Council On Foreign Relations Inc is a 501(c)(3) organization based in New York, New York, registered in 1927, with $99,083,520 in FY2024 revenue. CharityIndex grades it B+, and it directs about 74% of spending to programs.
Revenue (FY2024)
$99.1M
▲ 25.2% vs prior year
International median: $227K
Expenses (FY2024)
$104.2M
Net assets
$754.8M
Employees
1,046
Measures how much of every dollar spent actually reaches programs, plus what it costs to raise $100 of donations. The worse of the two measures sets the letter (85%+ to programs is an A; under $15 to raise $100 is an A), averaged over the three most recent filings. For Council On Foreign Relations Inc: 74% to programs · $10 to raise $100 earns a B on this criterion. See the exact thresholds →
Measures whether the organization is built to last: how many months its reserves would cover expenses (3+ months earns an A-range score, but hoarding 5+ years of budget is capped) and whether it runs a surplus or a deficit. For Council On Foreign Relations Inc: 87 mo reserves · -5% margin earns a B+ on this criterion. See the exact thresholds →
Checks how the organization is run, from its own Form 990: an independent board majority, a board of five or more, conflict-of-interest, whistleblower and document-retention policies, and independently audited financials. The share of disclosed checks that pass sets the letter. For Council On Foreign Relations Inc: 6 of 6 checks met earns a A+ on this criterion. See the exact thresholds →
Counts five disclosure signals: a recent filing, a mission statement, program descriptions, a listed website, and the full expense breakdown. More disclosure, better letter. For Council On Foreign Relations Inc: 5 of 5 disclosure signals earns a A+ on this criterion. See the exact thresholds →
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Cfr is an independent, non-partisan foreign policy membership organization. (see sched o).
For over 100 years, foreign affairs has been the leading forum for serious discussion of american foreign policy and global affairs. it is now a multiplatform media organization with a print magazine, a website, a mobile site, a podcast, apps and social media feeds. throughout its history, foreign affairs has stayed true to its mission published in the first issue of the magazine in 1922: "foreign affairs will deal with questions of international interest today. they will cover a broad range of subjects, not only political but historical and economic. in pursuance of its ideals foreign affairs will not devote itself to the support of any one cause, however worthy. like the council on foreign relations from which it has sprung it will tolerate wide differences of opinion. (continued on schedule o) its articles will not represent any consensus of beliefs. what is demanded of them is that they shall be competent and well informed, representing honest opinions seriously held and convincingly expressed."
Product, design, and engineering (pde) designs, develops, and maintains products that serve the council's mission to impart a better understanding of the world among its members and other interested citizens. we collaborate with departments across the council to set and execute the digital vision for cfr.org, as well as a member services portal. we are committed to user-centricity in our approach, iteration in our implementation, and stability in our sites and services. cfr.org continues to be a leading source of timely analysis on critical foreign policy issues. the website's most popular products include include the global conflict tracker (gct), an nteractive dashboard created and maintained by the center for preventive action, which tracks and analyzes armed conflicts (continued on schedule o) around the world in real time, and cfr backgrounders, which provide authoritative, accessible, and regularly updated primers on hundreds of foreign policy topics.
All other programmatic activitiescfr's website, cfr.org, is one of the organization's primary communications channels to its various audiences. the site publishes a rich variety of types of content, including the daily news analysis, backgrounders, interviews, podcasts, opinion pieces, full text of publications from the think tank, resources in support of the various outreach initiatives, videos and transcripts of on-the-record meetings and seminars and more. the site also provides a comprehensive account of the history and activities of cfr in new york and at its washington d.c. office. the stephen m. kellen term member program encourages promising young leaders in government, media, nongovernmental organizations, law, business, finance, and academia to engage in a sustained conversation on international affairs and u.s. foreign policy. the program allows these younger members to interact with seasoned foreign-policy experts and participate in a wide variety of events designed especially for them. each year a new class of term members, between the ages of 30 and 36, is elected to a five-year membership term. the council on foreign relations sponsors independent task forces to assess issues of critical importance to u.s. foreign policy. diverse in backgrounds and perspectives, task force members work to reach meaningful consensus across partisan lines on matters of policy. since the program's inception in 1995, task forces have become a trademark of the council.students today live in a world more connected than at any point in history, where complex foreign policy matters and transnational issues such as trade, pandemics, and scientific breakthroughs require young people to develop global public affairs literacy capabilities. the essential knowledge, skills, and perspective needed to understand how our complicated and fascinating world works is not readily available to students and educators. to address this curricular gap, since 2015, cfr education has devoted itself to this
Revenue grew from $61.1M (FY2013) to $99.1M (FY2024) across 12 reported years.
Financial snapshot
Operating margin
-5.1%
Spent more than it raised in the latest fiscal year.
Total assets
$816.7M
Total liabilities
$62.0M
Net assets
$754.8M
Salaries & benefits
$58.2M
56% of expenses
Board members
36
35 independent
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Expenses | Net assets | Total assets | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $99,083,520▲25.2% | $104,175,520▲10.5% | $754,756,800▲9.0% | $816,713,200▲8.1% | 990 |
| 2023 | $79,154,300▼26.0% | $94,313,900▲13.4% | $692,157,100▲5.7% | $755,521,700▲5.0% | 990 |
| 2022 | $106,930,600▲4.2% | $83,166,400▲5.2% | $654,528,700▲8.2% | $719,707,600▲6.8% | 990 |
| 2021 | $102,605,000▼2.6% | $79,073,100▲10.0% | $604,923,500▼7.8% | $674,171,200▼8.0% | 990 |
| 2020 | $105,317,000▲28.4% | $71,871,100▼6.5% | $656,382,800▲21.0% | $732,861,700▲17.4% | 990 |
| 2019 | $82,005,700▼41.5% | $76,901,700▲0.6% | $542,598,600▼0.6% | $624,235,700▼0.3% | 990 |
| 2018 | $140,136,300▲48.8% | $76,407,300▲3.7% | $546,027,700▲5.1% | $626,323,700▲4.9% | 990 |
| 2017 | $94,192,500▲12.4% | $73,694,100▲6.4% | $519,557,600▲8.1% | $597,246,200▲6.1% | 990 |
| 2016 | $83,795,500▼17.5% | $69,262,800▼1.0% | $480,518,000▲14.1% | $562,790,600▲10.9% | 990 |
| 2015 | $101,553,200▲31.1% | $69,931,200▲8.0% | $421,051,800▲1.1% | $507,571,300▲1.1% | 990 |
| 2014 | $77,485,500▲26.9% | $64,757,000▲0.1% | $416,672,400▲2.4% | $502,053,700▲2.1% | 990 |
| 2013 | $61,050,100 | $64,722,900▲5.0% | $406,876,000▲8.0% | $491,869,900▲6.5% | 990 |
| 2012 | — | $61,627,218▲10.4% | $376,884,599▲6.9% | $461,885,499▲5.2% | 990 |
| 2011 | — | $55,798,579▲5.8% | $352,409,900▼1.3% | $439,200,900▲0.2% | 990 |
| 2010 | — | $52,754,100▲4.0% | $357,171,000▲12.4% | $438,237,900▲9.6% | 990 |
| 2009 | — | $50,731,317 | $317,803,500 | $399,766,800 | 990 |
Original Form 990 PDFs (the Form column) are served by ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, as filed with the IRS. Create a free account to download the CSV report.
Highest-paid: Michael Froman — $1,352,711 (1.30% of total expenses)
| Name | Title | Hours/week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Froman | President | 35 | $1,352,711 |
| Giovanna M Ban | Chief Investment Officer | 35 | $588,095 |
| James M Lindsay | Sr. Vp & Dir of Studies (thru 06/25) | 35 | $496,081 |
| Iva Zoric Thru 1024 | Vp, Global Com & Media Relations | 35 | $487,953 |
| Daniel A Kurtz-phelan | Editor | 35 | $459,465 |
| Suzanne E Helm Thru 1124 | Vp, Philanthropy & Relation | 35 | $454,584 |
| Shannon O'neil | Senior Vp, Director of Studies | 35 | $421,358 |
| Jan Mowder Hughes | Vp & Chief Hr Officer (thru 09/24) | 35 | $381,197 |
| Jennifer Perez | Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer | 35 | $368,041 |
| Nancy D Bodurtha | Vp, Meetings & Membership | 35 | $364,677 |
| Irina Faskianos | Vp, National Program & Outreach | 35 | $360,188 |
| Miriam S Higgins | General Counsel | 35 | $359,611 |
| Steven Bennett | Exec. Vp & Chief Admin. Officer | 35 | $357,149 |
| Matthew Goodman | Disting. Fellow/dir. of Realecon | 35 | $345,267 |
| Caroline Netchvolodoff | Vp, Education | 35 | $343,961 |
| Stephanie Solomon | Vp, Chief Rev Off., Foreign Affairs | 35 | $337,690 |
| Frank Alvarez - Managing | Dir., Facility, Event, & Security Mgmt | 35 | $310,145 |
| Christopher Tuttle | Senior Fellow/deputy Dir. of Studies | 35 | $280,798 |
| Millie Tran | Vp & Chief Digital Content Officer | 35 | $212,396 |
| Jeffrey A Reinke | Former Secretary | 0 | $191,737 |
| Contractor | Services | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Appnovation USA Inc | Website Development | $1,643,401 |
| Kalon Event Food Design | Catering Services | $959,925 |
| Sunstates Security | Security Personnel | $660,035 |
| Susan Gage Caterers | Catering Services | $615,691 |
| Clarity Innovations | Website Development | $445,400 |
198 grants to Council On Foreign Relations Inc totaling $74.3M, reported by foundations on their Schedule I filings — showing the 15 most recent.
| Grantmaker | Purpose | Year | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silicon Valley Community Foundation | International development | 2024 | $2,600,200 |
| Network For Good Inc | Unrestricted | 2024 | $945,547 |
| Climateworks Foundation | To support the transition to a sustainable financial system | 2024 | $500,000 |
| Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc | Unrestricted general support | 2024 | $360,000 |
| Ayco Charitable Foundation | Medical / public services | 2024 | $209,100 |
| The New York Community Trust | For general support. | 2024 | $107,000 |
| American Endowment Foundation | International | 2024 | $105,000 |
| The Bessemer Giving Fund | General support | 2024 | $102,500 |
| Jewish Communal Fund | In furtherance of grantee's tax-exempt purpose | 2024 | $76,000 |
| Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund For Wealth Management Inc | Community & human services | 2024 | $75,500 |
| Community Foundation For Greater New Haven | For the harold pratt associate giving level | 2024 | $25,000 |
| Donors Trust Inc | For the council at 100 campaign | 2024 | $20,000 |
| Philadelphia Foundation | General operating support | 2024 | $19,995 |
| American Online Giving Foundation Inc | General support | 2024 | $17,587 |
| The Us Charitable Gift Trust | For recipient's exempt purpose | 2024 | $15,000 |
1 grant totaling $676K in FY2014. All grants made by Council On Foreign Relations Inc →
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Humanity In Action Inc | To support diversity efforts | $676,400 |
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Data for Council On Foreign Relations Inc (EIN 13-1628168) comes from the IRS Business Master File and e-filed Form 990 returns, via CharityIndex. Figures reflect what the organization reported to the IRS for each fiscal year.