Comparison · 16 material differences
Council on Foreign Relations vs Forbes Councils
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
Networking organization
Forbes Councils
Owners, founders, partners and senior executives who want a bylined publishing platform on Forbes.com alongside a vetted online peer network
What the records say
- Maximum age at joining: Council on Foreign Relations: Term membership: aged thirty to thirty-six on 1 January 2027; Forbes Councils: No published maximum age at joining.
- Minimum age: Council on Foreign Relations: Term membership: aged thirty to thirty-six on 1 January 2027; Forbes Councils: No published minimum age.
- Role or title: Council on Foreign Relations: No published role or title; Forbes Councils: Owner, founder, partner, C-level executive, or vice president and above leading a region or division, in the council's field.
- Minimum company revenue: Council on Foreign Relations: No published minimum company revenue; Forbes Councils: "Your business generates a minimum of $1M USD in revenue".
- Annual dues: Council on Foreign Relations: $3,520–5,810 a year; Forbes Councils: Not publicly disclosed. The Business Council page confirms this is "a fee-based professional organization" offering "1-year and 2-year membership payment plans", and the membership agreement refers to "the then-current membership fee for each year of the Term", but no amount is published. Figures quoted on affiliate and agency blogs could not be independently verified..
Side by side
| Council on Foreign Relations | Forbes Councils | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Invitation-only community | Networking organization |
| 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.") | Not documented |
| Headquarters | New York, United States | Boston, 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 | Nine online councils with no local chapters; the operator, Community.co, is based in Boston, Massachusetts |
| Members | 5,000as of September 2026 | Not publicly disclosed. Forbes Councils publishes member directories per council but no total. Community.co, which operates Forbes Councils and several sister communities, states "25k+ Members to date" across "50+ Communities", which is not a Forbes Councils figure. |
| Chapters | No chapters. CFR operates from New York and Washington, D.C. and convenes nearly a thousand events a year. | No chapters; the councils are online communities |
| Primary audience | Senior figures in foreign policy and adjacent fields: government officials, scholars, business executives, journalists, lawyers and nonprofit leaders | Owners, founders, partners and senior executives who want a bylined publishing platform on Forbes.com alongside a vetted online peer network |
| 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 are owners, founders, C-level executives, partners and vice presidents who lead a region or division, drawn from the industry each council covers. The financial test is set at the company level rather than personal wealth: US$500,000 or US$1,000,000 in annual revenue or capital raised, depending on the council. |
| 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 | Owner, founder, partner, C-level executive, or vice president and above leading a region or division, in the council's fieldThe Technology Council specifies "founders, partners, and CEOs of technology companies, C-level technology executives such as CTOs and CIOs, and VPs of technology teams"verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum company revenue | No published minimum company revenue | "Your business generates a minimum of $1M USD in revenue"Applies to the Agency, Business Development, Communications, Finance, Human Resources and Technology Councilsverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum capital raised | No published minimum capital raised | "Your business has received a minimum of $1M USD in financing"Alternative to the revenue test for the senior-level councilsverified 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 |
| Industry restriction | No published industry restriction | "No MLM/direct sales, gambling, adult entertainment, adult websites, adult products, or cannabis companies are allowed"Certain marketing agencies (link sellers, guaranteed media placements) and some cryptocurrency companies, such as those attached to initial coin offerings, are also excludedverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | Yes | No |
| Sponsor required | Yes | No |
| 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. | Candidates apply online to a specific council. A selection committee reviews the application against the published criteria and, if approved, issues a membership invitation. Payment is taken after acceptance, for a one-year or two-year term. Applications are made in an individual's own name, not a company's, even where an employer pays the fee. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. CFR publishes its criteria, deadlines and letter requirements but no acceptance rate or applicant volume. | Not publicly disclosed. Forbes Councils states that applications are vetted by a selection committee and that acceptance is at the company's sole discretion, but publishes no acceptance rate. |
| 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 Business Council page confirms this is "a fee-based professional organization" offering "1-year and 2-year membership payment plans", and the membership agreement refers to "the then-current membership fee for each year of the Term", but no amount is published. Figures quoted on affiliate and agency blogs could not be independently verified.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosed; the published dues schedule names no initiation fee.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Not publicly disclosed. The membership agreement states a one-time initiation fee, where applicable, is "non-refundable and will not be refunded once paid regardless of termination or cancellation".verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Life membership for elected members; term membership runs for a fixed five-year term | One-year or two-year terms, renewing automatically for equal periods |
| 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 | Monthly Expert Panel cycles and private virtual events; no scheduled local meetings |
| Peer forums | Events, roundtables and workshops rather than standing small-group forums; term member breakout sessions are held not-for-attribution | No facilitated peer forums; members join interest-based and geography-based online groups |
| Confidentiality | Term Member Conference breakout sessions are described as not-for-attribution; CFR publishes transcripts of many of its main events | Not publicly disclosed |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Event-focused, Virtual | Virtual, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | Partial | Partial |
| Local chapters | No | No |
| Virtual membership | Partial | Yes |
| Online community | Yes | Yes |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Partial |
| Leadership development | Partial | Partial |
| Retreats | Partial | No |
| Travel | Yes | Partial |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | No |
| Next-generation programming | Yes | No |
| Investment discussions | Partial | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | No | No |
| Networking emphasis | High | Medium |
| Social emphasis | Low | Low |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Council on Foreign Relations · Forbes Councils