Advance a free society by developing, applying, and promoting libertarian principles.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
87¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$2.4M paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2022 · Form 990-TIndependent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990-T
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
5 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $1.3M a year · 7% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 5 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
87%
of spending
Looks good: 87% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$2.4M
to officers and key staff · 16% of spending
Fine: pay to officers and key staff is 16% of spending; 15% to 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
2 mo
of spending, in cash
Plus $11.2M in investments, Pt X · Ln 11–13
Fine: 1.6 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
6
named funders · $27K
Looks good: 6 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$2.6M
15% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 15% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
20
of 22 voting members
Looks good: 20 of 22 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$15.2M
-2% vs prior year
Spent
$15.0M
To programs
87%
Net assets
$14.6M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$15.2M
FY2022▼ -2%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$16.2M
FY2021$15.5M
FY2022$15.2M
FY2023$15.5M
FY2024$23.3M
FY2025$22.8M
Expenses
$15.0M
FY2022▲ +12%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$13.1M
FY2021$13.4M
FY2022$15.0M
FY2023$17.5M
FY2024$19.9M
FY2025$22.0M
Net assets
$14.6M
FY2022▼ -12%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$13.1M
FY2021$16.7M
FY2022$14.6M
FY2023$13.4M
FY2024$19.4M
FY2025$22.0M

From the FY2022 Form 990 (year ending September 2022) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2022 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Mar 1979.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

87 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 87% · $13.0M Management & general 4% · $531K Fundraising 10% · $1.5M

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

33 people listed on the 990-T; $2.4M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2021); the FY2022 filing did not itemize Part VII
President, CEO
$411,628Pt VII · Sec A
Founder, Dir of Transportation Policy
$230,000Pt VII · Sec A
Editor at Large
$227,417Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President Policy
$211,956Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President Government Reform
$202,500Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President/Editor-In-Chief
$202,500Pt VII · Sec A
CFO, Secretary & Treasurer
$202,461Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President Operations
$182,835Pt VII · Sec A

David Nott’s $408K as President, CEO is at the 81st percentile of top reported officer pay among 3683 $10–100M education 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
David Nott$407,827$418,617$412,948$411,628$409,134$411,897
Adrian T Moore$256,830$232,056$221,122$211,956$202,179$205,554
Jonathan Graff$250,251$224,322$213,402$202,461$194,134$193,731
Leonard Gilroy$250,237$221,540$211,454$202,500$188,982$189,605
Nicholas Gillespie$247,174$234,517$227,014$227,417$227,265$227,825
Katherine Mangu-Ward$240,585$219,666$216,667$202,500$195,000$186,667
Robert Poole$240,000$235,000$230,833$230,000$230,000$226,667
Michael Alissi$230,439$202,086$193,356$182,835$175,591$181,431

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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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

Promotes libertarian principles to advance a free society.

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $12.5M · in their own filed words · FY2021
01

Promoting free minds and free markets since 1968- 11 issues published- 52,000 PAID/REQUESTED copies and 4,000 newsstand copies sold per month- average of 3.8 million user visits per month at REASON.COM and 2.8 million visits to reasontv

$5.5Mprogram expense
02

Reason works with motivated policymakers to develop and implement market-based reforms that are a model for reform-minded policymakers at all levels of government. Our pension integrity project educates policymakers and taxpayers on pension reform.

$4.7Mprogram expense
03

"promoting free minds and free markets through online video JOURNALISM.- 162 videos produced- average of 2,800,000 videos played each monthpodcastsreason produces 3 podcasts: the reason roundtable, a weekly discussion of the week's biggest stories and their connection to the ideas of free minds and free markets; the reason interview with…

$2.3Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
See all 6 funders →
Grants paid · 5 grants · $856K · 2021–2024
Equable InstituteNY · FY2023$360,000
Equable InstituteNY · FY2022$280,000
Florida Policy Project INCFL · FY2022$75,602
Equable InstituteNY · FY2021$80,000

By the numbers

The FY2022 990-T, line by line.

1The main four
Money in
$15.2M
Gifts and grants$13.8M
Fees for services$1.1M
Investment income$183K
Money out
$15.0M
Programs$13.0M
Management$531K
Fundraising$1.5M
Owns and owes
$14.6M
net assets
Cash and savings$2.0M
Total assets$17.2M
Liabilities$2.6M
People
33
listed
Paid12
Voting board22
Independent20
2In more detail
Revenue in detail
Gifts and grants$13.8M
Fees for services$1.1M
Investment income$183K
Other income$127K
Total revenue$15.2M
Assets in detailEnd of year
Cash and savings together$2.0M
Total assets$17.2M
Liabilities$2.6M
Net assets$14.6M
Operations
Employees95
Volunteers20
Fiscal year endsSeptember
Conflict-of-interest policyYes
Whistleblower policyYes
Records policyYes

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $22.8M$22.0M$846K$22.0M 990 PDF
FY2024 $23.3M$19.9M$3.4M$19.4M 990 PDF
FY2023 $15.5M$17.5M−$2.1M$13.4M 990 PDF
FY2022 Viewing $15.2M$15.0M$252K$14.6M 990 PDF
FY2021 $15.5M$13.4M$2.1M$16.7M 990 PDF
FY2020 $16.2M$13.1M$3.1M$13.1M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2022 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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