Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
THE PHI BETA KAPPA SOCIETY
THE PHI BETA KAPPA SOCIETY (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $974,477 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($552,130). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 98% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $8.3M
- Funders on record
- 12
- Grants received
- $974k
- Net assets
- $2.6M
What The Phi Beta Kappa Society does
Mission
The mission of The Phi Beta Kappa Society is to champion education in the liberal arts and sciences, foster freedom of thought, and recognize academic excellence.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
The american scholar: the american scholar is phi beta kappa's quarterly publication, with a circulation to the general public. The current circulation is 19,469 (18,044 active subscriptions, 630 newsstand sales and 795 free/nominal rate distribution). The publication presents articles on subjects of broad interest, current affairs, cultural affairs, philosophy, science and arts.
$1,685,784 spent$346,179 earned by the program38% of program spendingTriennial council: the triennial council is the legislative body of phi beta kappa that convenes every three years to conduct the phi beta kappa business. The most recent triennial council was held in august 2024 for the year ended july 31, 2025
$892,697 spent$2,173,758 earned by the program20% of program spendingNational arts and sciences initiative: phi beta kappa's national arts and sciences initiative engages members across the country to communicate the value of liberal arts and sciences, advocates for policies that strengthen higher education, and awards the key into public service scholarship, along with training and mentoring, to promising liberal arts and sciences majors pursuing government service.
$591,960 spentof which $100,000 as grants$54,803 earned by the program13% of program spendingAwards, fellowships and scholarships: academic awards consist of several endowed fellowship and award programs. Book awards are given annually to three outstanding scholarly books drawn from the fields of the humanities, the social sciences, the natural sciences and mathematics. They must be of broad interest and accessible to the general, literate reader.
$316,952 spent7% of program spendingThe key reporter: the key reporter is a newsletter that is mailed to members on a quarterly basis and keeps them informed about current phi beta kappa activities.
$313,363 spent7% of program spendingAssociation services: community-based groups of members are formed to provide programs of cultural and intellectual interest to their members, and to promote student achievement in high schools, colleges and graduate programs.
$260,159 spent6% of program spendingChapter services: the phi beta kappa chapters induct into the society the best and brightest liberal arts and sciences undergraduates at approximately 290 college and university campuses across the nation. During the year ended july 31, 2025, nearly 20,645 new students were inducted.
$239,215 spent5% of program spendingVisiting scholar program: the visiting scholar program invites eminent scholars to undertake a series of visits to colleges and universities with phi beta kappa chapters, contributing to the intellectual life of the campus by making possible the exchange of ideas between distinguished visiting scholars, the resident faculty and students.
$151,144 spent$82,204 earned by the program3% of program spending250th anniversary: the 250th anniversary of phi beta kappa will be in 2026, and multiple events and meetings are being held to further the mission of the organization.
$25,526 spent1% of program spending
The 9 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $4,476,800.
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 2022 to 2023, from $4.6M to $3.5M (−24%).
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 8%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 9 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
Frederick Lawrence
Secretary/CEO
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 3 funders to 5 funders, grant income rose $24k → $154k.
10 of 12 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 98% 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: $5.4M from 4 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Phi Beta Kappa Foundation). These are real filings, and they are not money THE PHI BETA KAPPA SOCIETY raised.
From the IRS filings of THE PHI BETA KAPPA SOCIETY’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 PHI BETA KAPPA SOCIETY leans on a few funders — its largest provides 57% of grant income and the top three 85%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
100% 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 PHI BETA KAPPA SOCIETY.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 63% · 2018 63% · 2019 66% · 2020 52% · 2021 74% · 2022 60% · 2023 43% — 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
75% of THE PHI BETA KAPPA SOCIETY's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 50% 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
98% of THE PHI BETA KAPPA SOCIETY'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 $20k that is directly attributable, 50% of it comes from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 2 states.
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $954k arriving through sponsors registered in 9 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.
Organizations like THE PHI BETA KAPPA SOCIETY
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
57% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
90%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Phi Beta Kappa Foundation · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE PHI BETA KAPPA SOCIETY: 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 PHI BETA KAPPA SOCIETY?
- THE PHI BETA KAPPA SOCIETY (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $974,477 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($552,130). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 98% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does THE PHI BETA KAPPA SOCIETY have?
- IRS filings report 12 organizations giving $974,477 in grants to THE PHI BETA KAPPA SOCIETY, 6 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE PHI BETA KAPPA SOCIETY?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $552,130 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE PHI BETA KAPPA SOCIETY 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 FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 12 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