Independent Sector is the leadership forum for charities, foundations, and corporate giving programs committed to advancing the common good in America and around the world. Our nonpartisan coalition of approximately 600 organizations leads, strengthens, and mobilizes the charitable community in order to fulfill our vision of a just and inclusive society and a healthy democracy of active citizens, effective institutions, and vibrant communities.

Join Us! Become a part of America's leading coalition of charities, foundations, corporations, and individuals. Our Principles and Operations Read our vision, mission and value statements, and see our commitment to accountability and transparency. View IS's 2007 IRS Form 990. Our People Board of Directors President and CEO Staff Directory Member Committees Contact IS

Discover the principles behind our work through our vision, mission, and values statements, and learn more from key documents such as the Annual Report and the Form 990.

Our Work

Independent Sector serves as the premier meeting ground for the leaders of America's charitable and philanthropic sector. Since our founding in 1980, we have sponsored ground-breaking research, fought for public policies that support a dynamic, independent sector, and created unparalleled resources so staff, boards, and volunteers can improve their organizations and better serve their communities.

Independent Sector fulfills our mission by:

• Convening opportunities for sector leaders to work together on key issues. The most prominent forum of this kind is the Independent Sector Annual Conference, but IS committees are another key part of developing collective strategies.
• Promoting policies that enable the charitable community to engage with public officials on a nonpartisan basis. IS is currently focusing on issues such as protecting advocacy rights of nonprofits, promoting tax incentives for charitable giving, and addressing federal and state budget concerns.
• Supporting the development and dissemination of strategies to strengthen volunteering, voting, giving, and other forms of citizen engagement.
• Encouraging the sector to meet the highest standards of ethical practice and effectiveness. As part of our continuing efforts in this area, IS has convened the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector, which is making recommendations in the areas of governance, fiduciary responsibility, government oversight, self-regulation, and financial accountability.
• Serving as the voice of the independent sector to the media, government, business, and international voluntary communities.

Our Commitment to Accountability

Independent Sector is dedicated to the highest ethical standards and to making its operations as transparent as possible. As part of that commitment, we have posted many of the documents important to our operations, including our bylaws, our code of ethics, our financial information, and annual report.