Fact check: How does the Brookings Institution's budget compare to the Heritage Foundation's?

1. What the source documents actually claim about Brookings — transparency without a single budget number

The material associated with Brookings indicates that its financial information and funding policies are publicly disclosed and that a 2024 audited financial statement is available for review, signaling organizational transparency and a commitment to public disclosure. The provided analysis notes that Brookings’ financial information is available but stops short of extracting a consolidated “budget” figure or annual revenue/expense totals from those materials, suggesting the need to consult the specific audited statement for definitive numbers ^[1]. This means Brookings has published the requisite finance documents, but the supplied excerpt does not contain the actual consolidated totals necessary to compute or compare an organizational budget.

2. What the Heritage Foundation documents plainly state — revenue and expenses for 2023

The supplied analysis of the Heritage Foundation gives concrete 2023 figures: $101 million raised and $104 million expended, a straightforward snapshot that reflects fundraising and spending within that single fiscal year. Those numbers allow readers to understand Heritage’s scale for 2023 and to observe that reported expenses slightly exceeded amounts raised in that year, which could reflect use of reserves, timing differences, or other accounting factors; the supplied material does not elaborate on those causes ^[2]. Because these Heritage figures are specific, they function as a clear anchor for one side of the comparison, assuming comparable fiscal year definitions and accounting treatments.

3. Why a direct Brookings-to-Heritage budget comparison isn’t supported by the provided texts

A valid, apples-to-apples comparison requires matching fiscal years, consistent revenue versus expense treatments, and clarity about line items included in any “budget” figure; the Brookings excerpt confirms the existence of detailed audited statements but does not supply those totals in the analyzed text. The absence of Brookings’ consolidated revenue and expense totals in the provided Brookings materials prevents an authoritative numerical comparison to Heritage’s 2023 totals cited in the Heritage analysis ^{[1] [2]}. Without extracting Brookings’ audited 2024 figures and confirming whether they correspond to the same fiscal period as Heritage’s 2023 report, any numeric juxtaposition risks being misleading.

4. Contextual factors that matter when comparing think-tank budgets and why they change interpretation

Even with both organizations’ totals in hand, several contextual variables would shape interpretation: endowment income, restricted gifts for specific programs, capital campaign receipts, and classification of program versus administrative expenses. The Brookings finance page’s emphasis on funding policies signals that donors and restrictions could significantly affect reported revenues and spendable budgets; the Heritage numbers alone do not reveal how much of their funds were unrestricted or earmarked ^{[1] [2]}. These nuances influence operational capacity, staffing, and program reach, so numerical parity does not necessarily equate to similar institutional power or output.

5. Multiple perspectives and suggested next steps to resolve the gap

From one vantage, Heritage’s explicit 2023 figures present a clear scale for that year, while Brookings’ documentation implies comparable transparency but requires extraction of its audited totals to complete the comparison. Observers seeking a reliable cross-institution comparison should obtain Brookings’ 2024 audited financial statement referenced on its finance page and then align fiscal years and accounting categories with Heritage’s 2023 report to ensure comparability ^{[1] [2]}. This approach addresses potential disparities in fiscal-period definitions and restricted-versus-unrestricted funding that could otherwise distort a straightforward budget comparison.

6. Bottom line: current evidence and how to get a definitive answer

Based on the provided materials, Heritage’s 2023 budget numbers are explicit; Brookings’ comparable totals are referenced but not quoted, so an authoritative numerical comparison cannot be completed from the supplied texts alone ^{[1] [2]}. To reach a definitive answer, extract Brookings’ consolidated revenue and expense totals from the 2024 audited financial statement, confirm fiscal-year alignment with Heritage’s 2023 figures, and account for restricted funds and endowment impacts; only then will a precise, defensible budget comparison be possible.