International Center for Not-for-profit Law Inc

Overview

Mission

An international research organization that protects and promotes civil society, civic participation, philanthropy, social enterprise, impact investing, volunteerism, development cooperation, human rights, digital rights, democracy, and good governance around the world.

What it reported doing in 2025

Icnl is a nonprofit research organization focused on legal issues affecting civil society, philanthropy, digital rights, and civic participation. In 2025, icnl undertook projects in asia, africa, the americas, the middle east, europe, and eurasia. Activities include technical assistance on the enabling environment for civil society, capacity building, research and publications, university initiatives, and a publicly available on-line library of civil society legal materials in multiple languages.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 84% 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
521818273
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Headquarters
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2024528600
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
International Development

Official website

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.7%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 76.8%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $35.3 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • 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: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 98.4%; rating input score 98; 41st 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; 63rd 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: 22%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.06; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 23.3%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.7% of revenue deployed · 76.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $6.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $297K · 18 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $273K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 37 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 annual filings from 2015 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DOUGLAS RUTZEN (PRESIDENT): $296,502 total reported compensation
  • CATHERINE SHEA (VICE PRESIDENT, PROGRAMS): $239,794 total reported compensation
  • DAVID MOORE (VICE PRESIDENT, LEGAL AFFAIRS): $232,213 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2025.