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American Legislative Exchange Council

Organization summary

Type of Nonprofit

Designated as a Organizations for any of the following purposes: religious, educational, charitable, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition (as long as it doesn't provide athletic facilities or equipment), or the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.

Category: Public, Society Benefit — Multipurpose and Other / Government and Public Administration (NTEE)

Donations to this organization are tax deductible.

Summary charts: organization finances over time

Revenue
$11.3M (2023)

Expenses
$11.2M (2023)

Total Assets
$8.86M (2023)

Total Liabilities
$1.75M (2023)

Source: Form 990 tax filings from 2011 to 2023

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.
2023

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$11,289,177
Expenses
$11,218,844
Net Income
$70,333
Net Assets
$7,110,526
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $9,913,510
87.8%
Program Services $1,352,081
12.0%
Investment Income $22,704
0.2%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $882
0.0%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $965,054
8.6%
Professional Fundraising Fees $225,700
2.0%
Other Salaries and Wages $2,597,979
23.2%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $8,863,770
Total Liabilities $1,753,244
Net Assets $7,110,526
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Lisa Nelson (Ceo) $433,318 $0 $9,534
Lisa Bowen (Cfo) $227,308 $0 $34,893
Jonathan Williams (Chief Economist, Evp Policy) $225,192 $0 $34,809
Marie Vulaj (Vp Partnerships & Engagement) $199,423 $0 $33,362
Lee Schalk (Vp Policy) $161,539 $0 $27,176
Courtney Cook (Vp Events) $146,539 $0 $37,094
Michael Bowman (Senior Fellow Until 12/2023) $144,000 $0 $16,495
Amy Varner (Database Administrator) $109,036 $0 $4,003
Speaker Philip Gunn (Director) $0 $0 $0
Representative Daniel Perez (Chair) $0 $0 $0
Senate President Ty Masterson (Vice Chair) $0 $0 $0
Senator Patricia Rucker (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Senator Jim Dotson (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Senator Stuart Adams (Director) $0 $0 $0
Senator Phil King (Ceo Appointment) $0 $0 $0
Senator Jim Buck (Director) $0 $0 $0
Delegate Kathy Byron (Director) $0 $0 $0
Representative John Carson (Director) $0 $0 $0
Senator Julie Daniels (Director) $0 $0 $0
Representative Sage Dixon (Director) $0 $0 $0
Representative Seth Grove (Director) $0 $0 $0
Representative Matt Hall (Director) $0 $0 $0
Senator Josh Harkins (Director) $0 $0 $0
Senator Dan Laursen (Director) $0 $0 $0
Representative Kim Moser (Director) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2022

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$10,104,204
Expenses
$9,480,356
Net Income
$623,848
Net Assets
$7,040,193
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $9,054,508
89.6%
Program Services $1,044,455
10.3%
Investment Income $4,228
0.0%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $1,013
0.0%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $1,178,507
12.4%
Professional Fundraising Fees $106,300
1.1%
Other Salaries and Wages $2,369,150
25.0%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $9,467,258
Total Liabilities $2,427,065
Net Assets $7,040,193
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Lisa Nelson (Ceo) $470,180 $0 $9,962
Lisa Bowen (Cfo) $225,144 $0 $32,620
Jonathan Williams (Chief Economist, Evp Policy) $214,759 $0 $32,420
Marie Vulaj (Vp Partnerships & Engagement) $173,173 $0 $30,757
Michael Bowman (Senior Fellow) $171,399 $0 $22,024
Lee Schalk (Vp Policy) $144,631 $0 $24,939
Bill Ashworth (Vp Public Affairs) $129,238 $0 $25,525
Courtney Cook (Vp Events) $120,351 $0 $32,231
Sarah Mc Cabe (Dir. Of Nonprofit & Corp. Relations) $101,419 $0 $7,758
Senator Karen Fann (Chair) $0 $0 $0
Representative Daniel Perez (Vice Chair) $0 $0 $0
Senator Ty Masterson (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Senator Patricia Rucker (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Senator Stuart Adams (Immediate Past Chair) $0 $0 $0
Representative Phil King (Director) $0 $0 $0
Senator Jim Buck (Director) $0 $0 $0
Delegate Kathy Byron (Director) $0 $0 $0
Senator Julie Daniels (Director) $0 $0 $0
Representative Sage Dixon (Director) $0 $0 $0
Representative Jim Dotson (Director) $0 $0 $0
Speaker Philip Gunn (Director) $0 $0 $0
Representative Seth Grove (Director) $0 $0 $0
Senator Josh Harkins (Director) $0 $0 $0
Representative Dan Laursen (Director) $0 $0 $0
Senator Vince Leach (Director) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2021

