Committee of Seventy

What it reported doing in 2024

Election & civic education engagement seventy's election program has several tools available to help voters learn about their rights as a voter and make informed decisions when they vote. The interactive voter guide allows voters to type in their address and review all of the candidates on their ballot before they head to the polls. They can review the options, select their candidates and print or save them; they can even share with friends and family to encourage others to vote, find their polling place, or apply to vote by mail. Seventy also broadcasts facebook live interviews from studio c70. The interviews, with candidates for public office, thought leaders, and political insiders, help voters get more informed and civically engaged. All of this information can be accessed through our social media channels and website. The wevote initiative promotes a culture of voting in businesses, organizations, and communities in the region and across the commonwealth. Participants can encourage all employees, volunteers, and constituents to vote, easily share our voter resources, and offer as much flexibility as possible on election day so there are fewer obstacles for voting. Seventy also supports well-run elections by recruiting and educating poll workers in philadelphia. With a widely distributed toolkit of resources for poll workers, informational sessions, and a growing community of informed, engaged poll workers, seventy supports democracy's essential workers. Seventy provides opportunities for citizens in philadelphia and across Pennsylvania to be civically engaged, not just around elections. Seventy's youth civics initiatives engage students as young as elementary school-age up through college. A core component of this work is the comprehensive elections & voting curriculum, which gives students an enhanced understanding of voting rights and history, media literacy, how to use voter guides, and how new and future voters can cast their own ballots. The curriculum is supported by the pa youth vote mock election; in 2024 nearly 20,000 students from districts across the commonwealth cast ballots through this program. Seventy also coordinated interviews with candidates running for election through the studio c70 candidate interview series, where classrooms connect with candidates and interviews are streamed live for the general public. In 2023, seventy launched can we talk? To engage students in productive civil dialogue. Started as a college-level program, seventy engaged eight high schools across pa in programming for students to learn skills for engaging with others from different life experiences and backgrounds. Seventy also started our democracy for kids program, working with youth from kindergarten through high school on the basics of community engagement. Seventy is also a founding member of the pa civics coalition, a statewide group of nonprofits, museums, and former members of congress focused on improving Pennsylvania's civic education.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 58%; rating input score 58
• Program expense ratio: 69.9%; rating input score 70
• Fundraising efficiency: $10.71 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Missing
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 98.7%; rating input score 99; 27th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 17.9%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.07; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.27; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 19.6%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 14.8% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings