Rfe-rl Inc
77% goes to programs $0 to raise $100 Thin reserves Growing revenue
Rfe-rl Inc is a 501(c)(3) organization based in Washington, District of Columbia, registered in 1976, with $156,508,334 in FY2023 revenue. CharityIndex grades it C+, and it directs about 77% of spending to programs.
1250 Connecticut Ave Nw Ste 450, Washington, DC, 20036 EIN 52-1068522 Since 1976
Revenue (FY2023)
$156.5M
▼ 8.4% vs prior year
Arts & Culture median: $159K
Expenses (FY2023)
$157.0M
Net assets
-$1.6M
Employees
193
CharityIndex rating
One independent A+ to F grade from four published criteria, each scored separately from IRS filings and combined by weight.
C+
★★★★
Rated on 4 of 4 criteria.
Held down by its weakest criterion — a strong score on one criterion can't hide a weak one.
How the rating works →C+Program efficiency40% of the rating77% to programs · $0 to raise $100
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 Rfe-rl Inc: 77% to programs · $0 to raise $100 earns a C+ on this criterion. See the exact thresholds →
DFinancial health25% of the rating0 mo reserves · -0% margin
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 Rfe-rl Inc: 0 mo reserves · -0% margin earns a D on this criterion. See the exact thresholds →
A+Governance25% of the rating6 of 6 checks met
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 Rfe-rl Inc: 6 of 6 checks met earns a A+ on this criterion. See the exact thresholds →
A+Transparency10% of the rating5 of 5 disclosure signals
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 Rfe-rl Inc: 5 of 5 disclosure signals earns a A+ on this criterion. See the exact thresholds →
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A live seal — it updates automatically when the grade changes and links donors to this verified profile.
Mission
Rfe/rl promotes democratic values by reporting the news in countries lacking a free press.
What they do
Russian language content: rfe/rl's russian service, radio svoboda, is a trusted source of balanced information about political, social, civic, cultural, and human rights issues that are unreported or under-reported in russia. it also provides a forum for discussion and debate on these topics. radio svoboda focuses on producing a range of integrated multimedia contentaudio, video, and social mediathat connects target audiences across russia and enhances the impact of its journalism. the service runs two regional reporting projects: siberia.realities (sibreal.org) is aimed at residents of the trans-urals region of russia and north.realities (severreal.org) aimed at northwestern russia. rfe/rl also launched systema, its russian-language investigative unit, in 2023, which exposes corruption, illicit behavior, and malign narratives pursued by the russian government and elites. despite being forced to suspend operations within russia following the february 2022 start of the full-scale invasion of ukraine, russians continued to flock to rfe/rl's online video reporting from both sides of the front linesfor example during ukraine's surprise august 2024 offensive into russia's kursk region. owing to longstanding political pressures within russia, illustrated by the russian government's designation of the service as a "foreign agent" in 2017 and an "undesirable organization in february 2024, rfe/rl is restricted from local radio and tv rebroadcasting and therefore primarily relies on digital distribution platforms. according to results from a nationwide survey commissioned by usagm in 2023, 4.2% of adults in russia consume radio svoboda content each week. in fy 2024, the service saw 1.4 million average weekly website visits and 20.8 million weekly video views across digital platforms.
Radio farda: rfe/rl's persian service, known as radio farda, offers a persian language alternative to government-controlled media in iran, reporting on local, national, and world events. radio farda breaks through government censorship, providing accurate news and a platform for informed discussion and debate to audiences in iran on domestic topics such as iran's 2024 presidential election as well as global issues including the october 2023 hamas attack on israel, israel's war in gaza, and armed hostilities between iran and israel. the service stands out for its coverage of human rights and political and societal issues otherwise underreported or taboo in iran, including the "women, life, freedom" protest movement. radio farda's website has been blocked in iran since 2003, but iranian users are able to access it using circumvention technology. additionally, despite a government ban blocking instagram, facebook and youtube in iran, radio farda has seen significant online audiences on those platforms as well as on whatsapp which was unblocked recently and where radio farda now has over 320,000 followers. according to the results of a usagm-sponsored nationally representative survey in 2021, radio farda journalism is used by 6.4 million iranian adults each week, or 10% of iranian adults. in fy 2024, the service garnered 5.9 million average weekly website visits and 47.1 million weekly video views across digital platforms. on instagram alone, radio farda videos and reels recorded 2.4 billion views during fy2024.
Ukrainian service: rfe/rl's ukrainian service, known as radio svoboda, is a trusted, award-winning outlet with a growing audience in ukraine that provides comprehensive coverage of russia's full-scale invasion from bureaus in kyiv, lviv, and the front lines of the war. the service also extensively covers political and economic developments in ukraine, including groundbreaking reporting on official corruption and human rights issues. a 2024 investigation by radio svoboda's investigative project "schemes" uncovered corruption in the office of the deputy prosecutor general of ukraine, which led to an internal investigation and his resignation. "schemes"
Contact & location
- Address
- 1250 Connecticut Ave Nw Ste 450, Washington, DC, 20036
- City
- Washington
- State
- District of Columbia
- Category
- Arts, Culture & Humanities
- Subcategory
- Media & Communications
- Phone
- …
- Website
- …
Financial trends
Revenue grew from $93.2M (FY2013) to $156.5M (FY2023) across 11 reported years.
Financial snapshot
Financial health & position (FY2023)
Liabilities $225.4MNet assets -$1.6M
Operating margin
-0.3%
Spent more than it raised in the latest fiscal year.