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$9,832,106
Expenses
$8,596,965
Net Income
$1,235,141
Net Assets
$6,416,345
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $8,505,229
86.5%
Program Services $1,061,820
10.8%
Investment Income $27,280
0.3%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $237,777
2.4%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $1,039,084
12.1%
Professional Fundraising Fees $78,000
0.9%
Other Salaries and Wages $2,090,732
24.3%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $8,013,515
Total Liabilities $1,597,170
Net Assets $6,416,345
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Lisa Nelson (Ceo) $414,332 $0 $10,850
Lisa Bowen (Cfo) $190,221 $0 $29,395
Jonathan Williams (Chief Economist, Evp Policy) $174,721 $0 $32,016
Michael Bowman (Senior Fellow) $165,097 $0 $22,452
Wilhelm Meierling (Chief Marketing Officer) $146,317 $0 $6,605
Marie Vulaj (Vp Partnerships & Engagement) $133,238 $0 $30,170
Lee Schalk (Vp Policy) $123,875 $0 $23,598
Senator Stuart Adams (Chair) $0 $0 $0
Senator Karen Fann (Vice Chair) $0 $0 $0
Representative Justin Hill (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Representative Daniel Perez (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Speaker Philip Gunn (Immediate Past Chair) $0 $0 $0
Senator Jim Buck (Director) $0 $0 $0
Delegate Kathy Byron (Director) $0 $0 $0
Senator Julie Daniels (Director) $0 $0 $0
Representative Jim Dotson (Director) $0 $0 $0
Representative Seth Grove (Director) $0 $0 $0
Senator Josh Harkins (Director) $0 $0 $0
Senator Brian Kelsey (Director) $0 $0 $0
Representative Dan Laursen (Director) $0 $0 $0
Senator Vince Leach (Director) $0 $0 $0
Representative Susan Lynn (Director) $0 $0 $0
Senator Ty Masterson (Director) $0 $0 $0
Senator Patricia Rucker (Director) $0 $0 $0
Representative Jason Saine (Director) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2020

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$7,978,103
Expenses
$7,213,865
Net Income
$764,238
Net Assets
$5,181,204
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $7,730,325
96.9%
Program Services $239,306
3.0%
Investment Income $8,339
0.1%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $133
0.0%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $1,252,933
17.4%
Professional Fundraising Fees $109,688
1.5%
Other Salaries and Wages $2,309,250
32.0%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $6,368,207
Total Liabilities $1,187,003
Net Assets $5,181,204
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Lisa Nelson (Ceo) $413,137 $0 $18,797
Wilhelm Meierling (Chief Marketing Officer) $202,788 $0 $8,208
Lisa Bowen (Cfo) $189,986 $0 $31,162
Jonathan Williams (Chief Economist) $180,098 $0 $22,128
Michael Bowman (Vp Policy) $165,100 $0 $21,529
Bob Williams (Senior Fellow) $137,146 $0 $4,210
Sherry Street (Vp Of Policy Advancement) $133,043 $0 $5,804
Marie Vulaj (Vp Partnerships & Engagements) $127,610 $0 $20,151
Lee Schalk (Sr. Director Of Policy) $121,116 $0 $14,299
Speaker Philip Gunn (Chair) $0 $0 $0
Senator Stuart Adams (Vice Chair) $0 $0 $0
Senator Karen Fann (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Representative Justin Hill (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Representative Alan Clemmons (Immediate Past Chair) $0 $0 $0
Representative John Allen (Director) $0 $0 $0
Senator Jim Buck (Director) $0 $0 $0
Delegate Kathy Byron (Director) $0 $0 $0
Senator Ed Emery (Director) $0 $0 $0
Representative Seth Grove (Director) $0 $0 $0
Senator Josh Harkins (Director) $0 $0 $0
Senator Brian Kelsey (Director) $0 $0 $0
Representative Phil King (Director) $0 $0 $0
Representative Dan Laursen (Director) $0 $0 $0
Representative John Nygren (Director) $0 $0 $0
Senator Patricia Rucker (Director) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2019

