The IPT accepts no funding from outside the United States, nor from any governmental agency or political institution. It has 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status with the IRS. As such, financial contributions are deductible for federal income tax purposes. Contributions should be made out to the Investigative Project on Terrorism Foundation.

Founder and executive director Steven Emerson is an internationally recognized expert on terrorism and national security, award-winning investigative journalist, and author. Consulted by the White House, National Security Council, FBI, Justice Department, Congress and intelligence agencies, Mr. Emerson is in great demand as one of the most astute, insightful and knowledgeable experts in the world today on the threat and prospects of militant Islamic terrorism. He has been quoted in more than 500 news articles and has appeared frequently on network television. His 2002 best-selling book, American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us, provides the first context and understanding for how one of the most notorious terrorist groups in the world could have plotted the worst terrorist attack on American soil without detection or scrutiny by American authorities.