American Legislative Exchange Council EIN 52-0140979

American Legislative Exchange Council

EIN  52-0140979 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Arlington, VA Founded 1975
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 7/22/26 · see original filing: IRS
Is this your organization?
Claim this profile to manage it and share your story.
Claim
Provided by the organization

This section is blank until American Legislative Exchange Council claims this page.

Know this organization? Claim it to add your story

Size
$10–100M
What they do
Shares research and educational information with legislators and the public.
Leadership
Lisa Nelson · CEO · $507K
Money in and out
$10.9M revenue, $10.6M expenses
Bottom line
77% program efficiency

Shares research and educational information with legislators and the public. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $10.9M in revenue, $10.6M in expenses, and $7.4M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2024
Total revenue
$10.9M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$10.6M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$7.4M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $282K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.77 Management & general $0.16 Fundraising $0.07
Program efficiency
77%
of spending reaches programs▼ -6% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
7.3mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▲ +28% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
+3%
revenue over expenses, this year▲ +314% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$10.9M
FY2024▼ -3%
Expenses
$10.6M
FY2024▼ -5%
Total assets
$14.0M
FY2024▲ +58%
Total liabilities
$6.6M
FY2024▲ +276%
Total revenue
$10.9M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$10.6M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$7.4M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$282K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$14.0M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B77%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 324
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 424
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $6.9M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Task Forces

Alec's policy task forces provide a forum for legislators and the private sector to discuss issues, develop policies, and draft model policy which serves as a public resource. The task forces include the following: american city council exchange; civil justice; commerce, insurance and economic development; communications and technology…

$3.4Mprogram expense
02

Conferences

Alec holds national conferences, providing workshops on current issues with leading experts, public figures and elected officials. The two national conferences held in 2024 and 2023 were the annual meeting and states and national policy summit meeting.

$2.3Mprogram expense
03

State Outreach

Alec's state outreach program provides reimbursement for qualifying costs, principally travel and lodging, of state legislators to attend various conferences and meetings of alec. Through this program, alec also works to promote the development of legislative membership and participation in alec.

$1.2Mprogram expense

Run this program? Claim this org to tell your story

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CAmerican Legislative Exchange Council
EINHdr · item D52-0140979
Principal addressHdr · item CArlington, VA
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.alec.org
Year of formationHdr · item L1975
State of legal domicileHdr · item MVA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFPublic & Societal Benefit (W20C)
Ruling yearIRS BMFMar 1977

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a24
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b24
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
$507,409Pt VII · Sec A
$241,218Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Economist, Evp-Policy
$235,218Pt VII · Sec A
Vp-Partnerships & Engagement
$205,288Pt VII · Sec A
VP - Policy
$168,953Pt VII · Sec A
VP - Events
$153,445Pt VII · Sec A
Corporate and Non-Profit Partnerships
$124,500Pt VII · Sec A
Database Administrator
$114,764Pt VII · Sec A

Lisa Nelson’s $507K as CEO is at the 78th percentile of top reported officer pay among 232 $10–100M 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

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Lisa Nelson$507,409$433,318
Lisa Nelson$470,180$414,332$413,137
Lisa Bowen$241,218$227,308
Jonathan Williams$235,218$225,192
Lisa Bowen$225,144$190,221$189,986
Jonathan Williams$214,759$174,721$180,098
Marie Vulaj$205,288$199,423
Wilhelm Meierling$146,317$202,788

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 American Legislative Exchange Council executive salaries →

Are you one of these people? Claim this org to confirm your role

Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$9.5M · 87%
Program service revenue$1.4M · 12%
Contributions & grants87%$9.5M
Program service revenue12%$1.4M
Investment income$42K
Other revenue$4K
Total revenueLn 12$10.9M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.77 Management & general $0.16 Fundraising $0.07
Program services77%$8.2M
Management & general16%$1.7M
Fundraising7%$741K
Total functional expensesLn 25$10.6M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$5.0M
Total assetsLn 16$14.0M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$6.6M
Total net assetsLn 32$7.4M
Months of cash on handcomputed5.6

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $6.5M · Operating expenses/yr $10.6M
7.3 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $8.2M · Total expenses $10.6M
77%
Management & General
Management & general $1.7M · Total expenses $10.6M
16%
Fundraising
Fundraising $741K · Total expenses $10.6M
7%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $745K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $9.5M
$0.08 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $9.5M · Total revenue $10.9M
87%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $10.9M
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $1.4M · Total revenue $10.9M
12%
Investment reliance
Investment income $42K · Total revenue $10.9M
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $1.4M · Total expenses $10.6M
13%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $10.9M · Prior year $11.3M
-3%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $8.0M · FY2024 $10.9M
+8%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $7.4M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $10.9M · Expenses $10.6M
+3%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $14.0M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $7.4M · Total assets $14.0M
53%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $1.5M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $14.0M
11%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Lisa Nelson · Reported title CEO · Highest reported compensation $507K · Total expenses $10.6M
5%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $4.3M · Total expenses $10.6M
40%
Fundraising vendors
Fundraiser cost ratio
Paid to fundraisers $170K · Gross raised $124K
137%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 77%
Overhead ratio 16%
Fundraising cost ratio 8%
Revenue growth -3%
Legal fee ratio 1%
Accounting fee ratio 1%
Fundraising fee ratio 2%

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 · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 3 funders$20K
See all 3 funders →

Similar Organizations

Closest in mission — by what they do
See all organizations like American Legislative Exchange Council →

Compare

Search another nonprofit to view revenue, expenses, assets, key metrics, and leaders side by side

Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024 (Latest)$10.9M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$11.3M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$10.1M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$9.8M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$8.0M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

Want to add your own materials alongside these filings? Claim this org

Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

If you ARE the filing organization, claim this org and add context

Made it to the end? Claim this organization

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the peer-cohort and compensation comparisons above.