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Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit

THE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC

THE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 178 organizations whose IRS filings report $102,731,886 to it, the largest being THE SHERWOOD FOUNDATION ($22,731,337). 106 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2024
$14M
Funders on record
178
Grants received
$103M
Net assets
$37M
106/178 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 86%
01What it does

What The Campaign Legal Center Inc does

Mission

The nonpartisan campaign legal center advances democracy through law at the federal, state and local levels, fighting for every american's rights to responsive government and a fair opportunity to participate in and affect the democratic process.

As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.

Programs

  1. Voting rights: voting should be accessible for all citizens, no matter where they live, the color of their skin or how much money they make. To make every vote count, we need a system that is free and fair to ensure that everyone's voice is heard, including those who have had contact with the criminal legal system. Clc believes that state and federal policies should uniformly protect the right to vote and promote voter participation across the united states. This clc program, through litigation, policy analysis, state-based and federal advocacy, and public education, seeks to protect the right to vote and expand access to the ballot.

    $4,427,026 spentof which $302,290 as grants$138,660 earned by the program
    28% of program spending
  2. Campaign finance: the first amendment guarantees every american the right to participate fully in the political process. The dependence of political candidates on wealthy special interests is a serious flaw in our political system and makes elected officials responsive to their large donors rather than to the public. The tremendous power of special interest money in politics often drowns out the voice of everyday americans, threatens our first amendment freedoms, and erodes the foundations of our entire democracy. To restore fairness to our political system, this clc program advocates for passing and enforcing strong campaign finance reforms that help guarantee a democracy that is both representative of and responsive to the people. These reform solutions include placing reasonable limits on funding of campaigns, complete transparency of campaign spending and public financing of elections. Clc helps enact such policies at the state, local, and federal levels, and works to ensure that the federal election commission enforces current campaign finance laws. Clc also defends laws that promote the first amendment's guarantee that every american has the ability to participate in the…

    $2,414,234 spent
    15% of program spending
  3. Communications: clc's communication program supports the overall mission of clc and utilizes strategies to leverage and brand clc as a thought leader, educator and advocate. The communication program works across clc program teams to create and disseminate content, build program audiences, and seek partnership and collaboration on important public conversations. This includes supporting campaign legal conversations, which explores complicated issues in democracy, sharing stories of voters who have faced barriers to participating in the political process, and educating press, partners and donors about clc's litigation efforts.

    $3,337,594 spent
    21% of program spending
  4. Ethics: one of the hallmarks of a healthy democracy is public confidence in the integrity of democratic institutions. That public confidence is earned through the commitment of those in and working with government to uphold the principle that public service is a public trust. Federal, state, and local governments have a responsibility to enact and enforce clear ethical guidelines and laws. Only then, can public officials adequately navigate potential conflicts and be held accountable when they break the public's trust. This system is necessary to ensure a healthy democracy. This clc program proposes solutions for stronger ethics at all levels of government, and serves as a government watchdog, holding elected officials accountable for ethics violations.

    $829,473 spent
    5% of program spending
  5. Redistricting: democracy works best when our voting maps are fairly drawn on a nonpartisan basis to ensure that americans can participate equally in the election of their representatives. Unfortunately, incumbents often rig the system to benefit themselves, their party, and special interest supporters, manipulating voting maps to dictate the outcome of elections. Two sources of discrimination in voting maps are partisan gerrymandering and electoral systems that underrepresent people of color. The result is dysfunction, mistrust, and public policies that ignore the will of the people. This clc program advances and supports legal cases that address redistricting violations, works on the front lines in the fight for fair redistricting practices in the states, and continues to promote voters' rights to fair districts nationwide.

    $1,272,664 spent
    8% of program spending
  6. Policy: clc's policy program works to advance pro-democracy, pro-voter policy at the federal, state and local levels. Clc brings decades of policy and legal expertise to our work with government officials, civic organizations, and grassroots advocates. Clc is engaged through the entire life cycle of the law: developing policy, drafting legislation and ballot initiatives, and ensuring effective implementation through administrative advocacy. The policy program works across clc program teams to develop effective advocacy strategies and partnerships.

    $2,261,708 spentof which $685,080 as grants
    14% of program spending
  7. Other programs

    $1,406,469 spent
    9% of program spending

The 7 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $15,949,168.

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. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.

100 = 20172017 Revenue 100 ($5.7M) Expenses 100 ($4.8M) Net assets 100 ($5.6M)2018 Revenue 140 ($8.0M) Expenses 124 ($6.0M) Net assets 135 ($7.6M)2019 Revenue 249 ($14M) Expenses 154 ($7.4M) Net assets 258 ($14M)2020 Revenue 271 ($16M) Expenses 205 ($9.9M) Net assets 358 ($20M)2021 Revenue 313 ($18M) Expenses 229 ($11M) Net assets 481 ($27M)2022 Revenue 448 ($26M) Expenses 272 ($13M) Net assets 705 ($39M)2023 Revenue 375 ($21M) Expenses 367 ($18M) Net assets 777 ($43M)2024 Revenue 243 ($14M) Expenses 435 ($21M) Net assets 657 ($37M)
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Revenue (243)Expenses (435)Net assets (657)Peer revenue range

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 $28M to $42M (+50%).

$5.8M
$7.8M
$16M
$22M
$28M
$42M
$46M
$38M
'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

88% of THE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (95% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 270 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.

$896k
’17
$2.0M
’18
$6.8M
’19
$5.6M
’20
$6.9M
’21
$12M
’22
$3.8M
’23
−$7.1M
’24
18
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

Adav Noti

Executive director

Board chair

Paul Klingenstein

Board chair

As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.

'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Listed1818192119232224
Joined·+4+4+4+6+5+3+4
No longer listed·4328142
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 24 funders to 76 funders, grant income rose $3.9M → $18M.

38 of 178 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 24% 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 THE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 178 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 CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 22% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left

40% 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 CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC.

22%
largest funder
43%
top three
~11
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 26% · 2018 30% · 2019 34% · 2020 17% · 2021 19% · 2022 25% · 2023 19% — 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

60% of THE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 60% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y+4y+5y+6y

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 CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC draws 95% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 26 states in all.

WA
ID
MT
MN
IL
WI
NY
MA
OR
WY
OH
PA
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
NE
VA
MD
DE
NM
DC
GA
TX
FL

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

’17
’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
Washington, D.C. out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $25M arriving through sponsors registered in 17 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.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

THE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 254 crime & legal nonprofits its size.

Operating margin−51% · bottom quartile
Months of reserve18.1mo · top quartile
Revenue growth (annualized)14% · above the median

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 254 crime & legal nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024

Government funding THE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC receives

Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $41k on record.

State$41k
Top programs
  • DIRECT STATE SERVICES - NON-SALARY$41k

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 CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER 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

05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

76% of spending goes to programs.

Program 76%Management 18%Fundraising 6%

Governance

18
board members
94%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990✓Audited financials

Public support

73%

Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 51 states

AK
ME
VT
NH
WA
ID
MT
ND
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
WY
SD
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
HI
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
TX
FL

Part of a family of 1 related entity

  • Campaign Legal Center Action · exempt

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER 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.

A paid feature, included from the $75 plan up. Sign in to download.

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 CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC?
THE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 178 organizations whose IRS filings report $102,731,886 to it, the largest being THE SHERWOOD FOUNDATION ($22,731,337). 106 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does THE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC have?
IRS filings report 178 organizations giving $102,731,886 in grants to THE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC, 106 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of THE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER INC?
THE SHERWOOD FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $22,731,337 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like THE CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER 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 178 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