Pushblack Now

Overview

Mission

Pushblack now uses the power of narrative, especially black history, to educate and activate subscribers to build personal power and create lasting economic and political change.

What it reported doing in 2024

Education & advocacy: pushblack now is the nation's largest media advocacy organization for black americans. Pushblack now uses the power of narrative, especially black history, to educate and activate subscribers to build personal power and create lasting economic and political change.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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
813839071
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2017, Form 990-N 2016
Headquarters
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2026817109
Rating
42
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Civil Rights

Official website

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 20
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 12
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 27%; rating input score 27
  • Program expense ratio: 14.2%; rating input score 14
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -90.3%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 34.9%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -30.6% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -7% per year; rating input score 0; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 27% of revenue deployed · 14.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $19K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $293K · 4 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 annual filings from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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

4 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JULIAN WALKER (CEO): $293,354 total reported compensation
  • DAONESE JOHNSON-COLON (INTERIM CEO/COO): $209,303 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.