Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

The Wilson Center receives 30 percent of its budget from the U.S. federal government. Since 2019, it has received at least $51,692,380 from the U.S. federal government. ³

History

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars was created by an act of the Congress in 1968. The Wilson Center is designated as a memorial honoring the legacy of President Woodrow Wilson. ² The Wilson Center received tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service in 1979. ⁴

In 1999, the Wilson Center established the Woodrow Wilson Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program and several other residential fellowships for academics, public officials, journalists, and business professionals to research and write in their areas of interest. ⁵

Leadership

The Wilson Center’s board of trustees consists of 16 members, including the U.S. Secretary of Education, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Secretary of State, the Archivist of the United States, the Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Librarian of Congress, and the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The President appoints an additional ten members, nine from the private sector and one from the federal government for six-year terms. ^{6 7 8}

Mark Green is the president and CEO of the Wilson Center. Green was the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) during the first Trump administration and the U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania during the George W. Bush administration. From 1999 to 2007, Green was a Republican U.S. Representative from Wisconsin. He has also been the president of the International Republican Institute, executive director of the McCain Institute, president of the Initiative for Global Development, and senior director of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, and sat on the advisory board of the Bush Institute and the board of the Consensus for Development Reform. ⁹

In addition to these leaders, the Wilson Center is supported by the 122-member Wilson Council. ¹⁰

Activities and Funding

The Wilson Center is a publicly subsidized Presidential Memorial that was established as a part of the Smithsonian Institution in 1968. The Wilson Center aims to create a forum for dialogue, research, study, discussion, and collaboration among individuals concerned with scholarship and policy in national and world affairs. ^{1 2} The center’s U.S. Civil Service positions are funded by annual appropriations from the U.S. Congress. Its trust positions are funded by private donations, grants, and gifts to the Wilson Center. ¹¹

Prior to the commencement of the second Trump administration, the Wilson Center had a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) council to support its broader mission. It also had six employee resource groups (ERGs) for racial and ethnic minority groups. ¹² The Wilson Center’s DEI webpage, which was active as recently as January 10, 2025, was no longer accessible as of January 22, 2025. ¹³

Its research programs include the Africa Program, Argentina Program, Indo-Pacific Program, Brazil Institute, Canada Institute, China Environment Forum, Environmental Change and Security Program, Cold War International History Project, Global Europe Program, History and Public Policy Program, Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy, Kennan Institute, Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, Latin America Program, Maternal Health Initiative, Mexico Institute, Middle East Program, Polar Institute, Refugee and Forced Displacement Initiative, Science and Technology Innovation Program, Serious Games Initiative, and Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition. ¹⁴

The Wilson Center also hosts numerous events on global affairs and policy. ¹⁵

In 2021, the Wilson Center spent $1,566,127 on the Kennan Institute, which brings scholars and specialists together to discuss political and economic issues impacting Russia and other former Soviet states. It also spent $1,391,714 on the Mexico Institute; $1,157,039 on its Science and Technology Program; and $26,531,714 on other projects. ¹⁶ That same year, the Wilson Center spent $7,006,994 on activities outside the United States. ¹⁷

According to a report from the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, the Wilson Center has advertised opportunities for “intimate and private salon discussions” for individuals or organizations who contribute $100,000 annually to the group. ^{18 19}

U.S. Government Funding

The Wilson Center receives 30 percent of its budget from the U.S. federal budget. ^{20 2} Since 2019, the Wilson Center has received at least $51,692,380 from the U.S. federal government. ³

Historically, the Wilson Center has received Congressional appropriations ²¹ and awards from the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the National Science Foundation (NSF). ²²

Funding

The Wilson Center receives funding from contributions and grants. In 2021, the Wilson Center reported revenues of $22,087,475 and expenses of $41,209,904. In 2021, the organization reported revenues of $28,888,773 and expenses of $29,405,331. ²³ Seventy percent of the Wilson Center’s annual budget must be raised from private sources each year. ²⁰

In January 2022, Open Philanthropy recommended a grant of $2,023,322 to the Wilson Center to support its artificial intelligence policy training program. ²⁴ This grant is a follow-up grant following a $291,214 grant to pilot the Wilson Center’s AI policy training program ²⁵ and support in 2020 addressing “potential risks from advanced artificial intelligence.” ²⁶

In 2016, the Wilson Center received $500,000 from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. ²⁷

Wilson Center received $1,251,200 from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in 2010. ²⁸