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ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM

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Public IRS 990 nonprofit record

ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM

EIN 54-1660459 · Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy (R600)

What they do

ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM EXISTS to KEEP THE DOOR OPEN for THE (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O)GOSPEL BY ADVANCING EVERY PERSONS GOD-GIVEN RIGHT to LIVE and SPEAK THE TRUTH. WE CONTEND for THE TRUTH IN LAW, POLICY, and THE PUBLIC SQUARE, and EQUIP THE ALLIANCE to DO THE SAME.

Before you give

Should I give to this charity?

Easy charity check
Look at where the money went

Of every $100 spent, about $77.90 was reported for mission work. Use the spending picture below and ask what results that work produced.

Plain answer: A tax form cannot prove that a charity is doing good. It can show how the charity says it spent its money—and point out questions you should ask.

Basic facts we verified

IRS warning checkNo IRS revocation warning appears in this data.

Money report from 2024The charity has a recent tax report to read.

They explain their jobThe charity tells us what it is trying to do.

They name their leaders19 people are listed in the latest report.

You can reach themThey list contact information, so you can ask questions.

Money made simple

70.57%of revenue went to mission work77.9% of expenses · Program services
11.04%of revenue went to fundraising12.2% of expenses
$90.60spent for every $100 of revenueRevenue covered expenses this year.
8.98%of revenue went to management and office costs9.9% of expenses
$1.03in assets for every $1 spent this yearSome assets cannot be spent right away.
91.7%of its money came from giftsOther money may come from services or investments.

Ask these three easy questions

  1. Who did you help? Ask for a recent story or report that shows real results.
  2. What will my money do? Ask exactly what your gift will pay for.
  3. Is this really the charity? Give only through its official website or confirmed phone number.

Pay context: The highest compensation shown in this filing is $622,744 for KRISTEN WAGGONER (CEO, PRESIDENT & CHIEF COUNSEL). Compare pay with organizations of similar size and complexity.

Bottom line: Do not decide from a name, mission statement, or tax status alone. Look at where the money went, then ask what changed, who was helped, and what your gift will do. YouCanGiveBack does not endorse or grade organizations.

Money

Financial picture

Tax year 2024

A plain-language look at the latest Form 990 figures available. These numbers help you ask better questions; they do not, by themselves, rate whether a charity is good or bad.

How each $100 of revenue was used

The large number compares each expense with revenue. The smaller number shows its share of total expenses.

Total reported revenue$119,839,751
Mission workProgram services$84,573,95770.57% of revenue77.9% of expenses
ManagementOffice and general costs$10,764,6918.98% of revenue9.9% of expenses
FundraisingAsking for donations$13,230,33311.04% of revenue12.2% of expenses
Revenue left after expensesReported annual surplus$11,270,7709.40% of revenueShown in gray on the chart
Total expenses$108,568,98190.60% of revenue

Gray means reported revenue left after expenses for this filing year. It does not necessarily mean cash sitting in a bank account.

Has the pattern changed?

Colored bars = expense mix: how each year’s expenses were divided. Total expenses vs. revenue shows whether the charity spent less or more than it received. The current filing is first.

YearExpense mixDetails
2024CurrentExpense mix: 77.9% mission · 9.9% management · 12.2% fundraisingTotal expenses: 90.60% of revenue
2023Expense mix: 77.8% mission · 9.7% management · 12.5% fundraisingTotal expenses: 96.10% of revenue
2022Expense mix: 79.3% mission · 9.2% management · 11.5% fundraisingTotal expenses: 95.37% of revenue
2021Expense mix: 78.2% mission · 9.8% management · 11.9% fundraisingTotal expenses: 77.82% of revenue
2020Expense mix: 76.0% mission · 9.9% management · 14.1% fundraisingTotal expenses: 85.17% of revenue
2019Expense mix: 75.2% mission · 10.8% management · 13.9% fundraisingTotal expenses: 90.97% of revenue
2018Expense mix: 72.4% mission · 12.6% management · 15.1% fundraisingTotal expenses: 93.95% of revenue
2017Expense mix: 73.3% mission · 9.4% management · 17.3% fundraisingTotal expenses: 99.09% of revenue

Money in and money out

Revenue$119,839,751
Expenses$108,568,981
Annual surplus $11,270,770 Revenue was higher than expenses for this filing year.

Reported spending amounts

Mission work means the Form 990 category called program services. These are reported accounting categories—not an independent measurement of results.

