<P> The Qatari government was named by The New York Times as "the single biggest foreign donor to Brookings", having reportedly made a $14.8 million, four - year contribution in 2013 . A former visiting fellow at a Brookings affiliate in Qatar reportedly said that "he had been told during his job interview that he could not take positions critical of the Qatar government in papers". Brookings officials denied any connection between the views of their funders and their scholars' work, citing reports that questioned the Qatari government's education reform efforts and criticized its support of militants in Syria . However, Brookings officials reportedly acknowledged that they meet with Qatari government officials regularly to discuss the center's activities and budget, and that the former prime minister of Qatar currently serves on the center's advisory board . </P> <P> The main building of the Institution was erected in 1959 on 1775 Massachusetts Avenue . In 2009, Brookings acquired a building across the street, a former mansion built by the Ingalls family in 1922 on a design by Jules Henri de Sibour . This extension now houses the office of the President of the Brookings Institution . </P>

Where does the brookings institution get its funding