Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Apr 1985.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
90 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
39 people listed on the 990; $2.1M paid to officers and key staff.
Mr Damon Wilson’s $432K as President & CEO is at the 22nd 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 | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Damon Wilson | $432,464 | $395,874 | $368,965 | $176,779 | — | — |
| Mr Carl Gershman | — | — | $250,000 | $265,895 | $365,033 | — |
| Carl Gershman | — | — | — | — | — | $353,819 |
| Ms Barbara Haig | — | — | $267,809 | $220,383 | $214,208 | — |
| Mr Brian Joseph | $260,642 | $246,909 | $232,338 | $202,316 | $199,053 | — |
| Mr Maju Varghese | — | $239,366 | $257,883 | — | — | — |
| Mr Christopher T Walker | $250,564 | $235,293 | $225,325 | $195,028 | $194,086 | — |
| Ms Nancy Herzog | $247,848 | $236,136 | $222,214 | — | — | — |
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 National Endowment for Democracy 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
Awards grants and provides networking, research, and political support to local organizations worldwide to advance democracy, defend human rights, and strengthen civic institutions.
Questions for National Endowment for Democracy
Your first name shows with your question. National Endowment for Democracy answers here, for everyone.
Education, Culture, Communication, and Freedom of Expression
The endowment funds programs that nourish a strong democratic civic culture. Support is provided for civic education, training programs, publications and other communication media.
Democratic Governance and Political Parties
The endowment seeks to promote strong stable political parties committed to the democratic process.
Pluralism
The endowment encourages the development of strong independent private sector institutions such as trade unions, business associations, civic and women's organizations.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
Federal money
The auditor reported no findings.
The auditor reported no findings.
The auditor reported 12 findings: a weakness in money controls.
The auditor reported 9 findings.
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $6.9M | $50.2M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $5.9M | $14.8M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $8.2M | $7.3M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $106.5M | $165.3M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $99.4M | $158.4M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $7.1M | $6.9M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $118.5M | $118.5M | ||
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $128.1M | $128.1M | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $920K | $920K | ||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $26.3M | $14.2M | $12.1M | |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $2.5M | $1.3M | $1.2M | |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $3.9M | $2.0M | $1.9M | |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $2.3M | $1.2M | $1.1M | |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $735K | $263K | $472K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $202K | $202K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $1.6M | $898K | $731K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $651K | $80K | $571K | |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $2.6M | $15K | $2.6M | |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $5.6M | $5.6M | ||
| TravelLn 17 | $2.2M | $1.6M | $633K | |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $904K | $808K | $96K | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $906K | $37K | $869K | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $267K | $267K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $218K | $121K | $97K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $298.4M | $269.1M | $29.3M | $0 |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest ViewingFiled with the IRS Aug 17, 2026 | $298.0M | $298.4M | −$378K | $6.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS Aug 12, 2025 | $356.2M | $355.5M | $684K | $7.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Jul 25, 2024 | $363.0M | $363.2M | −$213K | $6.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Jul 29, 2023 | $322.2M | $322.8M | −$619K | $6.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Aug 12, 2022 | $253.6M | $252.4M | $1.2M | $7.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS Aug 16, 2021 | $92.4M | $90.8M | $1.5M | $5.7M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $298,045,011 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 23 of 23 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $298,045,011 across 8 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $298,423,023 across 18 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $165,268,405 assets, 17 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $6,850,260 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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