on tax and budget policy. We publish original research and other written material, as well as speak to civic and other groups. Our tax policy work examines the impact of tax burdens on private sector job creation and other economic factors; we also study government spending in search of operating efficiency opportunities at the state and county levels.

    $472,405 spent
    27% of program spending
  3. The student-focused education program strives to provide insights on spending choices for education. Extensive research is conducted in various education areas. We examine the relationship between k-12 spending and student achievement, explore alternative learning opportunities such as digital achievement, explore alternative learning opportunities such as digital in-depth analysis of school funding and employment changes.

    $548,617 spent
    32% of program spending
  4. The sentinel, llc is an online news service that holds media and government accountable for providing complete, accurate and unbiased information so that citizens can make their own informed decisions on public policy matters.

    $115,611 spent
    7% of program spending
  5. Kansas school board resource center, llc provides research, policy guidance, education, and other resources to local school boards, the general public & others.

    $176,280 spent
    10% of program spending

The 5 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,732,904.

02The organization over time

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.

100 = 20172017 Revenue 100 ($962k) Expenses 100 ($763k) Net assets 100 ($421k)2018 Revenue 122 ($1.2M) Expenses 105 ($800k) Net assets 190 ($799k)2019 Revenue 152 ($1.5M) Expenses 159 ($1.2M) Net assets 249 ($1.0M)2020 Revenue 146 ($1.4M) Expenses 165 ($1.3M) Net assets 284 ($1.2M)2021 Revenue 153 ($1.5M) Expenses 179 ($1.4M) Net assets 309 ($1.3M)2022 Revenue 335 ($3.2M) Expenses 197 ($1.5M) Net assets 717 ($3.0M)2023 Revenue 177 ($1.7M) Expenses 266 ($2.0M) Net assets 639 ($2.7M)2024 Revenue 235 ($2.3M) Expenses 326 ($2.5M) Net assets 585 ($2.5M)
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Revenue (235)Expenses (326)Net assets (585)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 2021 to 2022, from $1.3M to $3.0M (+132%).

$482k
$801k
$1.1M
$1.2M
$1.3M
$3.0M
$2.7M
$2.5M
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
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.

2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

96% of KANSAS POLICY INSTITUTE’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (48% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 12,360 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.

$199k
’17
$378k
’18
$250k
’19
$148k
’20
$105k
’21
$1.7M
’22
−$328k
’23
−$227k
’24
12
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.

Chief executive

David Trabert

Chief executive officer

Board chair

David Gibson

Chairman of board of trust

As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.

'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Listed1214141414141414
Joined·+2+0+1+0+0+1+1
No longer listed·0010011
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 9 funders to 17 funders, grant income rose $180k → $938k.

6 of 28 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 27% 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 KANSAS POLICY INSTITUTE’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

KANSAS POLICY INSTITUTE has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 17% of grant income, and it takes 5 funders to reach half.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 5 funders to its left

47% 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 KANSAS POLICY INSTITUTE.

17%
largest funder
37%
top three
~11
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 50% · 2018 45% · 2019 40% · 2020 28% · 2021 19% · 2022 20% · 2023 21% — 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

60% of KANSAS POLICY INSTITUTE's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 86% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y+4y+5y+6y

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

65% of KANSAS POLICY INSTITUTE's grant income comes from Kansas funders.

IL
WI
MO
VA
KS
SC
DC
FL

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

’17
’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
Kansas out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.4M arriving through sponsors registered in 6 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

KANSAS POLICY INSTITUTE holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 11,761 education nonprofits its size.

Operating margin−10% · bottom quartile
Months of reserve11.7mo · top quartile
Revenue growth (annualized)13% · above the median

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 11,761 education nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024

Organizations like KANSAS POLICY INSTITUTE

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 Kansas

Nationally

05Profile & governance

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

Where the money goes

86% of spending goes to programs.

Program 86%Management 6%Fundraising 8%

Governance

10
board members
100%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990✓Audited financials

Public support

52%

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

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

KS

Part of a family of 3 related entities

  • Kansas Justice Institute LLC · disregarded
  • The Sentinel LLC · disregarded
  • Kansas School Board Resource Center LLC · disregarded

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for KANSAS POLICY INSTITUTE: 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.

A paid feature, included from the $75 plan up. Sign in to download.

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 KANSAS POLICY INSTITUTE?
KANSAS POLICY INSTITUTE (Kansas) receives grants from 28 organizations whose IRS filings report $5,225,681 to it, the largest being Redbud Foundation ($865,000). 24 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does KANSAS POLICY INSTITUTE have?
IRS filings report 28 organizations giving $5,225,681 in grants to KANSAS POLICY INSTITUTE, 24 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of KANSAS POLICY INSTITUTE?
Redbud Foundation is the largest funder on record, with $865,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like KANSAS POLICY INSTITUTE find more funders?
Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Kansas. 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 28 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