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Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies Inc

EIN 52-2079266 · Washington, DC

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthGood85 out of 100GovernanceWeak20 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

THE PHOENIX CENTER WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1998 WITH A MISSION TO PROVIDE INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENTS OF THE ECONOMIC AND MATERIAL IMPLICATIONS OF REGULATORY AND ECONOMIC POLICY IN THE U.S. AND ABROAD. TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL, THE CENTER SUPPORTS OBJECTIVE, SOLUTIONS-BASED ACADEMIC RESEARCH UNENCUMBERED BY POLITICAL HYPERBOLE, PARTISANSHIP, AND IDEOLOGICAL AGENDAS. ITS WORK IS GROUNDED IN FACT, LAW, AND ECONOMIC THEORY.

Income
$1.3 million
Spending
$1.1 million
Spent on programs
85%
Reserves
5.1 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 100%
Employees
2
Volunteers
0
Highest pay
$453,710, president

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 57% of charities in its peer group (civil rights, $1m to $10m).

  • Reserves

    20 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 5.1 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 2% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 11% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 28% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    85% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 6 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Weak: 20 out of 100. Higher than 0% of charities in its peer group (civil rights, $1m to $10m).

  • Independent board

    5 of 25

    2 of 4 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    0 of 15

    Reports no written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    0 of 8

    Reports no written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    0 of 7

    Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    0 of 10

    Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    0 of 5

    Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.

  • Independent check of accounts

    0 of 15

    Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, 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 (1)
  1. $979,999 spent. THE PHOENIX CENTER FOR ADVANCED LEGAL & ECONOMIC PUBLIC POLICY STUDIES (WWW.PHOENIX-CENTER.ORG) IS A NON-PROFIT 501(C)(3) RESEARCH ORGANIZATION THAT STUDIES BROAD PUBLIC-POLICY ISSUES RELATED TO GOVERNANCE, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, WITH A PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON THE LAW AND ECONOMICS OF THE DIGITAL AGE. IN 2025, THE PHOENIX CENTER MAINTAINED A ROBUST RESEARCH AGENDA WHICH CONTRIBUTED POSITIVELY TO THE POLICY DEBATE. ALL OF THE PHOENIX CENTER'S RESEARCH MAY BE DOWNLOADED FREE FROM ITS WEBPAGE AND FROM THE SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH NETWORK.KEY PUBLICATIONS IN 2025:- ONE (1) POLICY PAPER.- NINE (9) POLICY BULLETINS.- SIX (6) POLICY PERSPECTIVES.- TWO (2) LAW AND ECONOMICS IN BRIEFS.- FOUR PHOENIX CENTER PAPERS WERE PUBLISHED OR ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION IN PEER-REVIEWED ACADEMIC JOURNALS, INCLUDING CONCURRENCES, THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS LAW JOURNAL, THE JOURNAL OF REGIONAL ECONOMICS AND PUBLIC CHOICE.- PHOENIX CENTER STAFF HAD SEVEN (7) OP-EDS AND ESSAYS IN AN ASSORTMENT OF OUTLETS, INCLUDING THE YALE JOURNAL ON REGULATION AND THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY BLOG.- PHOENIX CENTER STAFF AUTHORED A CHAPTER IN THE FORTHCOMING RESEARCH HANDBOOK ON DIGITAL REGULATORY AGENCIES (EDWARD ELGAR).IN 2025, CITATIONS TO PHOENIX CENTER RESEARCH COULD BE FOUND IN ACADEMIC JOURNALS SUCH AS ECONOMIC INQUIRY, JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, THE REVIEW OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION, JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL STABILITY, THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE, TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY, INFORMATION ECONOMICS AND POLICY, INFORMATION & MEDIA, PUBLIC OPINION QUARTERLY, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FINANCE & ECONOMICS, INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF ECONOMICS & FINANCE, TECHNOLOGY IN SOCIETY, FRANCHISE LAW JOURNAL, JOURNAL OF CULTURAL ANALYSIS AND SOCIAL CHANGE, THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY IN MEDICINE, FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH, THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATION STUDIES, BEHAVIOR & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, CURRENT ISSUES IN TOURISM, NOTRE DAME JOURNAL ON EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW JOURNAL OF PUBLIC POLICY AND PRACTICE, THE HOUSTON LAW REVIEW AND THE TEXAS TECH LAW REVIEW, AMONG OTHERS.PHOENIX CENTER STAFF WERE INVITED TO PRESENT OUR RESEARCH AT A VARIETY OF CONFERENCES THIS YEAR, INCLUDING PARTICIPATING ON A PANEL AT THE NARUC WINTER POLICY SUMMIT, SPEAKING AT A CONFERENCE SPONSORED BY TECHFREEDOM AND CEI ENTITLED "BURNING THE HOUSE DOWN TO ROAST THE PIG: CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITS OF FTC, FCC AND DOJ INTERFERENCE IN MEDIA AND SPEECH," PARTICIPATING IN A CAPITOL HILL SEMINAR SPONSORED BY THE GW COMPETITION & INNOVATION LAB ENTITLED "FREE SPEECH AND ANTITRUST: WHO CONTROLS THE PUBLIC SQUARE?", MODERATING A FEDERALIST SOCIETY WEBINAR ENTITLED "LITIGATION UPDATE: FTC V. MICROSOFT, AND PARTICIPATING IN A ROUNDTABLE SPONSORED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA LAW SCHOOL ENTITLED "THE NEW VIDEO MARKETPLACE: UPDATING THE LAW FOR CHANGING TIMES?"THE PHOENIX CENTER FILED TWO (2) AMICUS BRIEFS WITH ASSORTED COURTS.BOTH THE CENTER'S CHIEF ECONOMIST AND PRESIDENT REMAIN IN THE TOP 1% OF DOWNLOADED AUTHORS ON THE SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH NETWORK.KEY LEADERSHIP ROLES:- LAWRENCE SPIWAK (PRESIDENT) SERVES AS CO-CHAIR OF FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS BAR ASSOCIATION'S COMMITTEE FOR THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS LAW JOURNAL AND ALSO SERVES ON BOTH THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY'S TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND ANTITRUST PRACTICE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES.THE ORGANIZATION MAINTAINS ITS COMMITMENT TO PROVIDING INDEPENDENT, ANALYTICAL RIGOR TO POLICY DEBATES, EMPHASIZING FACT-BASED RESEARCH OVER POLITICAL RHETORIC. THEIR WORK SPANS BROAD PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES RELATED TO GOVERNANCE AND SOCIOECONOMIC CONDITIONS, WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THE DIGITAL AGE'S LEGAL AND ECONOMIC CHALLENGES. THE PHOENIX CENTER CONTINUES TO PROMOTE PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES AND THE FREE ENTERPRISE SYSTEM WHILE FOSTERING OPEN DEBATE ABOUT FUTURE POLICY DIRECTIONS.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. 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 October 13, 2026.

  2. 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 October 13, 2026.

  3. 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 October 13, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since October 2000.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. 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 21, 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.