Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 476 organizations whose IRS filings report $122,978,100 to it, the largest being LILLY ENDOWMENT INC ($57,036,726). 230 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $209M
- Funders on record
- 476
- Grants received
- $123M
- Net assets
- $1.7B
What National Geographic Society does
Mission
To increase and diffuse geographic knowledge in the broadest sense, using the power of science, exploration, education and storytelling to illuminate and protect the wonder of the world.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
The storytelling team oversees the society's grant making efforts in photography, journalism, film, immersive media, podcasts and other media. Its programs also support capacity building, ambitious media projects for impact and efforts to amplify voices in the media. Storytelling and outreach program descriptions continued on sch. O
$90,942,200 spentof which $7,930,288 as grants$4,469,348 earned by the program49% of program spendingThe Science & Innovation team oversees the Society's grantmaking efforts in science, conservation and technology, develops and manages major programs, and establishes programmatic partnerships with like-minded non-governmental organizations (NGOs). SCIENCE & INNOVATION PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS CONTINUED ON SCH. O
$67,038,216 spentof which $19,620,431 as grants$332,546 earned by the program36% of program spendingFor more than 40 years, National Geographic's Education and Community Engagement division has extended the work of Explorers and educators into classrooms and communities around the world, inspiring meaningful and lasting change. We support educators, researchers and learners of all ages by expanding access to knowledge, developing learning resources and GIS modules, and creating opportunities for live engagement with National Geographic Explorers. Together, these efforts nurture creativity, curiosity, and resilience while helping people connect global challenges to local action. EDUCATION PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS CONT. ON SCH.O
$25,772,267 spentof which $2,390,962 as grants$10,206 earned by the program14% of program spendingOther program services
$4,018 spentof which $4,018 as grants$295,923 earned by the program0% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $183,756,701.
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 2020 to 2021, from $1.7B to $2.0B (+20%).
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.
42% of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (14% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 5 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
Jill Tiefenthaler
CEO
Board chair
Jean Case
Chairman
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 79 funders to 143 funders, grant income rose $2.5M → $14M.
56 of 476 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 20% 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 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 476 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
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY leans on a few funders — its largest provides 46% of grant income and the top three 56%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 23% · 2018 21% · 2019 41% · 2020 14% · 2021 26% · 2022 22% · 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
32% of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 48% 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
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY draws 96% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 44 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $24M arriving through sponsors registered in 25 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
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 696 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 696 education nonprofits over $100M, FY2024
Government funding NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $393k on record — $363k federal, $29k state.
- National Endowment for the Humanities$350k
- Department of the Interior$13k
- NJ$19k
- FL$10k
- VT$12
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 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
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
38%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 50 states
Part of a family of 3 related entities
- Ng Url Holding LLC · disregarded
- NG Foundation for Sci Ex (Asia) · exempt
- Ngsp Inc · corp_trust
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY: 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 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY?
- NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 476 organizations whose IRS filings report $122,978,100 to it, the largest being LILLY ENDOWMENT INC ($57,036,726). 230 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY have?
- IRS filings report 476 organizations giving $122,978,100 in grants to NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY, 230 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY?
- LILLY ENDOWMENT INC is the largest funder on record, with $57,036,726 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY 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 476 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