Witherspoon Institute Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Research, education, and public awareness of the political, moral and philosophical principles of free and democratic societies
- Income
- $2.7 million
- Spending
- $2.8 million
- Spent on programs
- 76%
- Reserves
- 51.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 78%
- Employees
- 36
- Volunteers
- 13
- Highest pay
- $281,369, director of academic programs
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: 83 out of 100. Higher than 70% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 51.5 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 5% of what it owns.
Living within its means
8 of 15Spending exceeded income by 3% of income.
Income trend
5 of 15Income fell 10% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1576% 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
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 74% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2511 of 12 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, 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 (4)
- $689,389 spent. Marriage and Family: This program consists primarily of the activities of CanaVox, a marriage movement founded by mothers to provide the intellectual tools to help people understand deep and complicated issues in contemporary debates about human sexuality. CanaVox facilitates reading groups for professionals, young adults, college students, and teenagers that discuss these issues in 43 states and 43 countries. CanaVoxs website is www.canavox.com.
- $552,702 spent. Other Programs: The Witherspoon Institute occasionally provides advice, grants, or other support for organizations or scholars whose missions are very similar to its own. The Institute does not accept applications for such support. Such support develops out of preexisting relationships that the Institute may have with scholars through the Institutes own programming. In 2025 the Institute provided such advice and support for programs at Princeton University and other institutions.
- $529,249 spent. Academic Programs: These programs consist of seminars and one-on-one mentoring with Princeton University students and with promising students in high school, college, and graduate school at other institutions. These activities seek to form young people to cherish personal virtue and responsibility and the pursuit of truth.
- $326,620 spent. Public Opinion: This program consists primarily of the work of Public Discourse, an online journal located at www.thepublicdiscourse.com. It publishes one short article per weekday by numerous authors on topics of interest to the Institute. Occasionally we also publish longer articles and interviews. Articles are organized around what we consider to be the five pillars of decent and dynamic societies: the dignity of the human person, marriage and the family, the rule of law, higher education and academic research, and business and the market.
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
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 2025.
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 May 2004.
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.