Virginia · Nonprofit
THE PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOWSHIP FOUNDATION
THE PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOWSHIP FOUNDATION (Virginia) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $22,111,785 to it, the largest being NATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TRUST ($22,075,035). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 100% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $4.2M
- Funders on record
- 3
- Grants received
- $22M
- Net assets
- $1.0M
What The Public Interest Fellowship Foundation does
Mission
The Public Interest Fellowship Foundation (tpiff) draws on the legacy of that great journal of ideas and policy founded by daniel bell and irving kristol. This legacy nourished generations of individuals dedicated to meeting the moral and cultural challenges of the day through the rigorous study of contemporary america and reclaiming of the enduring principles of the american constitutional tradition. Conceived in that spirit, tpiff provides exceptional young men and women with professional learning opportunities and a continuing education in the tradition of freedom. The unique combination of work and study is designed to advance a fellow's pursuit of careers devoted to enriching the cultural life of the united states.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Retreats - tpiff hosted three retreats that covered principles and practice related to critical policy issues.
$1,556,168 spentof which $306,236 as grants$5,385 earned by the program35% of program spendingPublications - the fellows worked full-time with publications, think-tanks, and objective non-partisan policy firms over the course of a year.
$1,524,777 spentof which $300,058 as grants$5,276 earned by the program35% of program spendingSeminars - fellows studied political philosophy, policy, and history. Each week of the program, they were required to produce weekly written responses, to engage in close text study, and to debate with each other.
$1,310,201 spentof which $257,832 as grants$4,533 earned by the program30% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $4,391,146.
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 2022 to 2023, from $778k to $3.6M (+366%).
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.
100% of THE PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOWSHIP FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (48% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 5 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
Garrett Exner
President/executive director
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 2 funders, grant income rose $643k → $4.1M.
1 of 3 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 100% 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 PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOWSHIP FOUNDATION’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 PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOWSHIP FOUNDATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 100% of grant income and the top three 100%; 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 PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOWSHIP FOUNDATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 100% · 2019 100% · 2020 100% · 2021 100% · 2022 100% · 2023 100% — broadly stable.
“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.
Where its funders are
100% of THE PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOWSHIP FOUNDATION'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 $37k that is directly attributable, 100% of it comes from funders outside Virginia, across 2 states.
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $22M arriving through sponsors registered in 1 state 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 PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOWSHIP FOUNDATION has grown faster than half of the 9,398 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 9,398 education nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like THE PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOWSHIP FOUNDATION
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 Virginia
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
99% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOWSHIP FOUNDATION: 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 PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOWSHIP FOUNDATION?
- THE PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOWSHIP FOUNDATION (Virginia) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $22,111,785 to it, the largest being NATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TRUST ($22,075,035). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 100% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does THE PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOWSHIP FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 3 organizations giving $22,111,785 in grants to THE PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOWSHIP FOUNDATION, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOWSHIP FOUNDATION?
- NATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TRUST is the largest funder on record, with $22,075,035 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE PUBLIC INTEREST FELLOWSHIP FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Virginia. 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 3 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