Colorado Democracy Network

Overview

Mission

See Schedule O

What it reported doing in 2025

The organization is an active community of charitable individuals and families whose mission is to help fund and grow a sustainable civic ecosystem in Colorado.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 77% for direct work, and 23% for grants.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
454555568
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2020
Headquarters
Denver, CO, USA
Rating
84
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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 12
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 80.1%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -73.7%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.44; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 24.2%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.9% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.7% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.4% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 80.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $239K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $131K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 9 annual filings from 2013 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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

6 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DANIEL RAMOS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $130,833 total reported compensation
  • JAYSON SIME (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $25,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2025.