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Freedom From Religion Foundation

CharityWatch rating issued
April 2026

 
CharityWatch Rating
risk WARNING: See Analysts’ Notes
 
Ratings & Metrics

Contact Information

Freedom From Religion Foundation
PO Box 750
Madison, WI 53701-0750

Other Names

FFRF

Tax Status

501(c)3

Website

www.ffrf.org

Stated Mission

To keep church and state separate and to educate the public about nontheism.

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Ratings & Metrics

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Data based on Fiscal Year Ended 12/31/2024

*Why a Question Mark Rating?

CharityWatch currently has concerns about this organization and/or is unable to provide complete rating information due to the organization's nondisclosure of financial information. Please see the Analysts' Notes section for a more detailed explanation.

Governance & Transparency

Learn more about Governance & Transparency
CharityWatch evaluates certain criteria related to a charity's Governance and Transparency. Donors may want to consider a charity's willingness to be open and transparent with CharityWatch to be a good litmus test for determining its commitment to public accountability.
Freedom From Religion Foundation
meets governance benchmarks.
 
Freedom From Religion Foundation
does not meet transparency benchmarks.
Transparency
Provides Financial Information
Audit Accessibility
Governance: Policies
Reports regularly & consistently monitoring & enforcing compliance with a written Conflict of Interest Policy
Reports required, annual disclosure by officers, directors, and key staff of interests that could give rise to conflicts
Reports having a written Whistleblower Policy
Reports having a written Document Retention and Destruction Policy
Governance: Financials
Reports providing copy of tax form to all board members prior to filing it with IRS
Reports that financial statements were audited by an independent accountant
Governance: Board of Directors
Reports at least 5 voting board members
51% or more of voting board members reported as independent
Reports documenting minutes of board and board committee meetings
Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy

Top Salaries

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  Name Title Compensation
1 Patrick Elliott Legal Director $204,126
2 Elizabeth Cavell Deputy Legal Director $169,225
3 Lisa Strand Operations Manager $153,701
1
Name: Patrick Elliott
Title: Legal Director
Compensation: $204,126
2
Name: Elizabeth Cavell
Title: Deputy Legal Director
Compensation: $169,225
3
Name: Lisa Strand
Title: Operations Manager
Compensation: $153,701

Analysts' Notes

Learn more about Analysts' Notes
CharityWatch Analysts perform an in-depth analysis of charities' audited financial statements and IRS tax filings, and often review other documents such as state filings, annual reports, and fundraising contracts during their evaluations. Below are select notes that CharityWatch believes may be of interest to donors.

CharityWatch is unable to provide a letter grade rating for Freedom from Religion Foundation (the Foundation) at this time due to our specific concerns about the charity's financial reporting. For this reason we have assigned it a "?" rating for its 2024 fiscal year based on our analysis of the organization's IRS Tax Form 990 and audited financial statements for that period. Specifically, CharityWatch is concerned that the charity could be incorrectly reporting Joint Costs. 

CharityWatch contacted the Foundation on March 12, 2026, via U.S. mail and email with questions about its financial reporting for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2024. Specifically, CharityWatch requested a confirmation of whether the Foundation reported Joint Costs for fiscal 2024, and if so, to provide the related functional expense allocations. 

On March 27, 2026, CharityWatch received a response from Lisa Strand, Director of Operations, stating: 

"Unfortunately, I don't plan to revise our 2024 report at this time because we are now working on our 2025 audit. We will be adding more detail about the joint costs/functional expenses, but our auditors probably won't complete the 2025 audit and Form 990 until summer. We publish both documents on our website as soon as they are completed..."

If the Foundation provides an adequate response to our inquiry in the future, CharityWatch may update the Foundation's fiscal 2024 rating at that time.