William J Brennan Center for Justice Inc
The william j. Brennan, jr. Center for justice is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that seeks to improve the American systems of democracy and justice.
William J Brennan Center for Justice Inc at a glance
In short: William J Brennan Center for Justice Inc gave $121K across 2 grants in 2025 (avg $60K), mostly in District of Columbia. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $120,500
- -57.9% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 2
- -50.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $60,250
- -15.7% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $60,250
- Total assets
- $348,767,929
- +11.3% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- District of Columbia (93% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026.
Who William J Brennan Center for Justice Inc funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 2 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was R Street Institute ($113K). Together the top 2 received $121K.
Grant Size Distribution
18 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 7 grants of 18 (39%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 2 itemized grants.
Cities
How William J Brennan Center for Justice Inc gives
- Giving fell 40% 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 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $121K (2025) to $317K (2021). In 2025 it made 2 grants totaling $121K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| R Street Institute Washington, DC | Building website and expenses associated with collaboration on committee for safe and secure elections. | $112,500 |
| Public Policy and Education Fund Albany, NY | Organizing New York-based groups to promote and preserve public financing of elections and campaign finance reform | $8,000 |
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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 | $348,767,929 | $73,820,955 | $58,143,269 | $120,500 | 2 | $14,243,069 |
| 2024 | $313,321,773 | $57,935,075 | $50,635,203 | $286,000 | 4 | $5,883,105 |
| 2023 | $288,717,846 | $110,506,866 | $41,731,749 | $179,000 | 3 | $1,568,828 |
| 2022 | $161,401,732 | $45,056,482 | $33,320,745 | $200,000 | 2 | $6,645,607 |
| 2021 | $171,437,635 | $101,280,914 | $30,929,245 | $316,925 | 7 | $2,220,275 |
| 2020 | $96,025,378 | $84,509,232 | $25,767,516 | $175,000 | 4 | $389,421 |
About William J Brennan Center for Justice Inc
Based on IRS filings
William J Brennan Center for Justice Inc is a public charity focused on Education, based in New York, NY. IRS filing data is available from 2020 through 2025. As of 2025, the organization holds $348.8M in total assets. In 2025, it awarded 2 grants totaling $121K. Net investment income was $14.2M.
Focus Areas
Leadership & Key People
Officers and directors from IRS filings
William J Brennan Center for Justice Inc is led by Michael Waldman, President on every filing since 2020; 13 of 42 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Michael Waldman
President
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$525K (2020) → $650K (2025)
Melissa Estok
Executive Director
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$118K (2024) → $444K (2025)
Lauren-Brooke Eisen
Senior Director & Justice Program
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$233K (2023) → $260K (2025)
Elisa Miller
Secretary & General Counsel
On filings since 2020
32 hrs/week
$126K (2020) → $308K (2025)
John Anthony Butler
Vice President & COO
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$255K (2020) → $388K (2025)
John Kowal
Vice President & Programs
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$263K (2020) → $387K (2025)
Larry Norden
Vice President, Elections & Communications
Senior Director, Elections & Government → Senior Director, Elections & Govt, 2024
Senior Director, Elections & Govt → Vice President, Elections & Communications, 2025
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$210K (2020) → $320K (2025)
Wendy Weiser
Vice President & Democracy Program
Director Democracy Program → Vice President & Democracy Program, 2025
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$243K (2020) → $374K (2025)
Jaemin Kim
Vice President & Development
Vice President Development → Vice President & Development, 2025
On filings since 2022
40 hrs/week
$224K (2022) → $356K (2025)
Rebecca Weitzman
Vice President, Communications & Strat
Vice President, Communications & Strategy → Vice President, Communications & Strat, 2025
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$248K (2024) → $332K (2025)
Christine Mellampe
Chief Human Resources Officer
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$185K (2025)
Jeanine Chirlin
Chief of Staff
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$364K (2025)
Kareem Crayton
Vice President & Washinton D.c.
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$286K (2025)
Adam B. Cox
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Adam Winkler
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Christine Varney
Board Co-Chair
Board Member → Board Co-Chair, 2024
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Daniel F. Kolb
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Danielle Gray
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Emily Spitzer
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Franz Paasche
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Gerad Torres
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Helen Hershkoff
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Kenji Yoshino
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Kimberley Harris
Board Co-Chair
Board Member → Board Co-Chair, 2024
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Leslie Bhutani
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Melissa Murray
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Paul Lightfoot
Board Member
Treasurer → Board Member, 2023
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Robert Atkins
Board Member
Board Co-Chair → Board Member, 2025
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Ruth Lazarus
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Stephen Schulhofer
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Steven Alan Reiss
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Thomas Jorde
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Trevor Morrison
Board Member
Ex-Officio → Board Member, 2022
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Wendy Neu
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Kimberly Davis
Board Member
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Leslie Fagen
Board Member
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Maggie Blackhawk
Board Member
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Troy McKenzie
Board Member
Ex-Officio → Board Member, 2025
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Sibyl Frankenburg
Board Member
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
David Sussman
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Steven Kersten
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Vanita Gupta
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (16)
- Former: Patricia Bauman (2020–2024) — Board Co-Chair
- Former: Jeanine Plant-Chirlin (2021–2024) — Chief of Staff
- Former: Manuel Monge (2023–2024) — Chief Human Resources Officer
- Former: Gerald Rosenfeld (2020–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Lisa Benenson (2020–2023) — Vice President, Communications & Strategy
- Former: Nancy Brennan (2020–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Richard L. Revesz (2020–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Erin Murphy (2020–2022) — Board Member
- Former: Jennifer Weiss-Wolf (2020–2022) — Special Projects Fellow
- Former: Lawrence Pedowitz (2020–2022) — Board Member
- Former: Myrna Perez (2020–2022) — Director of Voting Rights
- Former: Scott Wallace (2020–2022) — Board Member
- Former: Kimberly Thomas (2020–2021) — Vice President & Administraton
- Former: Lauren Brooke Eisen (2020–2021) — Director Justice Program
- Former: Spencer Boyer (2020–2021) — Director & Washington Dc Officer
- Former: Faiza Patel (2020) — Director & Lns Program
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "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 $650K, to Michael Waldman (President). 13 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about William J Brennan Center for Justice Inc
How much does William J Brennan Center for Justice Inc give each year?
William J Brennan Center for Justice Inc gave $121K across 2 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $286K across 4 grants.
How large is William J Brennan Center for Justice Inc?
William J Brennan Center for Justice Inc reported $348.8M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $73.8M.
What is William J Brennan Center for Justice Inc?
William J Brennan Center for Justice Inc is a public charity focused on Education, based in New York, NY. It holds $348.8M in total assets as of 2025.
Where does William J Brennan Center for Justice Inc operate?
William J Brennan Center for Justice Inc has awarded grants in Arkansas, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Texas.
What is William J Brennan Center for Justice Inc's EIN?
William J Brennan Center for Justice Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 13-3839293. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS March 25, 2025)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS January 11, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS January 28, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS March 27, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS April 5, 2024)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 8, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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