Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Nov 1973.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
80 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
41 people listed on the 990; $6.2M paid to officers and key staff.
Kevin Roberts’s $683K as President is at the 36th percentile of top reported officer pay among 59 $100M+ public & societal benefit nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kay Coles James | — | — | $464,609 | $930,249 | $908,352 |
| Kevin Roberts | $682,571 | $670,981 | $622,489 | $34,511 | — |
| Derrick Morgan | $545,991 | $540,696 | $286,062 | — | — |
| Kim Holmes | — | — | — | $215,436 | $447,564 |
| Eric Korsvall | $444,117 | $440,009 | $336,050 | $256,003 | $247,757 |
| Andrew Olivastro | $368,437 | $273,994 | $212,985 | — | — |
| Robert Barro | $357,723 | — | — | — | — |
| Roger Severino | $351,528 | $315,355 | $196,731 | — | — |
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.
See Heritage Foundation executive salaries →Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Formulates and promotes conservative public policies through research, media outreach, and government briefings to advance free enterprise, limited government, and strong national defense.
Questions for Heritage Foundation
Your first name shows with your question. Heritage Foundation answers here, for everyone.
(see Schedule O)educational Programs
The heritage foundation ("THF or "the foundation") hosts events and sponsors programs to educate government officials, the academic community, journalists, and the general public on topics ranging from the founding fathers and civil society to political philosophy and legal principles.
(see Schedule O)public Policy Research
The heritage foundation produces hundreds of research papers annually, including issue briefs, blog posts, fact sheets, backgrounders, guides, and books addressing a broad range of economic, domestic, defense, foreign, and social policy issues.
(see Schedule O)media and Government Relations
The heritage foundation distributes its research products to members of congress, congressional staff, policymakers in the executive branch of the federal government, state officials, journalists, members of the academic community, other non-profit organizations, the general public, and donors.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | FY20 | FY19 | FY18 | FY17 | FY16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of yearLn 1g | $216.5M | $206.4M | $160.5M | $173.6M | $151.2M |
| Given inLn 1b | $1.3M | $29.3M | $6.9M | $2.4M | $2.9M |
| SpentLn 1d–1f | $10.9M | $11.7M | $8.3M | $8.2M | $7.6M |
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $59.4M | $16.7M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $209.9M | $261.3M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $86.2M | $92.8M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $365.8M | $381.3M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $44.3M | $49.6M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $321.5M | $331.8M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $692K | $692K | ||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $25K | $25K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $5.8M | $4.9M | $93K | $824K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $26.9M | $22.7M | $429K | $3.8M |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $1.5M | $1.2M | $25K | $277K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $3.4M | $3.0M | $58K | $364K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $2.2M | $1.8M | $37K | $409K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $143K | $120K | $17K | $7K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $95K | $78K | $1K | $16K |
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $2.3M | $2.3M | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $1.2M | $924K | $19K | $214K |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $8.1M | $7.7M | $102K | $264K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $1.8M | $1.2M | $60 | $526K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $12.9M | $9.9M | $17K | $2.9M |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $3.6M | $2.3M | $30K | $1.3M |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $2.3M | $1.9M | $326K | $112K |
| TravelLn 17 | $276K | $171K | $4K | $102K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $1.5M | $882K | $17K | $586K |
| InterestLn 20 | $331K | $264K | $6K | $61K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $2.9M | $2.3M | $49K | $539K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $115K | $86K | $26K | $4K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $863K | $740K | $18K | $104K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $78.8M | $62.8M | $1.3M | $14.6M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 LatestFiled with the IRS Nov 15, 2025 | $133.9M | $142.2M | −$8.3M | $333.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Nov 7, 2024 | $101.0M | $107.7M | −$6.8M | $347.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Jun 27, 2023 | $106.3M | $93.7M | $12.7M | $332.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Jun 13, 2022 | $101.8M | $85.8M | $16.0M | $367.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 ViewingFiled with the IRS Jun 30, 2021 | $119.1M | $78.8M | $40.4M | $331.8M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $119,134,479 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 19 of 22 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $119,134,479 across 10 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $78,753,539 across 22 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $381,332,869 assets, 18 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $331,754,148 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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