Letter From the Chair 

Two hundred fifty years ago, America’s founders proclaimed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness . . . ” That revolutionary statement would not only become the creed for the United States but also inspire people around the world to seek democracy.

To mark this momentous two-hundred-fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Council has created a yearlong series of articles, videos, podcasts, events, and special projects that reflect on two and a half centuries of U.S. foreign policy. The Council’s programming is also chronicling the evolution of America’s role in the world since its founding and the strategic challenges that lie ahead. The debate about the country’s global role dates back to the eighteenth century and the Founding Fathers, many of whom might be called isolationists today for their warnings against entangling foreign alliances. Indeed, many of the same issues being debated at present have been at the heart of U.S. foreign policy discourse for two hundred fifty years—a theme the Council seeks to capture over the course of the year.

Highlights of the effort in fiscal year 2026 include the launch of a multiyear project on the best and worst decisions in foreign policy, directed by CFR Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy James M. Lindsay; a conversation with distinguished historian Stephen P. Kotkin on the forces reshaping American power and global standing; the daylong Hauser Symposium on the development of the U.S.-led international order from the post–World War II era to the present; and a conversation with CFR Senior Fellow on Democracy Timothy Snyder on American global engagement since 1776.

The America at 250 series is just one of several important initiatives the Council launched this year. In the pages that follow, you will read about the Future of American Strategy Initiative; the first National Retreat in Nashville, Tennessee; various innovative media partnerships; and the substantial new digital presence expanding the Council’s reach and impact, to name a few.

The Council recently elected four new members to the Board of Directors. I am pleased to welcome Charles Q. Brown Jr., Marie-Josée Kravis, Daniel B. Poneman, and David E. Sanger, who will strengthen the Board’s expertise in military and national security, economic, and energy issues. Sylvia Mathews Burwell has been elected vice chair of the Board, succeeding Jami Miscik, who contributed significantly to the success of the Council for more than two decades. We are grateful to Jami and fellow Board members Tony Coles, William H. McRaven, and Janet A. Napolitano for their service on CFR’s Board.

The Council’s membership continues to grow in size and diversity. This fiscal year, the Board elected 197 life members and 207 term members, reflecting a wide range of occupations, ideological perspectives, geographies, and experiences. The Council’s revamped trips program, which included a fact-finding mission to Greenland; visits to Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico, Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida; and a staff ride to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, has become a key avenue of member engagement beyond our core programming in Washington, DC, New York, and around the country.

The Council enters fiscal year 2027 with a clean bill of financial health—both on an operating level and with respect to our burgeoning endowment. We are fortunate to have a diversified funding model that does not rely on any government or corporations for research funding. The Council closed the books for fiscal year 2026 with a modest budget surplus, and the endowment returned 21 percent, bringing its total to $811.8 million. On the revenue front, Foreign Affairs remains steady at an all-time high of $12 million. The Corporate and CEO Programs and the Global Board of Advisors contributed more than $9.2 million to the budget. Members contributed $11.4 million in dues and a record $12.4 million to the Annual Fund. The Council also brought in more than $80 million in major gifts and foundation grants, anchored by a historic $50 million gift from Sue and Ed Wachenheim to endow the Wachenheim Center for Peace and Security.

As we look to fiscal year 2027, I offer my sincere gratitude to all who support the Council, including its staff and members, speakers, Foreign Affairs subscribers and contributors, and the broader public.

Sincerely,
David M. Rubenstein
Chair of the Board of Directors