Comparison · 14 material differences
Council on Foreign Relations vs The Economic Club of Washington, D.C.
This comparison was generated on request from the records. It carries no editorial verdict and is not indexed. The published comparisons are listed on the compare page.
Read down each column for one organization, across a row for the difference. A bronze mark at the left of a cell means the organizations differ on that row. A dash or “not published” means the organization does not disclose the fact; it is not a zero.
Verified September 2026
Invitation-only community
Verified September 2026 Council on Foreign Relations
Senior figures in foreign policy and adjacent fields: government officials, scholars, business executives, journalists, lawyers and nonprofit leaders
Invitation-only community
The Economic Club of Washington, D.C.
Executive-level leaders of large businesses based in or connected to the Washington, D.C. region
What the records say
- Maximum age at joining: Council on Foreign Relations: Term membership: aged thirty to thirty-six on 1 January 2027; The Economic Club of Washington, D.C.: No published maximum age at joining.
- Minimum age: Council on Foreign Relations: Term membership: aged thirty to thirty-six on 1 January 2027; The Economic Club of Washington, D.C.: No published minimum age.
- Role or title: Council on Foreign Relations: No published role or title; The Economic Club of Washington, D.C.: Executive-level leader of a top-tier business.
- Accredited-investor status: Council on Foreign Relations: Restricted to US citizens (native born or naturalized) and permanent residents who have formally applied to become citizens; The Economic Club of Washington, D.C.: No published accredited-investor status.
- Annual dues: Council on Foreign Relations: $3,520–5,810 a year; The Economic Club of Washington, D.C.: Not publicly disclosed. The Club states that "annual membership dues cover the cost of attendance" at regularly scheduled Signature Events but does not publish the amount..
Side by side
| Council on Foreign Relations | The Economic Club of Washington, D.C. | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Invitation-only community | Invitation-only community |
| Founded | 1921 ("Since its founding in 1921, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has grown a membership of more than five thousand of the most prominent leaders in the foreign policy arena.") | 1986 (Formed in 1986 to give business leaders in the Washington region a forum for discussion of economic issues, at a point when the area was becoming a corporate centre in its own right.) |
| Headquarters | New York, United States | Washington, United States |
| Geographic footprint | United States, concentrated around its New York headquarters at 58 East 68th Street and its Washington office at 1777 F Street NW, with members elsewhere in the US and abroad; dues are banded by proximity to those two cities | Metropolitan Washington, D.C., with members also drawn from businesses operating elsewhere in the United States and abroad |
| Members | 5,000as of September 2026 | 1,000as of September 2026 |
| Chapters | No chapters. CFR operates from New York and Washington, D.C. and convenes nearly a thousand events a year. | No chapters. The Club takes part in a reciprocity programme with the Economic Clubs of New York and Chicago. |
| Primary audience | Senior figures in foreign policy and adjacent fields: government officials, scholars, business executives, journalists, lawyers and nonprofit leaders | Executive-level leaders of large businesses based in or connected to the Washington, D.C. region |
| Typical member | Members include top government officials, scholars, business executives, journalists, lawyers and nonprofit professionals. Life members are elected on intellectual attainment, involvement in international affairs and standing among peers; term members are elected each year from candidates aged thirty to thirty-six and serve a fixed five-year term. | Members include heads of regional and national corporations, entrepreneurs, investment professionals, government-affairs experts, lawyers, accountants and other business leaders from the Washington region. The Club states that no industry, profession or field of expertise is over-represented, and caps membership at two people from any one company. |
| Qualification | ||
| Maximum age at joining | Term membership: aged thirty to thirty-six on 1 January 2027Graduate students are generally advised to wait until after completing their degree before applying.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published maximum age at joining |
| Minimum age | Term membership: aged thirty to thirty-six on 1 January 2027Applies only to the Stephen M. Kellen Term Member Program; life membership has no published age band.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published minimum age |
| Role or title | No published role or title | Executive-level leader of a top-tier businessThe Club describes membership as "exclusive to executive-level leaders of top tier businesses". No revenue or company-size test is published.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Accredited-investor status | Restricted to US citizens (native born or naturalized) and permanent residents who have formally applied to become citizensPermanent residents must email CFR a statement of their current citizenship and the date of their formal US citizenship application.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published accredited-investor status |
