Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCILS OF AMERICA
WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCILS OF AMERICA (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 16 organizations whose IRS filings report $10,675,689 to it, the largest being Impetus Foundation ($10,025,000). 8 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $1.4M
- Funders on record
- 16
- Grants received
- $11M
- Net assets
- $14M
What World Affairs Councils of America does
Mission
The World Affairs Councils of America supports, strengthens, and represents a national network of 90 nonpartisan organizations working to deepen their communities' global perspective.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Speaker program - engage america speaker series:the waca national office partners with think tanks, foundations, ngos, corporations, and occasionally government entities to arrange timely "national conversations" at several world affairs councils across the country on international topics.
$42,133 spentof which $17,000 as grants4% of program spendingNational conference:for nearly four decades, the waca national conference has brought world affairs council leaders and members to engage with top government officials, diplomats, business executives, innovators, journalists, thought leaders, educators, and students on the most pressing global issues and policy choices that impact our lives.this annual event in washington, dc, inspires councils from 90 communities to sustain the conversation on global issues and contribute to a stronger network and informed american public.
$420,421 spentof which $28,459 as grants$139,327 earned by the program43% of program spendingOther programs:1. Academic worldquest (awq) inspires high school students and teachers across the united states to embrace a culture of global engagement. Nationwide, more than 30 local world affairs councils host community academic worldquest competitions throughout the year, engaging over 2,500 students in schools across geographic and economic lines as they vie for the ultimate prize: representing their communities at the carlos and malu alvarez academic worldquest national competition in washington, dc.2. The council leadership meeting holds space for council leaders to network with peers, engage in informative sessions, and gain valuable insights into challenges and opportunities that impact the council network.3. As part of strengthening councils around the country, waca virtual programming (roundtables, council huddles, waca 101) gives council staff and board members a chance to connect, exchange insights, and learn about the national network. Each quarter, council professionals and volunteers engaged in specific aspects of councils' work gather over zoom to meet others in the waca network, share questions and ideas, explore innovative strategies, and problem-solve…
$521,653 spent$13,400 earned by the program53% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $984,207.
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 2021 to 2022, from $1.9M to $11M (+486%).
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: 2017 15% · 2018 4% · 2019 22% · 2020 13% · 2021 8% · 2024 4%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
35% of WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCILS OF AMERICA’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (97% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 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
Matthew Hughes
President & CEO
Board chair
Glenn Creamer
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 5 funders, grant income rose $11k → $104k.
6 of 16 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 5% 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 WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCILS OF AMERICA’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
WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCILS OF AMERICA leans on a few funders — its largest provides 94% of grant income and the top three 98%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 65% · 2019 43% · 2020 47% · 2021 99% · 2022 69% · 2023 48% — 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
33% of WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCILS OF AMERICA'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
WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCILS OF AMERICA draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 8 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $492k arriving through sponsors registered in 5 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
WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCILS OF AMERICA runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 718 international nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 718 international nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCILS OF AMERICA
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
76% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
19%
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 WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCILS OF AMERICA: 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 WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCILS OF AMERICA?
- WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCILS OF AMERICA (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 16 organizations whose IRS filings report $10,675,689 to it, the largest being Impetus Foundation ($10,025,000). 8 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCILS OF AMERICA have?
- IRS filings report 16 organizations giving $10,675,689 in grants to WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCILS OF AMERICA, 8 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCILS OF AMERICA?
- Impetus Foundation is the largest funder on record, with $10,025,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCILS OF AMERICA 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 16 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