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$9,187,421
Expenses
$9,160,748
Net Income
$26,673
Net Assets
$4,416,966
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $8,117,686
88.4%
Program Services $1,055,104
11.5%
Investment Income $14,631
0.2%
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 $200,350
2.2%
Other Salaries and Wages $2,191,375
23.9%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $6,370,841
Total Liabilities $1,953,875
Net Assets $4,416,966

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2018

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$9,357,918
Expenses
$9,238,668
Net Income
$119,250
Net Assets
$4,390,293
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $8,493,986
90.8%
Program Services $1,058,253
11.3%
Investment Income $12,636
0.1%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising -$207,157
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $200
0.0%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $0
Professional Fundraising Fees $76,098
0.8%
Other Salaries and Wages $2,570,834
27.8%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $6,371,233
Total Liabilities $1,980,940
Net Assets $4,390,293

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2017

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$10,352,239
Expenses
$10,237,195
Net Income
$115,044
Net Assets
$4,271,043
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $8,765,064
84.7%
Program Services $1,104,038
10.7%
Investment Income $6,463
0.1%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $476,674
4.6%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $1,004,261
9.8%
Professional Fundraising Fees $46,450
0.5%
Other Salaries and Wages $2,626,695
25.7%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $6,438,760
Total Liabilities $2,167,717
Net Assets $4,271,043

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2016

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$10,345,179
Expenses
$9,056,582
Net Income
$1,288,597
Net Assets
$4,155,999
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $8,873,957
85.8%
Program Services $990,608
9.6%
Investment Income $3,897
0.0%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $476,717
4.6%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $957,889
10.6%
Professional Fundraising Fees $41,000
0.5%
Other Salaries and Wages $2,298,974
25.4%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $6,875,636
Total Liabilities $2,719,637
Net Assets $4,155,999

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2015

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$8,984,128
Expenses
$8,376,348
Net Income
$607,780
Net Assets
$2,867,402
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $7,393,600
82.3%
Program Services $1,110,806
12.4%
Investment Income $2,971
0.0%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $476,751
5.3%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $956,426
11.4%
Professional Fundraising Fees $83,750
1.0%
Other Salaries and Wages $1,939,982
23.2%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $5,107,279
Total Liabilities $2,239,877
Net Assets $2,867,402

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2014

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$7,795,674
Expenses
$7,734,819
Net Income
$60,855
Net Assets
$2,259,622
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $6,231,036
79.9%
Program Services $1,085,359
13.9%
Investment Income $2,528
0.0%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $476,751
6.1%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $853,855
11.0%
Professional Fundraising Fees $96,950
1.3%
Other Salaries and Wages $1,818,128
23.5%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $4,731,499
Total Liabilities $2,471,877
Net Assets $2,259,622

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2013

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$7,322,531
Expenses
$8,510,952
Net Income
-$1,188,421
Net Assets
$2,198,767
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $5,825,882
79.6%
Program Services $1,176,337
16.1%
Investment Income $2,226
0.0%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $318,086
4.3%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $487,662
5.7%
Professional Fundraising Fees $155,758
1.8%
Other Salaries and Wages $1,968,639
23.1%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $4,838,138
Total Liabilities $2,639,371
Net Assets $2,198,767

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2012

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$8,425,051
Expenses
$8,642,647
Net Income
-$217,596
Net Assets
$3,387,188
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $7,216,208
85.7%
Program Services $1,200,481
14.2%
Investment Income $4,264
0.1%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $4,098
0.0%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $535,533
6.2%
Professional Fundraising Fees $110,923
1.3%
Other Salaries and Wages $1,814,678
21.0%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $4,855,087
Total Liabilities $1,467,899
Net Assets $3,387,188

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2011

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$7,171,357
Expenses
$5,874,206
Net Income
$1,297,151
Net Assets
$1,492,240
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $5,997,347
83.6%
Program Services $1,166,804
16.3%
Investment Income $6,889
0.1%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $317
0.0%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $322,259
5.5%
Professional Fundraising Fees $12,594
0.2%
Other Salaries and Wages $1,651,974
28.1%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $4,047,129
Total Liabilities $2,554,889
Net Assets $1,492,240

Document Links

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2003

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

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2002

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

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2001

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

About 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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