The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 363235550
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 2028228138
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $30,054,748
- Expenses
- $31,699,013
- Assets
- $47,354,180
- Liabilities
- $13,225,908
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
20 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- EUGENE B MEYER (DIR./PRES & CEO (THRU 1/2025))
- LEE LIBERMAN OTIS (DIRECTOR/SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT)
- SHELDON GILBERT (PRESIDENT & CEO (EFF 1/2025))
Highest reported compensation
- EUGENE B MEYER (DIR./PRES & CEO (THRU 1/2025)): $824,145 total reported compensation
- LEE LIBERMAN OTIS (DIRECTOR/SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT): $489,030 total reported compensation
- DEAN A REUTER (DIRECTOR OF PRACTICE GROUPS): $476,708 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The federalist society exists to promote the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, the separation of powers is central to our constitution, and that it is the duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be.
What it reported doing in 2024
Student activities: student activities are the cornerstone of the society. The society maintains a chapter at nearly every law school in the nation. Each chapter is committed to sparking discussion of critical issues through high-quality debates and lectures featuring a thorough analysis of conservative and libertarian thought. The chapters host more than 1,000 events each academic year.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 88% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 92
- Transparency & Controls: 72
- Accountability: 87
- Sustainability: 30
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 87.8%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: $30.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 88.2%; rating input score 88; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 76.9%; rating input score 77; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -5.5%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.49; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.5%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 87.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 13 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 7 filed program accomplishments · $27.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $824K · 20 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2M reported
- Consistency: 36 of 37 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 14 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 3 filed related-organization links
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 16/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 51/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.