Support CFR

Overview

The Council on Foreign Relations relies on charitable contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations to support its programs and provide important operating revenue. CFR also receives grant support from foundations and other outside sources for specially funded activities. CFR receives no U.S. or foreign government funding.

CFR welcomes contributions for general support through its Annual Fund. Gifts can also be designated to support current research programs, meeting series, fellowships, or chairs.

Contributions can also be made by bequest or through other testamentary gifts to ensure CFR's permanence, independence, and excellence for the future. Those who make such provisions are recognized as members of the CFR Legacy Society.

Annual Fund

We invite you to support the CFR Annual Fund.

Gifts to the Annual Fund provide critical unrestricted funds that support CFR’s daily operations. These unrestricted dollars support ongoing activities ranging from the think tank’s research and analysis to national programming and outreach and CFR’s award-winning website. The Annual Fund also provides support for new initiatives each year.

If you are affiliated with a corporate or foundation matching gift program, you may be able to increase your gift to CFR. If so, please complete your portion of the matching gift form and send it to:

Development Office
Council on Foreign Relations
58 East 68th Street
New York, NY 10065

[email protected]

The CFR fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30.

Legacy Society

The CFR Legacy Society honors and acknowledges individuals who have made the future vitality of CFR a part of their legacy by including the Council in their estate plans. As the Council embarks on its second century, it invites all members to become part of this important group whose commitments will enhance the capacity and potential of this extraordinary institution well into its second century.

Throughout its first century, the Council has enjoyed significant growth and evolution but remains, at its heart, a community of members committed to understanding and improving the foreign policy choices of the United States. For more than one hundred years, the knowledge, influence, and support of CFR members have allowed the Council to become and remain one of the world’s most preeminent voices on foreign policy, serving as an important platform for vital research, analysis, and exchange between important decision-makers, scholars, educators, and many more. It is up to each generation of members to guarantee that the Council will always have the resources to ensure its continued excellence and independence of thought.

Planned gifts ensure CFR's independence and non-partisanship for the future, and they provide a way to make a charitable contribution while receiving tax benefits. All those who confirm in writing that they have included CFR in their will or estate plans, or as a beneficiary of another disposition of assets, are recognized as members of this society. These gifts can be designated for general endowment or specific Council programs and can be any of the following:

  • Will or bequest
  • Retained life estate
  • Life insurance policy
  • Charitable remainder trust
  • Charitable lead trust
  • Retirement plan

As with any charitable gift, consult your attorney, accountant, or other tax advisor for information on how a gift of this nature might benefit your tax situation. A list of current CFR Legacy Society members can be found here (PDF).

For further information, please see the CFR Legacy Society brochure (PDF), or contact Suzanne E. Helm, vice president of philanthropy and corporate relations, at [email protected] or 212.434.9781. Sample bequest language for several of the giving vehicles listed above can be found here (PDF)

In a world buffeted by national and international challenges, your support of the Council has never been more important.

Corporate Support

The primary way companies support CFR is via participation in the Council’s Corporate Program, which offers annual membership to qualifying companies at three levels: Founders at $100,000, President’s Circle at $75,000, and Affiliates at $40,000. Corporate membership benefits include access to CFR discussions and events, tailored briefings for executives, Corporate Leaders and Young Professionals programs, and much more. Companies at the top levels of corporate membership receive additional opportunities and benefits corresponding to the level of support.

Additionally, corporate gifts and grants can be designated to support CFR meeting series, think tank programs, fellowships, and chairs.

Companies may also consider advertising in Foreign Affairs, which offers the opportunity to reach an extraordinarily engaged audience through print, digital, and event platforms.

To learn more about corporate membership and other opportunities for corporate involvement, please contact the Corporate Program at [email protected] or 212.434.9684.

Named Chairs, Centers, Fellowships, and Programs

Central to the mission of CFR is the work of the David Rockefeller Studies Program, CFR’s in-house think tank. The Studies Program is defined by its unmatched range and depth of expertise. Named and endowed chairs and fellowships, by providing long-term support, help CFR to attract and retain the world’s leading scholars and to maintain an intellectually rigorous and independent research agenda.

Current Endowment Opportunities:

  • $5 million will endow a named chair. 
  • $1 million will endow an annual symposium.

There are a variety of ways to fund such commitments, including planned gifts, which often provide tax or other income benefits to the donor. To learn about the ways you might establish an endowment at CFR, please contact Suzanne E. Helm, vice president of philanthropy and corporate relations, at [email protected] or 212.434.9781.

Chairs

 

Centers

Named Fellowships

Programs

 

Named Meetings and Lectureships

Throughout its long history, the Council on Foreign Relations has been privileged to name the following meetings series and lectureships in honor of many distinguished diplomats, philanthropists, academics, and business and government leaders. For more information on opportunities such as these, please contact Suzanne E. Helm, vice president of philanthropy and corporate relations, at [email protected] or 212.434.9781.

Ways To Donate

We make it easy to donate to support CFR's mission. 

How to Give

Thank you for your interest in supporting the Council on Foreign Relations. Your tax-deductible contribution to the Annual Fund will help support CFR’s broad range of activities, including the work of fellows in its distinguished think tank, its award-winning website, and its Washington Program, which serves as a resource for policymakers from the White House to Capitol Hill.

Your gift to CFR will help ensure its availability as a trusted resource for policymakers, the media, and others who care about foreign policy and international relations.

Credit Card

Donate Now


To make a donation by credit card, please click on the “Donate Now” button above.

As an alternative, you may call the Development Office at 212.434.9462 to provide your information by phone.

Check

Checks should be made payable to the Council on Foreign Relations. In the memo portion of the check, please note the purpose for which the funds are being given.

Please mail to the following address:
Development Office
Council on Foreign Relations
58 East 68th Street
New York, NY 10065

Stock or Mutual Fund Transfer

Please see Stock or Mutual Fund Transfer Instructions. (78K PDF) 

Wire Transfer

Funds may be wired to the Council on Foreign Relations’ bank account. Please email [email protected] for wire transfer instructions.

 

Please notify us that the transfer of funds has been made, indicating the date and amount of the transfer and the purpose for which the funds are being given. There is a $1,000 minimum for wire transfers.

 

Contact

For more information about supporting CFR,
please contact the Development Office:
tel 212.434.9462
[email protected]

Contributions payable to the Council on Foreign Relations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. CFR is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and is publicly supported as described in 509(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code. CFR’s IRS identification number is 13-1628168. Donor recognition is based on the fiscal year July 1–June 30.