Independent Sector

Independent Sector is a coalition of nonprofit organizations, foundations and corporate giving programs in the United States. Founded in 1980, it is the first organization to combine the grant seekers and grantees.

Independent Sector

Founded	October 18, 1976; 48 years ago (1976-10-18)[1]
Merger of	Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations National Council of Philanthropy
Tax ID no.	52-1081024[2]
Legal status	501(c)(3) nonprofit organization[2]
Headquarters	Washington, D.C., United States
Coordinates	38.9034291°N 77.0372580°W / 38.9034291; -77.0372580
Services	National conference, public policy, and networking and member engagement.[2]
Chair	Stephen B. Heinz[2]
Chair, Director	Neil Nicoll[2]
President, CEO	Dr. Akilah Watkins (Jan 2023-present)
Subsidiaries	1620 IS LLC[2]
Revenue	$8,703,247[2] (2014)
Expenses	$8,774,204[2] (2014)
Endowment	$4,521,437[2]
Employees	53[2] (2014)
Volunteers	275[2] (2014)
Website	www.independentsector.org

Located in Washington, D.C., Independent Sector largely works on federal policy issues that affect the nonprofit and philanthropic sector, including tax incentives and exemption status of organizations within the sector.

Several other organizational goals include cultivating leaders and emerging leaders, supporting and enhancing organizational effectiveness and ethical practices, and being the vital voice of the sector.

History

Independent Sector was created in 1980 with the merger of two nonprofit associations: the National Council of Philanthropy and the Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations. The charter meeting was held in Washington, D.C., on March 5, 1980. Brian O'Connell was the first president and John W. Gardner was the first Governing Board Chair.^[3]

Leadership

Dr. Akilah Watkins is the President and CEO of Independent Sector as of January 2023.^[4] Since its founding in 1980, Independent Sector has had the following board chairs:

Name	Term
John W. Gardner, co-founder of Independent Sector	1980–1983
Richard W. Lyman	1984–1986
John H. Filer	1987–1989
Eugene C. Dorsey	1990–1992
Raul Yzaguirre	1993–1995
Barbara Finberg	1996–1998
Peter B. Goldberg	1999–2001
John R. Seffrin	2002–2004
William Trueheart	2005–2007
Brian Gallagher	2008–2010
Stephen B. Heintz	2011–2013
Jeffrey Bradach	2013–2021
Fred Blackwell	2021–present