Facing History & Ourselves Inc

Overview

Mission

Facing history & ourselves uses lessons of history to equip teachers and their students to stand up to racism, antisemitism, and other forms of bigotry and hate.

What it reported doing in 2024

Facing history & ourselves provides training, support, and classroom curricula to teachers through a variety of channels, including virtual and in-person events, and a digital platform. In addition, facing history communicates with educators and a broader community through social media, direct email communication, and other writing, including blogs and white papers. The organization encourages a broad range of stakeholders - but students in particular - to learn about and from history, to engage in meaningful and constructive dialogue, and to see their role as civic participants.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 83% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042761636
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Headquarters
Boston, MA, USA
Phone
6177351658
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Humanities Organizations

Official website

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 57
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 74.7%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: -25%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.75; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.2%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 74.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 37 of 37 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $30.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $466K · 51 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.1M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 annual filings from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 13 filed money-flow records
  • 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

51 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DESMOND BLACKBURN (PRESIDENT & CEO): $465,710 total reported compensation
  • LARA J JAMES (CHIEF OFFICER, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS (UNTIL): $431,057 total reported compensation
  • ANNE MARIE FITZGERALD (VP, OPERATIONS & ADVANCEMENT): $373,203 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.