Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
THE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY
THE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 15 organizations whose IRS filings report $30,385,082 to it, the largest being GATES FOUNDATION ($15,397,347). 11 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $8.9M
- Funders on record
- 15
- Grants received
- $30M
- Net assets
- $15M
What The Institute for Higher Education Policy does
Mission
The Institute for Higher Education Policy (ihep) works to build a more equitable and just society through higher education. We drive systemic change to advance equitable outcomes and generational impact for communities historically marginalized based on race, ethnicity, or income. We pursue this change through research, advocacy, policy development, and field engagement.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Data & transparency our system of higher education is data-rich but information-poor. Ihep promotes smart higher education data use by identifying trends in data collection and reporting at the federal, state, and institutional levels, supporting a culture of data-use on campuses through our research, trainings, and communities of practices, and calling for the modernization of our postsecondary data infrastructure. Since 2014, ihep has led the postsecondary data collaborative (postsecdata), a coalition of diverse organizations that jointly advocates for the use of high-quality postsecondary data to improve access and success in higher education, inform and evaluate policy development, and inform student choices about their investments in higher education.
$1,648,790 spent$15,000 earned by the program51% of program spendingEvidence-based completion higher education can be a pathway to economic security, social mobility and society-wide value if students earn a degree or credential. Ihep promotes evidence-based pathways to completion for today's students by identifying barriers to completion and degree attainment, examining innovative and effective approaches at the institutional, state, and federal levels to promote completion, and working with policymakers and practitioners to advance strategies and policies that support students as they complete their studies. Ihep works to support knowledge building and scaling of data-driven strategies that improve completion.
$786,783 spent24% of program spendingNeed-based aid need-based aid does more than make college more affordable - it makes college possible for today's students. We promote affordable postsecondary education by: identifying financial challenges and examining innovative solutions; calling to protect and increase need-based aid at the federal, state, and institutional levels; and working with policymakers and practitioners to prioritize need-based investment in students. We focus squarely on enhancing support for students living with low and moderate incomes, including through pell grants, and funding to support non-tuition costs that include basic needs such as food and housing.
$570,381 spent18% of program spendingStrong outcomes for all students all institutions and programs should deliver value to students. Drawing from our postsecondary value framework, we evaluate novel approaches to assess the economic returns students receive for their postsecondary investment and cultivate support for comprehensive reform that incentivizes and supports improvement, especially among programs that persistently deliver a low return on investment.
$209,952 spent7% of program spendingCollege admissions years of admissions policies have left black, latinx, american indian and alaska native students, and students from low-income backgrounds underrepresented at the nation's selective institutions. Ihep researches recruitment, admissions, and enrollment policies and practices. We build field support for the positive impacts of a diverse campus to encourage institutions to implement strategies that help more students access postsecondary education.
The 5 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $3,215,906.
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 2023 to 2024, from $11M to $16M (+44%).
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.
96% of THE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (81% 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
Mary Mamie G Voight
President & CEO
Board chair
Maryellen Mcguire
Board member/chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2021 and FY2022 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 3 funders to 7 funders, grant income rose $3.0M → $3.1M.
4 of 15 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 2% 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 INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY’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
THE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY leans on a few funders — its largest provides 51% of grant income and the top three 75%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
27% 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 INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 39% · 2018 53% · 2019 46% · 2020 63% · 2021 89% · 2022 74% · 2023 72% — 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
50% of THE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 73% 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 INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 9 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $652k arriving through sponsors registered in 3 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 INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 175 social science nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 175 social science nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like THE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY
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
75% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
23%
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 THE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY: 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 INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY?
- THE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 15 organizations whose IRS filings report $30,385,082 to it, the largest being GATES FOUNDATION ($15,397,347). 11 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY have?
- IRS filings report 15 organizations giving $30,385,082 in grants to THE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY, 11 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY?
- GATES FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $15,397,347 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY 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 Institute for Higher Education Policy →
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 15 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