Electronic Frontier Foundation INC EIN 04-3091431 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

Electronic Frontier Foundation INC

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Defends digital freedom and privacy for everyone online. For fiscal year 2025 it reported $21.6M in revenue, $25.8M in expenses, and $56.1M in net assets.Pt I

Founded
1990
Type
Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Nonprofit
Location
San Francisco, CA
Website
www.eff.org
Filings
6 on file (2020–2025)
Revenue
$21.6MFY2025
Expenses
$25.8M
Net assets
$56.1M
People
25
Filings
6
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  04-3091431 Public charity (501(c)(3)) San Francisco, CA Founded 1990
Form 990 (PDF)
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Figures match the IRS filing checked 8/10/26 · see original: IRS
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Size
$10–100M
What they do
Defends digital freedom and privacy for everyone online.
Leadership
Cindy Cohn · Executive Director · $352K
Money in and out
$21.6M revenue, $25.8M expenses
Bottom line
71% program efficiency
Where the money goes · FY2025
Total revenue
$21.6M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$25.8M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$56.1M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$4.2M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.71 Management & general $0.16 Fundraising $0.13
Program efficiency
71%
of spending reaches programs▲ +2% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
21.8mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▼ -28% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
-19%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -176% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2025 · Form 990
Revenue
$21.6M
FY2025▼ -26%
Expenses
$25.8M
FY2025▲ +18%
Total assets
$56.3M
FY2025▼ -3%
Total liabilities
$251K
FY2025▼ -80%
Total revenue
$21.6M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$25.8M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$56.1M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$4.2M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$56.3M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B71%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 314
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 413

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CElectronic Frontier Foundation INC
EINHdr · item D04-3091431
Principal addressHdr · item CSan Francisco, CA
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.eff.org
Year of formationHdr · item L1990
State of legal domicileHdr · item MCA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFNonprofit
Ruling yearIRS BMFJul 1990

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a14
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b13
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Director
$352,039Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Operating Officer
$258,050Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary & Gen. Counsel
$250,023Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Development Officer
$247,311Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer/CFO
$244,097Pt VII · Sec A
Legal Director
$242,711Pt VII · Sec A
Civil Liberties Director
$240,649Pt VII · Sec A
Legislative Director
$230,014Pt VII · Sec A

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Cindy Cohn$352,039$332,139$313,121$292,031$274,536$272,500
Rebecca Jeschke$258,050$217,175$193,214
Jennifer Lynch$250,023$202,118$172,933$161,805$153,234$143,545
Allison Morris$247,311
Kelly Esguerra$244,097$207,407$188,801$184,826$176,002$142,727
Corynne McSherry$242,711$228,749$218,347$215,855$212,597$205,478
David Greene$240,649$205,258$199,048$195,272$190,416$178,529
Kurt Opsahl$224,582$236,191$211,789$207,917

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $18.3M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Educated the public regarding new forms of technology, fostered discussion as well as public policy analysis regarding the legal and social issues raised by technology, and conducted litigation in the public interest to preserve human and civil rights.

$18.3Mprogram expense

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$19.5M · 90%
Investment income$1.4M · 7%
Other revenue$716K · 3%
Contributions & grants90%$19.5M
Investment income7%$1.4M
Other revenue3%$716K
Total revenueLn 12$21.6M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.71 Management & general $0.16 Fundraising $0.13
Program services71%$18.3M
Management & general16%$4.0M
Fundraising13%$3.4M
Total functional expensesLn 25$25.8M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$2.6M
Total assetsLn 16$56.3M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$251K
Total net assetsLn 32$56.1M
Months of cash on handcomputed1.2

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2025 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $45.3M · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $25.8M · Less non-cash grants $864K · Cash operating expenses/yr $24.9M
21.8 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $18.3M · Total expenses $25.8M
71%
Management & General
Management & general $4.0M · Total expenses $25.8M
16%
Fundraising
Fundraising $3.4M · Total expenses $25.8M
13%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $3.1M · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $19.4M
$0.16 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $19.5M · Total revenue $21.6M
90%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $21.6M
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $0 · Total revenue $21.6M
0%
Investment reliance
Investment income $1.4M · Total revenue $21.6M
+7%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $0 · Total expenses $25.8M
0%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $21.6M · Prior year $29.4M
-26%
Revenue CAGR
FY2019 $12.2M · FY2024 $21.6M
+12%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $56.1M · Beginning of year $57.1M
-2%
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $21.6M · Expenses $25.8M
-19%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities $251K · Total assets $56.3M
0.4%
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $56.1M · Total assets $56.3M
100%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $42.6M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $56.3M
76%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Cindy Cohn · Reported title Executive Director · Highest reported compensation $352K · Total expenses $25.8M
1%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $20.5M · Total expenses $25.8M
79%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 71%
Overhead ratio 16%
Fundraising cost ratio 17%
Revenue growth -26%
Investment management fee ratio 0.2%
Legal fee ratio 0.4%
Accounting fee ratio 0.1%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
See all 7 funders →
Grants paid · 1 grant · $10K · 2024–2024
Access NowNY · FY2024$10,000

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2025 (Latest)$21.6M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$29.4M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$18.0M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$23.9M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$17.7M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$12.2M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2025IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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