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Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit

LEADERSHIP NOW PROJECT

LEADERSHIP NOW PROJECT (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $6,303,532 to it, the largest being HOPEWELL FUND ($4,533,032). 5 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 72% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.

Revenue FY2024
$4.6M
Funders on record
12
Grants received
$6.3M
Net assets
$102k
5/12 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 46%
01What it does

What Leadership Now Project does

Mission

The Leadership Now Project is a membership organization of business and thought leaders committed to protecting and renewing american democracy. We mobilize our members' expertise, networks, and resources to advance high-impact solutions that (continued on schedule o) strengthen democratic institutions.

As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.

Programs

  1. Informing the business community on democracy risks and opportunities through expert analysis and academic partnerships:Leadership Now Project has leveraged our platform to engage and educate business leaders on key policy issues that strengthen democracy, such as building trust in democratic institutions, protecting elections, supporting objective redistricting, ranked-choice voting, and strengthening talent pipelines in public service. Through high-quality analysis, partnerships with academic and professional networks, events, earned media, and business coalitions, we connected with influential audiences to drive impact. Leadership now continues to mobilize the business community around democracy-related issues, earning credibility as one of the earliest voices linking the health of our democracy to the strength of the business environment. Our efforts have positioned us as a trusted leader in advocating for democratic reforms that create a stable, fair, and predictable environment for businesses to thrive and innovate.

    $1,382,687 spent$1,145,571 earned by the program
    45% of program spending
  2. Enabling leadership now members to engage in democracy-supporting activities:Leadership Now Project empowers its members to strategically use their expertise, influence and investment to protect and renew democracy at the state and federal levels. Through data-driven analysis and collaboration with academic and political experts, we identify areas where our members can have a high impact in strengthening democratic processes. Leadership now offers recommendations on initiatives that promote civic engagement and democratic participation. We also advocate for reforms and actions that align with democratic principles, ensuring that our members are contributing to a stronger, more resilient democracy and economy.

    $1,236,117 spentof which $3,500 as grants$468,955 earned by the program
    40% of program spending
  3. Candidates to watch:Leadership Now Project members continued their efforts to identify and highlight highly qualified candidates committed to upholding democratic principles. Through a rigorous and collaborative process, members reviewed and analyzed candidate recommendations, using a scoring system to assess qualifications, experience, and alignment with our mission to strengthen democracy.candidates come from a diverse range of professional backgrounds, including science, business, national security, and the military. Leadership now prioritized candidates with expertise outside of traditional politics, believing their experiences would offer fresh perspectives to governance. The process included interviews with selected candidates to assess their commitment to democratic values and leadership potential. Our "2024 candidates to watch" list includes a mix of incumbents and challengers who demonstrate a dedication to safeguarding and renewing american democracy.

    $71,859 spent
    2% of program spending
  4. Other programs

    $382,881 spent$30,704 earned by the program
    12% of program spending

The 4 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $3,073,544.

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.

100 = 20172017 Revenue 100 ($80k) Expenses 100 ($69k) Net assets 100 ($10k)2018 Revenue 560 ($445k) Expenses 551 ($381k) Net assets 716 ($75k)2019 Revenue 1683 ($1.3M) Expenses 1612 ($1.1M) Net assets 2870 ($299k)2020 Revenue 1798 ($1.4M) Expenses 1974 ($1.4M) Net assets 3499 ($365k)2021 Revenue 2971 ($2.4M) Expenses 2966 ($2.0M) Net assets 6508 ($679k)2022 Revenue 4098 ($3.3M) Expenses 5019 ($3.5M) Net assets 4499 ($469k)2023 Revenue 4631 ($3.7M) Expenses 5639 ($3.9M) Net assets 2451 ($256k)2024 Revenue 5727 ($4.6M) Expenses 6814 ($4.7M) Net assets 978 ($102k)
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Revenue (5727)Expenses (6814)Net assets (978)

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2020 to 2021, from $547k to $978k (+79%).

$10k
$147k
$456k
$547k
$978k
$868k
$735k
$657k
'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

Government-grant reliance: 2022 5%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.

$10k
’17
$64k
’18
$225k
’19
$66k
’20
$314k
’21
−$209k
’22
−$214k
’23
−$154k
’24
1.4
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

Daniella Ballou-Aares

CEO

As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.

2018201920202021202220232024
Listed34577810
Joined·+1+1+3+2+4+2
No longer listed·001230
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2018 → 2023: the base held at 2 funders, grant income rose $170k → $1.1M.

2 of 12 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 72% 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 LEADERSHIP NOW PROJECT’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

LEADERSHIP NOW PROJECT leans on a few funders — its largest provides 72% of grant income and the top three 88%; half comes from just 1 funder.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left

98% 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 LEADERSHIP NOW PROJECT.

72%
largest funder
88%
top three
~2
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2018 71% · 2019 69% · 2020 49% · 2021 79% · 2022 45% · 2023 98% — growing more concentrated.

“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

25% of LEADERSHIP NOW PROJECT's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 42% 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

72% of LEADERSHIP NOW PROJECT's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $1.7M that is directly attributable, 65% of it comes from Washington, D.C. funders.

NY
CA
AR
DC

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

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

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $4.6M arriving through sponsors registered in 1 state 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

Organizations like LEADERSHIP NOW PROJECT

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

95% of spending goes to programs.

Program 95%Management 5%Fundraising 1%

Governance

3
board members
67%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy–Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990–Audited financials

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for LEADERSHIP NOW PROJECT: 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 LEADERSHIP NOW PROJECT?
LEADERSHIP NOW PROJECT (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $6,303,532 to it, the largest being HOPEWELL FUND ($4,533,032). 5 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 72% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
How many funders does LEADERSHIP NOW PROJECT have?
IRS filings report 12 organizations giving $6,303,532 in grants to LEADERSHIP NOW PROJECT, 5 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of LEADERSHIP NOW PROJECT?
HOPEWELL FUND is the largest funder on record, with $4,533,032 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like LEADERSHIP NOW PROJECT 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 12 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 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing