Democracy at Work Institute

Overview

Mission

The mission of the democracy at work institute is to expand the worker cooperative model to reach communities most directly affected by social and economic inequality, specifically people of color, recent immigrants, and low-wage workforces. We are a movement-based think-and-do tank supporting worker cooperatives to grow to a scale that creates meaningful change in the economy.

What it reported doing in 2024

School for democratic management - as a field-building organization, dawi is committed to accelerating the work of the next generation of worker cooperative members, managers, developers, and regional partners by filling critical gaps in worker cooperative education via trends in online learning, regional cooperative growth, and the field's need for culturally-relevant content.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 72% for direct work, and 28% for grants.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
275265123
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2012
Headquarters
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
4153799201
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Support N.E.C.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 75
  • Sustainability: 14
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 80.5%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $33.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 79.4%; rating input score 79; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 57.1%; rating input score 57; 9th 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: -51.8%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.71; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.27; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20.6%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.6% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.4% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 80.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 10 filed program accomplishments · $3.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $132K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 10 annual filings from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 15 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 7 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JULIAN MCKINLEY (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $132,120 total reported compensation
  • VANESSA BRANSBURG (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $129,583 total reported compensation
  • SHEVANTHI DANIEL (PROGRAM DIRECTOR): $115,553 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.