The Reason Foundation
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.
The Reason Foundation at a glance
In short: The Reason Foundation gave $60K across 1 grant in 2025 (avg $60K), mostly in Arizona. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $60,000
- -83.3% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 1
- +0.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $60,000
- -83.3% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $60,000
- Total assets
- $29,097,754
- +13.5% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- Arizona (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026.
Who The Reason Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top recipient in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was ASU Foundation ($60K).
Grant Size Distribution
5 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was in the $50–100K range: 3 grants of 5 (60%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
Grant Distribution by State
Share of the 2025 grant dollars on its one itemized grant.
Cities
How The Reason Foundation gives
- Giving fell 25% from 2022 to 2025. Method
From the foundation's IRS Form 990 filings. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2022 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $60K (2025) to $360K (2024). In 2025 it made 1 grant totaling $60K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| ASU Foundation Tempe, AZ | Future of Transit | $60,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $29,097,754 | $22,810,664 | $21,964,556 | $60,000 | 1 | $1,132,319 |
| 2024 | $25,642,938 | $23,300,815 | $19,863,540 | $360,000 | 1 | $636,234 |
| 2023 | $19,398,270 | $15,456,947 | $17,507,487 | $355,602 | 2 | $514,953 |
| 2022 | $17,225,914 | $15,233,016 | $14,980,930 | $80,000 | 1 | $183,098 |
| 2021 | $19,282,371 | $15,534,857 | $13,413,869 | — | — | $351,352 |
| 2020 | $15,187,245 | $16,170,727 | $13,074,096 | — | — | $227,399 |
| 2019 | $11,377,930 | $13,905,315 | $13,467,708 | — | — | $171,967 |
About The Reason Foundation
Based on IRS filings
The Reason Foundation is a public charity focused on Education, based in Los Angeles, CA. IRS filing data is available from 2019 through 2025. As of 2025, the organization holds $29.1M in total assets. In 2025, it awarded 1 grant totaling $60K. Net investment income was $1.1M.
Focus Areas
Leadership & Key People
Officers and directors from IRS filings
The Reason Foundation is led by David Nott, President & CEO on every filing since 2019; 12 of 33 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
David Nott
President & CEO
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$382K (2019) → $408K (2025)
George F. Ohrstrom
Board Chair
Trustee → Board Chair, 2023
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jacqueline Pyke
Director of Development
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$118K (2019) → $179K (2025)
Aaron Steinberg
Marketing Director
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$154K (2024) → $179K (2025)
Carin Mann
Director of Donor Communications
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$148K (2024) → $158K (2025)
Baron Bond
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Chris J. Rufer
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Fred M. Young Jr.
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
James D. Jameson
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
James Lintott
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Kerry Welsh
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Manuel S. Klausner
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Peter Farrell
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Rebecca Dunn
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Stephen Modzelewski
Trustee
Board Chair → Trustee, 2023
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Thomas E. Beach
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Travis May
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Theodore Barnett
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Brian Hooks
Trustee
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Linda Edwards
Trustee
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Thomas W. Hazlett
Trustee
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Debbi Gibbs
Trustee
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Raymond Stata
Trustee
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jonathan Farber
Trustee
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
William Goble
Trustee
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Adrian T. Moore
Vice President Policy
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$198K (2019) → $257K (2025)
Jonathan Graff
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Financial Officer → CFO, Secretary & Treasurer, 2022
CFO, Secretary & Treasurer → Chief Financial Officer, 2023
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$184K (2019) → $250K (2025)
Katherine Mangu-Ward
Vice President & Editor-In-Chief
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$162K (2019) → $241K (2025)
Leonard Gilroy
Vice President Government Reform
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$140K (2019) → $250K (2025)
Michael Alissi
Vice President Operations
Vice President Operations → Vice President & Operations, 2023
Vice President & Operations → Vice President Operations, 2024
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$171K (2019) → $230K (2025)
Nicholas Gillespie
Editor at Large
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$225K (2019) → $247K (2025)
Robert Poole
Founder & Transportation Policy
Founder & Director of Transportation Policy → Founder & Transportation Policy, 2025
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$230K (2019) → $240K (2025)
James Epstein
Executive Editor
On filings since 2022
40 hrs/week
$123K (2022) → $173K (2025)
Former officers (16)
- Former: C. Boyden Gray (2019–2024) — Trustee
- Former: Drew A. Carey (2019–2024) — Trustee
- Former: Richard A. Wallace (2019–2024) — Trustee
- Former: Christopher Mitchell (2019–2023) — Director of Communications
- Former: Matthew Welch (2019–2023) — Editor at Large
- Former: Melissa Mann (2022–2023) — Director of Donor Communications
- Former: Derwood S. Chase Jr. (2019–2022) — Trustee
- Former: Jim Caruso (2019–2022) — Trustee
- Former: Jacob Sullum (2021) — Senior Editor
- Former: Carol Sanders (2019–2020) — Trustee
- Former: David Fleming (2019–2020) — Trustee
- Former: David H. Koch (2019–2020) — Trustee
- Former: James R. Curley (2019–2020) — Trustee
- Former: Joan Carter (2019–2020) — Trustee
- Former: Maxim Lott (2019–2020) — Senior Producer & Stossel on Reason
- Former: Peter P. Copses (2019–2020) — Trustee
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $408K, to David Nott (President, CEO). 12 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about The Reason Foundation
How much does The Reason Foundation give each year?
The Reason Foundation gave $60K across 1 grant in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $360K across 1 grant.
How large is The Reason Foundation?
The Reason Foundation reported $29.1M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $22.8M.
What is The Reason Foundation?
The Reason Foundation is a public charity focused on Education, based in Los Angeles, CA. It holds $29.1M in total assets as of 2025.
Where does The Reason Foundation operate?
The Reason Foundation has awarded grants in Arizona, Florida, New York.
What is The Reason Foundation's EIN?
The Reason Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 95-3298239. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings.
Data update history
(1)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2025
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in The Reason Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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The filing figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0. About GrantGraph Open
Figures come from The Reason Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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