Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
The Policy Academies Inc
The Policy Academies Inc (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 9 organizations whose IRS filings report $4,943,000 to it, the largest being GATES FOUNDATION ($1,415,000). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $374k
- Funders on record
- 9
- Grants received
- $4.9M
- Net assets
- $1.3M
What The Policy Academies Inc does
Mission
The Policy Academies uses its influence to open career pathways at leading policy institutions, create opportunities, build networks, and foster communities of support. With TPA's guidance, these leaders are better equipped to contribute to policy discourse and shape meaningful solutions that serve their communities, driving positive change in the policy field. TPA also collaborates with leading institutions to develop and promote research practices that reflect a diverse range of perspectives.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Academy Training - Fellowship and Research Scholars Programs:These include one- and two-year fellowship programs for undergraduates, pre-masters and graduate students in partnership with the nation's leading think tanks. When Academy Fellows complete their training fellowship they become a part of the Alumni Career and Leadership Development Program. The Policy Academies training programs are free of cost for participating students. TPA covers airfare and lodging and provides a competitive stipend.
$666,282 spentof which $373,472 as grants35% of program spendingEquity in Institutional and Research Practice: This initiative supports efforts to improve practices within the policy research and broader policy fields by encouraging broader representation of scholars and on research topics and methodologies. The program works with partners to enhance institutional practices in the development and application of public policy research. Through collaboration between scholars, institutions, and communities this initiative ensures that research informs policy decisions that reflect a wide range of perspectives and societal needs. This program also creates platforms for this work.
$523,242 spentof which $263,833 as grants28% of program spendingAlumni Career and Leadership Development Program:This program, which is often shortened to "The Alumni Program", supports the early career development of Academy graduates by helping them attend career accelerating conferences, providing specialized training courses, and by providing personalized training and mentorship.
$368,735 spentof which $74,174 as grants19% of program spendingOur work also includes efforts to engage a broad range of stakeholders through events, partnerships, and collaborative initiatives. These activities involve convening policy forums, providing technical assistance to organizations, and sharing research findings. By collaborating with nonprofits, policy bodies, research organizations, and academic institutions, TPA helps drive impactful conversations and actions that shape innovative policy solutions and support the leadership of early-career policy professionals.
$340,090 spent18% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,898,349.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2019, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2019, 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 2020 to 2021, from $385k to $3.2M (+726%).
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.
86% of The Policy Academies Inc’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (84% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 6 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
Lynette Rawlings
Founder, President and CEO
Board chair
Angela Glover Blackwell
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2018 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 6 funders, grant income rose $0 → $910k.
From the IRS filings of The Policy Academies Inc’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 Policy Academies Inc leans on a few funders — its largest provides 29% of grant income and the top three 71%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2019 100% · 2020 87% · 2021 50% · 2022 54% · 2023 33% — 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
40% of The Policy Academies Inc's funders are still giving 2 years after their first grant; 78% 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 Policy Academies Inc draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 5 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. 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 Policy Academies Inc is better cushioned than half of the 3,130 public benefit nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,130 public benefit nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Organizations like The Policy Academies 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
78% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
22%
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 Policy Academies 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 Policy Academies Inc?
- The Policy Academies Inc (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 9 organizations whose IRS filings report $4,943,000 to it, the largest being GATES FOUNDATION ($1,415,000). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does The Policy Academies Inc have?
- IRS filings report 9 organizations giving $4,943,000 in grants to The Policy Academies Inc, 7 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of The Policy Academies Inc?
- GATES FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $1,415,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like The Policy Academies 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 2019–2024), and the filings of 9 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