Total assets
$223.8M
Total liabilities
$225.4M
Net assets
-$1.6M
Salaries & benefits
$91.3M
58% of expenses
Board members
9
9 independent
Financials by year
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Expenses | Net assets | Total assets | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $156,508,334▼8.4% | $156,950,464▼6.7% | -$1,552,750▲67.8% | $223,799,817▼1.1% | 990 |
| 2022 | $170,863,642▲29.5% | $168,187,198▲26.6% | -$4,821,571▲85.2% | $226,230,423▲98.5% | 990 |
| 2021 | $131,937,495▲3.8% | $132,845,288▲2.3% | -$32,501,135▲23.5% | $113,945,407▲4.3% | 990 |
| 2020 | $127,134,706▲3.9% | $129,885,640▲3.2% | -$42,499,983▲36.7% | $109,252,553▼4.2% | 990 |
| 2019 | $122,396,496▼1.3% | $125,824,569▲0.2% | -$67,096,406▲31.0% | $114,086,125▼0.1% | 990 |
| 2018 | $124,052,827▼2.1% | $125,593,685▼2.3% | -$97,227,642▼30.5% | $114,167,755▼11.2% | 990 |
| 2017 | $126,690,556▲6.1% | $128,547,706▲3.9% | -$74,487,203▲4.1% | $128,602,592▲0.9% | 990 |
| 2016 | $119,452,132▲11.2% | $123,762,889▲12.8% | -$77,643,987▼1.0% | $127,507,388▲1.5% | 990 |
| 2015 | $107,402,882▲8.3% | $109,702,257▲10.7% | -$76,851,307▼97.3% | $125,674,920▼0.8% | 990 |
| 2014 | $99,130,867▲6.3% | $99,130,867▲7.1% | -$38,943,970▲52.6% | $126,649,678▼10.9% | 990 |
| 2013 | $93,220,622 | $92,600,827▼0.2% | -$82,133,605▲11.9% | $142,089,999▼7.3% | 990 |
| 2012 | — | $92,793,639▼1.8% | -$93,277,838▲23.2% | $153,259,642▲0.1% | 990 |
| 2011 | — | $94,538,962▼0.1% | -$121,516,058▼96.5% | $153,169,548▼0.1% | 990 |
| 2010 | — | $94,592,395▼9.1% | -$61,843,820▼1.2% | $153,350,751▼4.8% | 990 |
| 2009 | — | $104,055,876 | -$61,125,991 | $161,110,312 | 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.
Leadership & compensation (FY2023)
Highest-paid: Jamie Fly — $232,284 (0.15% of total expenses)
| Name | Title | Hours/week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie Fly | Pres. Ceo (until 6/2023) Former Officer | 40 | $232,284 |
| James Landis | Head of Corporate Security | 40 | $207,458 |
| Employee | Sr. News Editor | 40 | $191,802 |
| Benjamin Herman | General Counsel & Secretary | 40 | $190,023 |
| Mark Kontos | Vice President, Cfo, Treasurer | 40 | $188,904 |
| Kiryl Sukhotski | Regional Director | 40 | $181,958 |
| Karen Johnsen | Comptroller | 40 | $178,063 |
| Guy Genovese | Deputy Head, Corp Security | 40 | $177,458 |
| Marylin Alma Keating | Head of Human Resources | 40 | $174,893 |
| Christine Fetzko | Head of Operations | 40 | $171,516 |
| Tanya Youngerg | Ass. Secretary and Dep. Gc | 40 | $168,644 |
| Employee | Chief Technology Officer | 40 | $166,713 |
| Jeff Gedmin | Acting Pres. & Ceo, (from 7/23) | 20 | $121,118 |
| Nicola Careem | Vp & Editor In Chief, (from 9/23) | 40 | $85,521 |
| Jackson Diehl | Director | 0.5 | — |
| Karen Kornbluh | Chairperson | 0.5 | — |
| Kristin Lord | Director | 0.5 | — |
| Lisa Curtis | Director | 0.5 | — |
| Margaret Hoover | Vice Chairperson | 0.5 | — |
| Michael Kempner | Director | 0.5 | — |
Top vendors & contractors (FY2023)
| Contractor | Services | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Csi Leasing Czech Sro | Equipment Leasing | $2,000,731 |
| Mark2 Corporation Czech As | Facility Security Services | $1,244,377 |
| Dell Bank International Dac | Equipment Leasing | $684,433 |
| Creoal Consulting | It Contractor | $514,321 |
| Hm Gastro Group Sro | Facility Management | $398,879 |
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Compare Rfe-rl Inc
Frequently asked questions
- Is Rfe-rl Inc a legitimate nonprofit?
- Yes. Rfe-rl Inc is a 501(c)(3) organization registered with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service under EIN 52-1068522, based in Washington, District of Columbia. Donations are tax-deductible.
- What is Rfe-rl Inc's EIN?
- Rfe-rl Inc's Employer Identification Number (EIN) is 52-1068522.
- How much revenue does Rfe-rl Inc report?
- Rfe-rl Inc reported $156,508,334 in total revenue on its fiscal year 2023 IRS Form 990 filing.
- How much of Rfe-rl Inc's spending goes to programs?
- Rfe-rl Inc spends about 77% of its total expenses on programs, based on its latest IRS Form 990.
- What financial grade does Rfe-rl Inc have?
- CharityIndex grades Rfe-rl Inc C+, based on program efficiency and fundraising cost.
- How much does Rfe-rl Inc's highest-paid employee make?
- The highest reported compensation on Rfe-rl Inc's latest Form 990 is $232,284, paid to Jamie Fly (Pres. Ceo (until 6/2023) Former Officer).
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Data for Rfe-rl Inc (EIN 52-1068522) 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.