| Geographic restriction | No published geographic restriction | Based in the Washington region, or elsewhere in the United StatesThe Club's two membership pages differ slightly: one restricts membership to leaders "based in the Washington region", the other says "whether based in the Washington region or elsewhere in the US".verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | Yes | Yes |
| Sponsor required | Yes | Yes |
| Application process | Candidates request an application, then submit it online with contact information, a CV, and nominator and seconder details. Life membership requires a written nomination from a current member plus three to four seconding letters; term membership requires a nomination plus two to three seconding letters. Letter writers receive submission instructions automatically once entered into the portal. Life membership deadlines are 1 March and 1 November, with decisions in late June and early March respectively; the term membership deadline is 10 January, with decisions in late June. The Board of Directors elects new members twice a year. | A current member nominates the candidate and a second member from a different organisation seconds the nomination. The candidate's biography and application form, including the nominating member's statement of support, are submitted to the Club. The Membership Committee meets regularly to consider nominations, weighing business and professional achievement, government and diplomatic service, civic leadership and area of expertise, and applying the two-members-per-company cap. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. CFR publishes its criteria, deadlines and letter requirements but no acceptance rate or applicant volume. | Not publicly disclosed. No acceptance rate or applicant volume is published; the Club reports growing to nearly 1,000 members. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | $3,520–5,810 a yearBusiness-category life membership, effective 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026: $5,810 for New York area members (residence or principal place of business within fifty miles of Manhattan City Hall), $5,310 for Washington, D.C. area members (within fifty miles of the Capitol) and $3,520 nationally.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Not publicly disclosed. The Club states that "annual membership dues cover the cost of attendance" at regularly scheduled Signature Events but does not publish the amount.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosed; the published dues schedule names no initiation fee.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Not publicly disclosedverified September 2026 |
| Event costs | Dues are billed in July, the first month of CFR's fiscal year, and may be paid annually or in two equal instalments. They cover goods and services including a year's subscription to Foreign Affairs and are stated not to be tax-deductible as a charitable contribution. The by-laws provide for suspension of privileges if a member is more than sixty days in default. | Members may invite a limited number of guests to each event "for a reasonable fee"; the amount is not published.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Life membership for elected members; term membership runs for a fixed five-year term | Annual dues; term length is not publicly disclosed |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Nearly one thousand events a year, including panel discussions, symposia, town halls, livestreams and members-only CEO forums; term members also have an annual conference and study trips | A series of Signature Events through the year, plus smaller group gatherings |
| Peer forums | Events, roundtables and workshops rather than standing small-group forums; term member breakout sessions are held not-for-attribution | Signature Events with invited speakers, supplemented by small group gatherings; no standing confidential forums are described |
| Confidentiality | Term Member Conference breakout sessions are described as not-for-attribution; CFR publishes transcripts of many of its main events | Not publicly disclosed; the Club publishes speaker material and media advisories |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Event-focused, Virtual | Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | Partial | Partial |
| Local chapters | No | No |
| Virtual membership | Partial | No |
| Online community | Yes | Partial |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Partial | Partial |
| Retreats | Partial | No |
| Travel | Yes | No |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | No |
| Next-generation programming | Yes | Partial |
| Investment discussions | Partial | Partial |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | No | Yes |
| Networking emphasis | High | High |
| Social emphasis | Low | Medium |
Next
Last verified: not yet reviewed
Report an error on this page
Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Council on Foreign Relations · The Economic Club of Washington, D.C.