Mission work (program services)$84,573,957 · 77.9% of expenses
Management and office costs$10,764,691 · 9.9% of expenses
Fundraising$13,230,333 · 12.2% of expenses
See all reported dollar amounts
Revenue$119,839,751
Expenses$108,568,981
Assets$112,233,785
Income$144,207,578
Contributions$109,839,346
Mission work (program services)$84,573,957
Fundraising$13,230,333
Grants given$32,479,722
Average grant$109,729
Management and general$10,764,691
Executive compensation (total)$2,501,166
Stocks and bonds$34,586,592
Accounting fees$74,580
Investing fees$147,896
People

Leadership and board

Tax year 2024

Names, titles, time, and compensation below are reported by the organization on its Form 990.

People reported as paid

Person and titleCompensation
KRISTEN WAGGONERCEO, PRESIDENT & CHIEF COUNSEL · 60 hrs/week $622,744Base $584,869 · Other $37,875
MICHAEL FARRISFORMER PRESIDENT AND CEO $525,000
JIM CAMPBELLCHIEF LEGAL COUNSEL · 50 hrs/week $407,645Base $370,542 · Other $37,103
REBECCA EGGLESTONEXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT - PART YEAR · 50 hrs/week $399,286Base $363,537 · Other $35,749
JOHN BURSCHVP OF APPELLATE ADVOCACY, SR COUNSEL · 50 hrs/week $348,900Base $312,710 · Other $36,190
GRANT DAWSONSVP OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY · 50 hrs/week $334,194Base $306,967 · Other $27,227
RYAN BANGERTSVP OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES · 50 hrs/week $333,850Base $291,418 · Other $42,432
LANCE BAUSLAUGHSVP OF DEVELOPMENT · 50 hrs/week $331,348Base $295,379 · Other $35,969
TIM CHANDLERSR COUNSEL, VP OF CHURCH & MINISTRY ALLIANCE ENGA · 50 hrs/week $327,439Base $284,954 · Other $42,485
JEREMY TEDESCOSR COUNSEL, SVP CORPORATE ENGAGEMENT · 50 hrs/week $322,282Base $280,202 · Other $42,080
MARK TJERNAGELEVP OF OPERATIONS - PART YEAR · 50 hrs/week $47,839Base $45,316 · Other $2,523

Compensation alone does not tell whether pay is reasonable. Consider the charity’s size, work, location, and results.

See everyone listed on the board or leadership roster (19)

KRISTEN WAGGONERCEO, PRESIDENT & CHIEF COUNSEL

MICHAEL FARRISFORMER PRESIDENT AND CEO

JIM CAMPBELLCHIEF LEGAL COUNSEL

REBECCA EGGLESTONEXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT - PART YEAR

JOHN BURSCHVP OF APPELLATE ADVOCACY, SR COUNSEL

GRANT DAWSONSVP OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

RYAN BANGERTSVP OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

LANCE BAUSLAUGHSVP OF DEVELOPMENT

TIM CHANDLERSR COUNSEL, VP OF CHURCH & MINISTRY ALLIANCE ENGA

JEREMY TEDESCOSR COUNSEL, SVP CORPORATE ENGAGEMENT

MARK TJERNAGELEVP OF OPERATIONS - PART YEAR

LISA FULLERTONDIRECTOR

MARK MADDOUXSECRETARY/TREASURER

KERRI KUPEC URBAHNDIRECTOR

MICHAEL TREMAINDIRECTOR

MICHAEL WHITEHEADDIRECTOR

JOHN ROGERSCHAIRMAN

SCOTT SCHARPENDIRECTOR

CALEB ROBINSONDIRECTOR

About this charity

Recognized since
January 1993
Location
15100 N 90TH ST, SCOTTSDALE, AZ 85260-2769
County
Maricopa
In care of
MARK TJERNAGEL
Primary officer
MARK TJERNAGEL, EXECUTIVE VP OF OPERATIONS

How to reach them

WebsiteVisit the charity’s website Emailblackstone@adflegal.org Phone(480) 444-0020

Filing and classification

Latest tax year
2024
Tax period began
July 1, 2024
Return type
990
Tax preparer
LANDMARK PLC CPAS
NTEE classification
Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy (R600)
IRS tax category
Human Rights Organizations
Grant-giving organization
Yes

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About this report: Information comes from public nonprofit records and may show the latest filing available.

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