Donors Trust INC EIN 52-2166327

Donors Trust INC

EIN  52-2166327 Public foundation / grantmaker Alexandria, VA Founded 1999
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 7/4/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$100M+
What they do
Administers donor-advised funds to support charities and foreign organizations that promote constitutional liberty, limited government, and free-market principles.
Leadership
Lawson R Bader · President and CEO · $400K
Money in and out
$294.4M revenue, $291.5M expenses
Bottom line
98% program efficiency

Administers donor-advised funds to support charities and foreign organizations that promote constitutional liberty, limited government, and free-market principles. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $294.4M in revenue, $291.5M in expenses, and $1.4B in net assets.Pt I

Grants paid & assets · FY2024
Total revenue
$294.4M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$291.5M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$1.4B
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $2.9M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.98 Management & general $0.01 Fundraising $0.01
Program efficiency
98%
of spending reaches programs▼ -1% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
68.6mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▲ +42% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
+1%
revenue over expenses, this year▲ +101% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$294.4M
FY2024▲ +86%
Expenses
$291.5M
FY2024▼ -19%
Total assets
$1.4B
FY2024▲ +6%
Total liabilities
$1.8M
FY2024▼ -13%
Total revenue
$294.4M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$291.5M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$1.4B
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$2.9M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$1.4B
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B98%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 35
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 44
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $286.1M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

A Donor Advised Fund (DAF) program allowing DAF contributors to advise grants that support charities which alleviate, through education, research and private initiatives, society's most pervasive and radical needs, including those relating to social welfare, health, environment, economics, governance, foreign relations and arts and…

$285.2Mprogram expense
02

Donors Trust serves as an incubator for organizations with missions that align with that of Donors Trust and that are in the process of applying for tax-exempt status, thereby allowing these start-up organizations a chance to begin operations while waiting for formal recognition of their non-profit status.

$630Kprogram expense
03

Donors Trust initiated a program to make grants to foreign NGOs for which Donors Trust receives an equivalency determination that finds had the foreign organization been (1) a U.S. based organization and (2) applied for tax-exempt status the NGO would have received recognition as a 501(c)(3) publicly supported charity.

$327Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CDonors Trust INC
EINHdr · item D52-2166327
Principal addressHdr · item CAlexandria, VA
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.donorstrust.org
Year of formationHdr · item L1999
State of legal domicileHdr · item MVA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFFoundations & Grantmakers (T99)
Ruling yearIRS BMFSep 1999

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a5
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b4
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
President and CEO
$399,997Pt VII · Sec A
CFO, COO and Treasurer
$312,413Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President
$240,536Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President of Programs
$236,087Pt VII · Sec A
$188,141Pt VII · Sec A
Philanthropic Advisor
$186,290Pt VII · Sec A
Philanthropic Advisor
$170,558Pt VII · Sec A
$163,134Pt VII · Sec A

Lawson R Bader’s $400K as President and CEO is at the 36th percentile of top reported officer pay among 129 $100M+ philanthropy & grantmaking 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
Lawson R Bader$399,997$393,490$387,750$365,000$390,000
Jeffrey C Zysik$312,413$305,587$295,150$290,000$278,300
Peter a Lipsett$240,536$227,897$228,500$225,100$215,000
Gregory P Conko$236,087$225,392$203,500
Stephen M Johnson$188,141$181,250$108,000
Lukas C Dwelly$186,290$179,667$105,625
Stephanie L Giovanetti$170,558$156,175$148,000
Christopher D Renner$163,134$161,704$154,150

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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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$232.1M · 79%
Investment income$62.3M · 21%
Contributions & grants79%$232.1M
Investment income21%$62.3M
Total revenueLn 12$294.4M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.98 Management & general $0.01 Fundraising $0.01
Program services98%$286.1M
Management & general1%$3.7M
Fundraising1%$1.7M
Total functional expensesLn 25$291.5M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$193.6M
Total assetsLn 16$1.4B
Total liabilitiesLn 26$1.8M
Total net assetsLn 32$1.4B
Months of cash on handcomputed8.0

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $1.4B · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $291.5M · Less non-cash grants $53.0M · Cash operating expenses/yr $238.5M
68.6 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $286.1M · Total expenses $291.5M
98%
Management & General
Management & general $3.7M · Total expenses $291.5M
1%
Fundraising
Fundraising $1.7M · Total expenses $291.5M
1%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $1.7M · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $253.8M
$0.01 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $232.1M · Total revenue $294.4M
79%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $294.4M
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $0 · Total revenue $294.4M
0%
Investment reliance
Investment income $62.3M · Total revenue $294.4M
+21%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $0 · Total expenses $291.5M
0%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $294.4M · Prior year $158.3M
+86%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $360.2M · FY2024 $294.4M
-5%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $1.4B · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $294.4M · Expenses $291.5M
+1%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $1.4B
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $1.4B · Total assets $1.4B
100%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $930.2M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $239.0M · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $1.4B
86%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Lawson R Bader · Reported title President and CEO · Highest reported compensation $400K · Total expenses $291.5M
0%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $3.2M · Total expenses $291.5M
1%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 98%
Overhead ratio 1%
Fundraising cost ratio 1%
Revenue growth 86%
Investment management fee ratio 0%
Legal fee ratio 0%
Accounting fee ratio 0%

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 · FY2024
The 85 FundFY2024$67.9M
Je FoundationFY2024$1.4M
Total grants receivedfrom 37 funders$110.3M
See all 37 funders →
Grants paid · 3,800 grants · $1.2B · 2020–2024
America First Legal FoundationDC · FY2024$20,734,450
State Policy NetworkVA · FY2024$7,000,128
Institute for JusticeVA · FY2024$6,999,880
Consumers Research INCVA · FY2024$5,053,100
Texas A&m FoundationTX · FY2024$5,000,000
The Reason FoundationCA · FY2024$4,987,225
Teneo Network INCTX · FY2024$4,433,000
Real Clear FoundationIL · FY2024$4,150,000
Lucy Burns Institute INCWI · FY2024$3,129,038
Mackinac CenterMI · FY2024$2,885,200
Informing America FoundationDC · FY2024$2,800,000
AcaniNY · FY2024$2,770,000
Pacific Legal FoundationCA · FY2024$2,769,731
Competitive Enterprise InstituteDC · FY2024$2,751,250
DO No HarmVA · FY2024$2,750,000
See all 3,800 grants →

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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
FY2024 (Latest)$294.4M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$158.3M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$323.1M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$1.1B revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$360.2M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

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