Story Network Foundation

Overview

Mission

To educate the public and combat misinformation on issues, including, but not limited to: quality affordable healthcare, humane immigration policy, common-sense gun control, campaign finance reform, climate change, income inequality and equal rights for women, minorities, and the LGBTQ community.

What it reported doing in 2024

We organize: Misinformation is propagated by large networks of pages, websites, bots and people, working together to seem much larger than they are. We organize real groups and people into networks that stand ready to amplify good and truthful ideas

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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
842907396
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Headquarters
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2024305253
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 10
  • Sustainability: 57
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.5%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 99.9%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1,981.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 27.4%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.38; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.4%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -13.6% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -8.6% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 27% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.5% of revenue deployed · 99.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 1 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $10K · 1 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $1.3M reported
  • Consistency: 18 of 18 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 annual filings from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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

1 person listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Elizabeth Mullins (Director): $9,500 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.