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The Childrens Defense Fund Action Council

  • Washington, DC
  • Tax-exempt since Nov. 1969
  • EIN: 23-7042525

Organization summary

Type of Nonprofit

Designated as a Civic leagues, social welfare organizations and local associations of employees, created to promote community welfare for charitable, educational or recreational purposes.

Donations to this organization are not tax deductible.

Summary charts: organization finances over time

Revenue
$689 (2024)

Expenses
$310 (2024)

Total Assets
$849k (2024)

Total Liabilities
$0 (2024)

Years with missing data
Years with multiple filings
Source: Form 990 tax filings from 2011 to 2024

Tax Filings by Year

Form 990 is an information return that most organizations claiming federal tax-exempt status must file yearly with the IRS. Nonprofit Explorer has IRS digitized Form 990 data for filings processed in 2012 and later. If this organization filed an amended return, it may not be reflected below. Duplicate download links may indicate a resubmission or amendment to this organization's original return. Form 990 data is from the IRS.

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2024

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$689
Expenses
$310
Net Income
$379
Net Assets
$849,204
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $0
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $689
100%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $0
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $0
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $849,204
Total Liabilities $0
Net Assets $849,204
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Starsky Wilson (President) $0 $0 $0
Sheri Brady (Secretary/Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Marian Edelman (President Emerita) $0 $0 $0
Brittany Packnett Cunningham (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Rev Dr Chris Girata (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Hon Michale Tubbs (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Trista Harris (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
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Document Links

990
Filed on Jan. 27, 2026

Primary tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

View Filing
XML

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2023

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$0
Expenses
$92,909
Net Income
-$92,909
Net Assets
$840,785
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $0
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $54,188
58.3%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $0
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $933,694
Total Liabilities $92,909
Net Assets $840,785
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Starsky Wilson (President) $0 $325,450 $9,750
Marian Edelman (President Emerita) $0 $120,764 $24
Sheri Brady (Secretary/Treasurer) $0 $200,690 $6,000
Brittany Packnett Cunningham (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Rev Dr Chris Girata (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Hon Michael Tubbs (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Trista Harris (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
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Document Links

990
Filed on Jan. 23, 2026

Primary tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

View Filing
XML

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2021

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$0
Expenses
$1,451
Net Income
-$1,451
Net Assets
$290,353
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $0
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $0
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $0
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $290,353
Total Liabilities $0
Net Assets $290,353
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Starsky Wilson (President/Ceo) $0 $556,332 $10,090
Gijsbrecht Deleede (Chief Financial Officer) $0 $142,773 $5,312
Marian Edelman (President Emerita) $0 $125,700 $18,517
Sheri Brady (Vp, Strategy And Program) $0 $105,489 $3,450
Brittany Packnett Cunningham (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Rev Dr Chris Girata (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Hon Michael Tubbs (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Trista Harris (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
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Document Links

990
Filed on Nov. 16, 2023

Primary tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

View Filing
PDF XML

Fiscal Year Ending Sept.
2021

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$868
Expenses
$26
Net Income
$842
Net Assets
$291,804
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $868
100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $0
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $0
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $291,804
Total Liabilities $0
Net Assets $291,804
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Gijsbrecht Deleede (Chief Financial Officer) $0 $146,153 $0
Marian Wright Edelman (Founder And President Emeritus) $0 $116,516 $0

Document Links

990
Filed on Aug. 10, 2022

Primary tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

View Filing
PDF XML

Fiscal Year Ending Sept.
2020

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$1,364
Expenses
$4,764
Net Income
-$3,400
Net Assets
$290,952
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $1,364
100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $0
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $1,142
24.0%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $290,952
Total Liabilities $0
Net Assets $290,952
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Gijsbrecht De Leede (Chief Financial Officer) $0 $145,317 $7,456
Marian Wright Edelman (Founder And President Emerita) $0 $114,565 $9,404

Document Links

990
Filed on Aug. 13, 2021

Primary tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

View Filing
XML

Fiscal Year Ending Sept.
2019

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$350
Expenses
$4,600
Net Income
-$4,250
Net Assets
$294,352
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $350
100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $0
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $0
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $294,352
Total Liabilities $0
Net Assets $294,352
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Marian Wright Edelman (President) $0 $99,953 $20,358
Gijs Deleede (Chief Financial Officer) $0 $143,706 $7,785
Marylee Allen (Secretary) $0 $136,116 $10,095

Document Links

990
Filed on Aug. 1, 2020

Primary tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

View Filing
PDF XML

Fiscal Year Ending Sept.
2018

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$119,994
Expenses
$125,156
Net Income
-$5,162
Net Assets
$298,602
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $119,994
100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $0
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $76,523
61.1%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $298,602
Total Liabilities $0
Net Assets $298,602

Document Links

990

Primary tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

PDF

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2017

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$383,629
Expenses
$407,141
Net Income
-$23,512
Net Assets
$303,764
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $383,629
100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $0
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $239,263
58.8%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $303,764
Total Liabilities $0
Net Assets $303,764
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Marian Wright Edelman (President) $0 $85,102 $18,196
Gijs Deleede (Chief Financial Officer) $0 $0 $0
Marylee Allen (Secretary) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

990
Filed on Nov. 15, 2018

Primary tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

View Filing
PDF XML

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2016

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from 990-EZ
Revenue
$144,398
Expenses
$155,942
Net Income
-$11,544
Net Assets
$327,276
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $144,398
100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $327,741
Total Liabilities $465
Net Assets $327,276
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Other
Marian Wright Edelman (President) $0 $0
David Cohen (Director) $0 $0
Winifred Green (Director) $0 $0

