Connecticut · Nonprofit
THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE INC
THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE INC (Connecticut) receives grants from 34 organizations whose IRS filings report $945,995 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($181,391). 20 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
- $14M
- Funders on record
- 34
- Grants received
- $946k
- Net assets
- $28M
What The American Radio Relay League Inc does
Mission
The purposes for which our corporation is formed are the following: the promotion of interest in amateur radio communication and experimentation; the establishment of amateur radio networks to provide electronic communications in the event of disasters or other emergencies; the furtherance of public welfare; the advancement of the radio art; the fostering and promotion of non-commercial intercommunication by electronic means throughout the world; the fostering of education in the field of electronic communication; the promotion and conduct of research and development to further the development of electronic communication; the dissemination of technical, educational and scientific information relating to electronic communication; and the printing and publishing of documents, books, magazines, news letters and pamphlets necessary or incidental to any of the above purposes.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Promotion of public interest in and experimentation with amateur radio communications, encouragement of the exchange of ideas and expertise among members and various other membership programs.
$9,585,278 spentof which $2,081,995 as grants$2,381,128 earned by the program77% of program spendingQst: monthly periodical for arrl members (circulation apprx. 35,862 print, 129,838 digital) to deliver news and information related to amateur radio including product reviews and editorial content. Approximately 136 copies monthly are distributed through wholesalers.
$1,477,831 spent$814,043 earned by the program12% of program spendingAdvocacy: promote the use of amateur radio, especially as emergency communication in time of disaster. Monitor fcc regulations in regards to amateur radio on behalf of members. Monitor legislation as it relates to amateur radio to keep members informed of important changes.
$986,150 spent$4,176,222 earned by the program8% of program spendingOther program services: provide technical information for the organization's regulatory efforts, product review testing and provide technological support to members.
$471,009 spent4% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $12,520,268.
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 $44M to $39M (−12%).
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: 2021 9%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
15% of THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE INC’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (58% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 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
David Minster
CEO/secretary
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 8 funders to 13 funders, grant income rose $117k → $119k.
12 of 34 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.
Left out of every figure on this page: $110k from one payer (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Arrl Foundation Inc). These are real filings, and they are not money THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE INC raised.
From the IRS filings of THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 34 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
THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 19% 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
61% 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 THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 43% · 2018 37% · 2019 40% · 2020 22% · 2021 25% · 2022 19% · 2023 26% — 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
43% of THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 59% 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 THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE INC'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 $371k that is directly attributable, 98% of it comes from funders outside Connecticut, across 13 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $575k arriving through sponsors registered in 10 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
THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE INC receives grants from 34 organizations whose IRS filings report $946k to it.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 772 arts & culture nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Organizations like THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE 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 Connecticut
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
71% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
94%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- The Arrl Foundation Inc · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE 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 THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE INC?
- THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE INC (Connecticut) receives grants from 34 organizations whose IRS filings report $945,995 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($181,391). 20 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 THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE INC have?
- IRS filings report 34 organizations giving $945,995 in grants to THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE INC, 20 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE INC?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $181,391 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Connecticut. 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 34 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