The Reason Foundation
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
REASON FOUNDATION ADVANCES A FREE SOCIETY BY DEVELOPING, APPLYING, AND PROMOTING LIBERTARIAN PRINCIPLES, INCLUDING INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY, FREE MARKETS, AND THE RULE OF LAW. WE USE JOURNALISM AND PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH TO INFLUENCE THE FRAMEWORKS AND ACTIONS OF POLICYMAKERS, JOURNALISTS, AND OPINION LEADERS.
- Income
- $22.8 million
- Spending
- $22.0 million
- Spent on programs
- 88%
- Reserves
- 9.3 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 90%
- Employees
- 113
- Volunteers
- 19
- Highest pay
- $562,095, president, ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 84 out of 100. Higher than 79% of charities in its peer group (education, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 9.3 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 25% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 4% of income.
Income trend
10 of 15Income fell 2% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1588% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 9 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 50% of charities in its peer group (education, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2519 of 21 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 September 30, 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)
- $7.8 million spent. PROMOTING FREE MINDS AND FREE MARKETS SINCE 1968- 11 ISSUES PUBLISHED ONLINE AND IN PRINT- MORE THAN 1,500 ONLINE EXCLUSIVE ARTICLES - 52,000 PAID/REQUESTED COPIES - AVERAGE OF 3.8 MILLION USER VISITS PER MONTH AT REASON.COM - SPECIALIZED ONLINE NEWSLETTERS ON GOVERNMENT OVERREACH, SURFACE TRANSPORTATION, AVIATION, EDUCATION FUNDING, MEDIA, AND BREAKING NEWS; AVERAGE OF 9.2 MILLION REASON TV VIDEO VIEWS PER MONTH
- $7.1 million spent. REASON WORKS WITH MOTIVATED POLICYMAKERS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT MARKET-BASED REFORMS THAT ARE A MODEL FOR POLICYMAKERS AT ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT. OUR PENSION INTEGRITY PROJECT EDUCATES POLICYMAKERS AND TAXPAYERS ON PENSION REFORM. WE ACTIVELY WORKED WITH POLICYMAKERS IN 17 STATES ON BEST PRACTICES IN DESIGNING SUSTAINABLE PUBLIC PENSION SYSTEMS. WE PRODUCED THE PENSION SOLVENCY AND PERFORMANCE REPORT AND THE GOLD STANDARD SERIES, CORE PRODUCTS THAT ARE USED TO EDUCATE LEGISLATORS AND EXPAND OUTREACH. WE TESTIFIED 20 TIMES AT THE STATE AND LOCAL LEVELS, SEND A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FEATURING NATIONAL TRENDS IN PENSION REFORM, AND PRODUCED MORE THAN 50 MEDIA COMMENTARIES. REASON'S EDUCATION TEAM IS A LEADING VOICE IN PROMOTING IMPROVED EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES FOR ALL CHILDREN VIA SCHOOL CHOICE. OUR TEAM ACTIVELY ENGAGED LEGISLATORS AND STAKEHOLDERS IN 23 STATES, DESIGNING OPEN ENROLLMENT MODELS THAT GIVE FAMILIES GREATER FLEXIBILITY IN CHOOSING BETTER SCHOOLS. WE TESTIFIED 26 TIMES AT THE STATE AND LOCAL LEVELS. OUR DATA ANALYSES ARE WIDELY USED AS BENCHMARKS IN SUPPORT OF CHOICE-CENTERED SCHOOL FUNDING, AND OUR FISCAL ANALYSES INFORM DEBATES ON ACCOUNTABILITY. OUR TRANSPORTATION TEAM COLLABORATED WITH LEGISLATORS IN 8 STATES ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAY TOLLING, PILOT PROJECTS FOR MILEAGE BASED USER FEES, AND MANAGED LANE CONCESSIONS. WE TESTIFIED 20 TIMES AT THE FEDERAL AND STATE LEVELS ON TRANSIT PROGRAMS, CALLING FOR MODERNIZED AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL, EXPANDED PRIVATE INVESTMENT TOOLS, AND DEREGULATION. REASON'S DRUG POLICY TEAM WORKED IN 17 STATES AND AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL TO HELP POLICYMAKERS UNDERSTAND THE CONSEQUENCES OF REGULATING LEGAL CANNABIS, HEMP, AND PSYCHEDELICS MARKETS. WE TESTIFIED 13 TIMES AT THE STATE LEVEL AND PROVIDED RESEARCH SUPPORT TO POLICYMAKERS SEEKING TO FIX THE CHALLENGES OF LEGALIZATION.
- $3.8 million spent. PROMOTING FREE MINDS AND FREE MARKETS THROUGH ONLINE VIDEO JOURNALISM.- 984 VIDEOS PRODUCED- AVERAGE OF 10,049,000 VIDEOS PLAYED EACH MONTHPODCASTSREASON PRODUCES MULTIPLE PODCASTS, INCLUDING THE REASON ROUNDTABLE, A WEEKLY DISCUSSION OF THE WEEK'S BIGGEST STORIES AND THEIR CONNECTION TO THE IDEAS OF FREE MINDS AND FREE MARKETS; THE REASON INTERVIEW WITH NICK GILLESPIE, A WEEKLY CONVERSATION WITH INNOVATIVE AND INTERESTING THINKERS FROM A VARIETY OF DISCIPLINES; FREE MEDIA, WHICH EXAMINES MEDIA BIAS; AND THE MONTHLY SOHO FORUM DEBATES, FEATURING PUBLIC INTELLECTUALS FACING OFF OVER CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES. THE BEST OF REASON MAGAZINE USES AI TO SIMULATE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF KATHERINE MANGU-WARD READING A WEEKLY SELECTION FROM REASON. - AVERAGE OF 596,000 DOWNLOADS PER MONTH
- $696,051 spent. REASON FOUNDATION PUBLISHES RESEARCH AND JOURNALISM AND ENGAGES IN EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH FROM A LIBERTARIAN PERSPECTIVE TO POLICYMAKERS, RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC.- 23,000 ARTICLES CITING REASON EXPERTS- 2,900 MEDIA APPEARANCES BY REASON EXPERTS- 92 LEGISLATIVE TESTIMONIES- 34 POLICY STUDIES- 237 POLICY COMMENTARIES AND OP-EDS- 11 SURFACE TRANSPORTATION INNOVATIONS NEWSLETTERS & AIR SECURITY NEWSLETTERS- 11 AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL NEWSLETTERS- 12 PENSION REFORM NEWSLETTERS- 12 FUNDING EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY NEWSLETTERS- 4 REASON REPORT DONOR NEWSLETTERS
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 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 September 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 March 1979.
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.
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