Heartland Institute
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
TO DISCOVER, DEVELOP, AND PROMOTE FREE-MARKET SOLUTIONS TO SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS, PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES, IN PRINT AND ONLINE.
- Income
- $3.4 million
- Spending
- $3.7 million
- Spent on programs
- 56%
- Reserves
- -0.3 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 99%
- Employees
- 21
- Volunteers
- 0
- Highest pay
- $333,590, president
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 27 out of 100. Higher than 2% of charities in its peer group (public benefit, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
0 of 35Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.
Debt
10 of 20It owes 34% of what it owns.
Living within its means
4 of 15Spending exceeded income by 11% of income.
Income trend
5 of 15Income fell 19% on the year before.
Spending floor
8 of 1556% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 20 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 70% of charities in its peer group (public benefit, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 259 of 9 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (4)
- $535,888 spent. PUBLICATIONS: RESEARCH, WRITING, AND DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLICATIONS ON DIGITAL ISSUES OF ONE NEWSPAPER (HEALTH CARE NEWS) AND DIGITAL VERSIONS OF ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE NEWS, BUDGET & TAX NEWS, SCHOOL REFORM NEWS, AND RIGHTS, JUSTICE & CULTURE NEWS WHICH THE DEPARTMENT PRODUCED ONE PRINT QUARTERLY.
- $562,405 spent. HEARTLAND REPRESENTATIVES APPEARED IN PRINT, ONLINE, OR ON BROADCAST NEWSLETTER (THE HEARTLANDER) AND NINE WEEKLY OR BIWEEKLY EMAIL NEWSLETTERS (CLIMATE CHANGE WEEKLY, HEARTLAND WEEKLY, BUDGET & TAX NEWS, ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE NEWS, HEALTH CARE NEWS, SCHOOL REFORM NEWS, STOPPING SOCIALISM, AND LIFE, LIBERTY, PROPERTY). HEARTLAND HAS 13 WEBSITES, 474,000 FANS OF ITS FACEBOOK PAGE, MORE THAN 94,609 TWITTER FOLLOWERS. HEARTLAND'S PODCASTS WERE DOWNLOADED HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF TIMES, AND OUR VIDEOS GOT OVER 2.5 MILLION VIEWS.
- $572,992 spent. HEARTLAND HOSTED 15 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND TWO AMERICA FIRST ENERGY CONFERENCES SINCE 2008 ATTENDED BY MORE THAN 5,500 PEOPLE.
- $420,298 spent. GOVERNMENT RELATIONS: PUBLICATIONS AND EVENTS GEARED TOWARD EDUCATING AND INFORMING LOCAL, STATE, AND NATIONAL ELECTED OFFICIALS ABOUT PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES. HEARTLAND PARTICIPATED IN CONFERENCES SPONSORED BY THE AMERICAN LEGISLATIVE EXCHANGE COUNCIL AND TESTIFIED BEFORE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES IN MULTIPLE STATES.EXPENSES: $417,298STOPPING SOCIALISM: STOPPING SOCIALISM IS A PROJECT LAUNCHED IN 2018. OWNED BY JUSTIN HASKINS, CO-DIRECTOR OF THE SOCIALISM RESEARCH CENTER AT THE HEARTLAND INSTITUTE AND THE AUTHOR OF THE AMAZON BESTSELLER SOCIALISM IS EVIL: THE MORAL CASE AGAINST MARX'S RADICAL DREAM (2018). EXPENSE: $3,000
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since December 1984.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.