Document Links

990-EZ
Filed on Nov. 15, 2017

Short form tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

View Filing
PDF XML

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2015

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from 990-EZ
Revenue
$8,925
Expenses
$19,495
Net Income
-$10,570
Net Assets
$338,820
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $8,925
100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $339,285
Total Liabilities $465
Net Assets $338,820
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Other
Marian Wright Edelman (President) $0 $0
David Cohen (Director) $0 $0
Winifred Green (Director) $0 $0

Document Links

990-EZ
Filed on Nov. 15, 2016

Short form tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

View Filing
PDF XML

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2014

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from 990-EZ
Revenue
$35,081
Expenses
$24,572
Net Income
$10,509
Net Assets
$349,390
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $35,081
100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $349,855
Total Liabilities $465
Net Assets $349,390
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Other
Marian Wright Edelman (President) $0 $0
Geoffrey Canada (Chair) $0 $0
David Cohen (Director) $0 $0
Winifred Green (Director) $0 $0
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Document Links

990-EZ
Filed on Nov. 13, 2015

Short form tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

View Filing
PDF XML

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2013

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from 990-EZ
Revenue
$24,552
Expenses
$29,479
Net Income
-$4,927
Net Assets
$338,881
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $24,552
100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $339,346
Total Liabilities $465
Net Assets $338,881
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Other
Marian Wright Edelman (President) $0 $0
Geoffrey Canada (Chair) $0 $0
David Cohen (Director) $0 $0
Winifred Green (Director) $0 $0
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Document Links

990-EZ
Filed on Aug. 13, 2014

Short form tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

View Filing
PDF XML

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2012

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$56,031
Expenses
$1,899,319
Net Income
-$1,843,288
Net Assets
$343,808
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $56,008
100.0%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $23
0.0%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $0
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $0
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $346,808
Total Liabilities $3,000
Net Assets $343,808

Document Links

990

Primary tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

PDF

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2011

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$150,281
Expenses
$2,111,127
Net Income
-$1,960,846
Net Assets
$2,187,096
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $150,281
100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $0
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $37,084
1.8%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $2,187,830
Total Liabilities $734
Net Assets $2,187,096

Document Links

990

Primary tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

PDF

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2010

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

990

Primary tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

PDF

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2009

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

990

Primary tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

PDF

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2008

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

990-EZ

Short form tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

PDF

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2007

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

990

Primary tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

PDF

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2006

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

990

Primary tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

PDF

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2005

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

990

Primary tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

PDF

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2004

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

990

Primary tax return for a nonprofit’s activities, finances, and governance

PDF

About This Data

What Is This Data?

Nonprofit Explorer includes summary data for nonprofit tax returns and full Form 990 documents, in both PDF and digital formats.

The summary data contains information processed by the IRS during the 2012-2019 calendar years; this generally consists of filings for the 2011-2018 fiscal years, but may include older records. This data release includes only a subset of what can be found in the full Form 990s.

In addition to the raw summary data, we link to PDFs and digital copies of full Form 990 documents wherever possible. This consists of separate releases by the IRS of Form 990 documents processed by the agency, which we update regularly.

We also link to copies of audits nonprofit organizations that spent $750,000 or more in Federal grant money in a single fiscal year since 2016. These audits are copied from the Federal Audit Clearinghouse.

Which Organizations Are Here?

Every organization that has been recognized as tax exempt by the IRS has to file Form 990 every year, unless they make less than $200,000 in revenue and have less than $500,000 in assets, in which case they have to file form 990-EZ. Organizations making less than $50,000 don’t have to file either form but do have to let the IRS they’re still in business via a Form 990N "e-Postcard."

Nonprofit Explorer has organizations claiming tax exemption in each of the 27 subsections of the 501(c) section of the tax code, and which have filed a Form 990, Form 990EZ or Form 990PF. Taxable trusts and private foundations that are required to file a form 990PF are also included. Small organizations filing a Form 990N "e-Postcard" are not included in this data.

Types of Nonprofits

There are 27 nonprofit designations based on the numbered subsections of section 501(c) of the tax code. See the list »

Get the Data

For those interested in acquiring the original data from the source, here’s where our data comes from:

  • Raw filing data. Includes EINs and summary financials as structured data.
  • Exempt Organization profiles. Includes organization names, addresses, etc. You can merge this with the raw filing data using EIN numbers.
  • Form 990 documents. Prior to 2017, these documents were obtained and processed by Public.Resource.org and ProPublica. Bulk PDF downloads since 2017 are available from the IRS.
  • Form 990 documents as XML files. Includes complete filing data (financial details, names of officers, tax schedules, etc.) in machine-readable format. Only available for electronically filed documents. Electronic data released prior to October 2021 is also available through Amazon Web Services.
  • Audits. PDFs of single or program-specific audits for nonprofit organizations that spent $750,000 or more in Federal grant money in a single fiscal year. Available for fiscal year 2015 and later.

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About Nonprofit Explorer

Nonprofit Explorer

Browse millions of annual returns filed by tax-exempt organizations with ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer. See details like executive compensation, revenue, expenses and more. Search for an organization or a person, or search the full text of filings.

By Andrea Suozzo, Alec Glassford, Ash Ngu and Brandon Roberts.

Design by Jeff Frankl. Additional development by Ken Schwencke, Mike Tigas, and Sisi Wei.

E-file viewer adapted from IRS e-File Viewer by Ben Getson. Code for scraping audit documents adapated from Govwiki.

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