Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM
POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 13 organizations whose IRS filings report $16,378,236 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($10,000,000). 8 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 61% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $12M
- Funders on record
- 13
- Grants received
- $16M
- Net assets
- $14M
What Police Executive Research Forum does
Mission
Perf is an independent research organization that focuses on critical issues in policing. Perf's work includes guidance on police use of force, effective crime reduction strategies, and programs that support police officers' health and well-being. Perf advances professionalism in policing by sharing information about best practices with the field.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Education and training: in 2024, perf held four sessions of its senior management institute for police (smip), a leadership development program for mid- and senior-level police officials, many of whom will be future police chiefs. Perf also trained officers to implement perf's integrating communications, assessment, and tactics (icat) program, which helps prevent unnecessary uses of force by police and promotes better outcomes in incidents that involve subjects with mental illness, developmental disabilities, or other conditions that may cause them to behave unpredictably. Icat trainings are held monthly at perf's national icat facility in decatur, illinois. Perf also continues to contract directly with agencies to provide icat training. Perf also held its third annual national icat conference.
$5,497,478 spent$5,301,920 earned by the program50% of program spendingResearch: perf conducts a range of research projects and publishes findings in reports for police practitioners, the news media, and the public. In 2024, perf's research team examined the police response to civil disturbances; police partnerships with local businesses to address crime issues; and law enforcement's role in community violence interventions.
$2,067,042 spent19% of program spendingDemonstration and technical assistance: perf studies best practices and emerging issues in policing. Issues addressed in 2024 included: responding to the rise in carjacking; reducing the risk of restraint-related death; integrating civilian staff into police agencies; engaging immigrant communities; and police accountability.
$1,063,379 spent10% of program spendingMembership: perf's membership is comprised of thousands of law enforcement executives, federal government officials, academics, researchers, and others with an interest in policing and criminal justice issues. Perf holds meetings, conferences, and other events, and communicates with its members on a daily basis. Perf's daily clips service is a daily newsletter featuring the most compelling news media stories about issues in policing. Perf's executive director also sends out a weekly column called "perf trending," which focuses on a current topic in policing and provides updates on activities at perf.
$1,126,132 spent10% of program spendingManagement services: perf provides management consulting services to police agencies. Perf offers comprehensive organizational studies; strategic planning; training development and review; guidance on recruitment, hiring, and retention; development of use-of-force policies and training; and analysis and review of internal affairs and other disciplinary policies and cases.
$862,826 spent$506,728 earned by the program8% of program spendingCommunications: perf's communications department manages the editing and production of perf reports, as well as managing perf's website, fielding news media inquiries about issues in policing, and maintaining perf's presence on social media.
$25,369 spent$31,649 earned by the program0% of program spendingExecutive search: over the past 20 years, perf has helped more than 200 cities, counties, and other jurisdictions identify the best candidates for police chief and other leadership positions. Perf has published several books on executive development for policing professionals, such as "command performance: a career guide for police executives," "the first six months: a police chief's guide to starting off on the right foot, and "chapter 2: how police chiefs and sheriffs are finding meaning and purpose in the next stage of their careers."
$251,744 spent$219,814 earned by the program2% of program spending
The 7 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $10,893,970.
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 2021 to 2022, from $13M to $25M (+88%).
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: 2017 15% · 2018 17% · 2019 18% · 2020 27% · 2021 12% · 2022 7% · 2023 12% · 2024 18%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
42% of POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (95% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 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
Chuck Wexler
Executive director
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base held at 5 funders, grant income fell $691k → $658k.
2 of 13 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 61% 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 POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM’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
POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM leans on a few funders — its largest provides 61% 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
67% 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 POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 29% · 2018 67% · 2019 80% · 2020 79% · 2021 42% · 2022 91% · 2023 76% — 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
38% of POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM'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
61% of POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM'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 $6.4M that is directly attributable, 100% of it comes from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 5 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $10M arriving through sponsors registered in 2 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
POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM is better cushioned than half of the 254 crime & legal nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 254 crime & legal nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Government funding POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $10.4M on record — $10.2M federal, $198k state.
- Department of Justice$10.2M
- MD$196k
- CT$2k
- VT$475
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 POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM
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
91% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
66%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM: 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 POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM?
- POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 13 organizations whose IRS filings report $16,378,236 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($10,000,000). 8 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 61% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM have?
- IRS filings report 13 organizations giving $16,378,236 in grants to POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM, 8 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $10,000,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM 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.
Play a game about who funds Police Executive Research Forum →
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 13 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