Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC
THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 759 organizations whose IRS filings report $652,384,611 to it, the largest being GATES FOUNDATION ($55,931,366). 468 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $444M
- Funders on record
- 759
- Grants received
- $652M
- Net assets
- $647M
What The Aspen Institute Inc does
Mission
We drive change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society's greatest challenges.the aspen institute ignites human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. We drive change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the greatest challenges of our time in service of a more free, just, and equitable society. We do so by convening a broad spectrum of people, with a focus on dialogue, community building, and creative collaboration; creating transformational experiences that enable diverse leaders to discover and refine their approaches; and enabling powerful, practical, and applicable solutions that accelerate progress, emphasizing co-creation and partnership. The aspen institute is headquartered in washington, dc, and has a campus in aspen, colorado, as well as an international network of partners.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2024 return the organization reported starting a significant new program.
Center for rising generations is a new program effort in 2024.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 2).
Policy programs: the aspen institute's policy programs explore and identify solutions for problems ranging from economic distress to educational opportunity, from climate change to racial disparities, in an effort to influence decision-makers in the public and private sectors to advance the best and most inspired proposals. Our policy programs range in size from $100,000 to $15 million in annual revenue and expenses.
$128,808,237 spentof which $33,275,712 as grants$22,120,144 earned by the program69% of program spendingCampus activities: in addition to its headquarters in washington, dc, the aspen institute also conducts much of its work on its founding campus in aspen, colorado, which provides natural beauty and quiet surroundings that encourage thoughtful reflection and refreshes mind, body and spirit. One of our programs that use the campus is our aspen executive seminar which challenges individuals to think more deeply, listen more attentively, and refine their ability to lead in an increasingly complex and conflicting world. Seminar participants engage in challenging conversations about enduring questions of ethical and effective leadership, gaining a greater capacity to lead with courage and conviction.
$18,385,541 spent10% of program spendingPublic programs: the institute's public programs are designed to freely disseminate the organization's ideas and to provide the public with opportunities to convene inclusively and engage in thoughtful, nonpartisan dialogue. Our major events include the aspen ideas festival, aspen ideas health, the aspen security forum, city lab and aspen words. These and our other public forums engage over 15,000 members of the general public annually.
$11,485,163 spent$10,207,348 earned by the program6% of program spendingThe center for rising generations is dedicated to ensuring that civil dialogue, civic engagement, and leadership development become a predictable part of the journey to adulthood in our society and around the world. The center for rising generations:- works to expand opportunities for, and elevate the voices of, youth & young adults at the aspen institute,- creates opportunities to convene and build community beyond aspen,- encourages innovation that helps emphasize the assets that young people bring to help address today's challenges.
$5,172,999 spentof which $172,098 as grants$23,064 earned by the program3% of program spendingOther restricted programs, aspen global leadership network and innovation funds, and seminars
$21,647,174 spentof which $3,027,674 as grants$3,854,546 earned by the program12% of program spending
The 5 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $185,499,114.
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.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $519M to $757M (+46%).
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 3% · 2018 4% · 2019 2% · 2020 3% · 2021 3% · 2022 4% · 2023 4% · 2024 2%. 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.
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.
Board chair
Margot L Pritzker
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 181 funders to 320 funders, grant income rose $45M → $97M.
51 of 759 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 13% 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: $40M from 67 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Jewish Communal Fund). These are real filings, and they are not money THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC raised.
From the IRS filings of THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 759 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 ASPEN INSTITUTE INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 9% of grant income, and it takes 14 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 14 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 30% · 2018 18% · 2019 14% · 2020 10% · 2021 10% · 2022 8% · 2023 6% — 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
48% of THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC'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
THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC draws 99% 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. $87M arriving through sponsors registered in 22 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.
Government funding THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $23.5M on record — $23.4M federal, $58k state.
- Department of State$20.0M
- Agency for International Development$3.4M
- MD$50k
- OR$6k
- NJ$1k
- OK$375
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 THE ASPEN INSTITUTE 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 Washington, D.C.
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
79% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
74%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 37 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE ASPEN INSTITUTE 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 ASPEN INSTITUTE INC?
- THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 759 organizations whose IRS filings report $652,384,611 to it, the largest being GATES FOUNDATION ($55,931,366). 468 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC have?
- IRS filings report 759 organizations giving $652,384,611 in grants to THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC, 468 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC?
- GATES FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $55,931,366 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE ASPEN INSTITUTE INC 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 759 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