Comparison · 17 material differences
Council on Foreign Relations vs Urban Land Institute
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.
What the records say
- Maximum age at joining — Council on Foreign Relations: Term membership: aged thirty to thirty-six on 1 January 2027; Urban Land Institute: Under 35 qualifies for a reduced dues rate.
- Minimum age — Council on Foreign Relations: Term membership: aged thirty to thirty-six on 1 January 2027; Urban Land Institute: No published minimum age.
- 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; Urban Land Institute: No published accredited-investor status.
- Industry restriction — Council on Foreign Relations: No published industry restriction; Urban Land Institute: Open to professionals across the real estate and land use industry.
- Annual dues — Council on Foreign Relations: $3,520–5,810 a year; Urban Land Institute: $1,332 a year.
Side by side
| Council on Foreign Relations | Urban Land Institute | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Invitation-only community | Professional association |
| 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.") | 1936 (Founded 14 December 1936; the Urban Land Institute name was adopted in 1939 per Wikipedia's history of the organisation.) |
| 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 | Members in 80+ countries; district councils across the United States, Canada and Mexico, with separate ULI Europe and ULI Asia Pacific regions |
| Members | 5,000as of September 2026 | 45,000as of August 2026 |
| Chapters | No chapters. CFR operates from New York and Washington, D.C. and convenes nearly a thousand events a year. | 57 |
| Primary audience | Senior figures in foreign policy and adjacent fields: government officials, scholars, business executives, journalists, lawyers and nonprofit leaders | Professionals across the land use and real estate industry — developers, investors, lenders, architects, planners, public officials and academics |
| 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. | ULI's own materials describe a cross-disciplinary membership of developers, investors, designers, builders, buyers, sellers, urban planners and public officials. Wikipedia's breakdown of the membership puts developers at 28 percent, capital sources at 13 percent, service providers at 10 percent and the public sector at 10 percent. |
| 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 ↗ | Under 35 qualifies for a reduced dues rateULI's membership FAQ states it offers 50–75 percent savings for individuals under age 35, for professionals in non-profit organisations, government or academia, and for students. Under-35 members are also the constituency for the Young Leaders Group. This is a discount band, not a barrier to joining.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| 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 |
| 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 | Open to professionals across the real estate and land use industryULI describes itself as "a diverse network of private and public professionals spanning the real estate and land use industry, including developers, investors, designers, builders, buyers, sellers, urban planners, and public officials". No revenue, seniority or wealth test is published.verified 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. | Applicants create a ULI account and join online, or join by email, phone or post using a printed application with payment. Membership is open on application; ULI's published materials describe no sponsor, interview or committee review. Dues can be paid in one annual payment, on annual auto-renewal, or in twelve monthly instalments, which require a twelve-month commitment. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. CFR publishes its criteria, deadlines and letter requirements but no acceptance rate or applicant volume. | Not publicly disclosed; ULI publishes no acceptance rate and its published joining route is open enrolment rather than selection. Invitation-based selection applies within ULI to product councils, not to membership itself. |
| 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 ↗ | $1,332 a yearFull membership, United States standard rate ($111 per month on the instalment plan). From ULI's own US individual membership application; the form states rates were valid for payments received by 30 June 2023, so the current rate may differ.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 |
| Local chapter dues | 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. | Not publicly disclosed. District council participation is included in national dues in ULI's published materials; no separate district council fee is advertised.verified September 2026 |
| Membership term | Life membership for elected members; term membership runs for a fixed five-year term | 12 months, expiring on the last day of the anniversary month; annual renewal, with auto-renewal and monthly instalment options |
| 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 | District council events year-round plus ULI Spring Meeting and Fall Meeting; ULI cites 2,900+ events worldwide each year across in-person and online formats |
| Peer forums | Events, roundtables and workshops rather than standing small-group forums; term member breakout sessions are held not-for-attribution | ULI Forums and Product Councils are topic-specific member groups that meet regularly; district councils run local committees and a Young Leaders Group |
| Confidentiality | Term Member Conference breakout sessions are described as not-for-attribution; CFR publishes transcripts of many of its main events | Not publicly disclosed as a general membership rule; ULI publishes a Code of Ethics rather than a confidentiality regime |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Event-focused, Virtual | Chapter-based, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | Partial | Yes |
| Local chapters | No | Yes |
| Virtual membership | Partial | No |
| Online community | Yes | Yes |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Partial | Yes |
| Retreats | Partial | No |
| Travel | Yes | Partial |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | Not documented |
| Next-generation programming | Yes | Yes |
| Investment discussions | Partial | Yes |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | No | Partial |
| Networking emphasis | High | High |
| Social emphasis | Low | Medium |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Council on Foreign Relations · Urban Land Institute