State Democracy Defenders Fund D/b/a Democracy Defenders Fund

Overview

Mission

State democracy defenders fund fills three key gaps in the fight against election sabotage and autocracy: our all-star team goes on offense against democracy deniers who break the law, including through our innovative program of outside public support for criminal prosecutions. We work with national, state and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundation of our democracy - free and fair elections. We help shape the long-term strategy to defeat autocracy.

What it reported doing in 2024

Rapid response coordination hub: an independent, nonpartisan hub to combat complex and targeted attacks against actors in the pro-democracy and civil rights ecosystem

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 44% for direct work, and 56% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
932740517
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2023
Headquarters
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2025949958
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public, Society Benefit N.E.C.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 73
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.7%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 85.8%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $23.4 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 98.5%; rating input score 99; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 76.9%; rating input score 77; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 16.4%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.56; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.65; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.4%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 200% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 200% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.7% of revenue deployed · 85.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 13 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $10.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $252K · 17 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.1M reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 31 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 7 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

17 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • SUSAN CORKE (PRESIDENT (EFFECTIVE 12/19/24)): $251,992 total reported compensation
  • JAMES LEVINE (VP OF INVESTIGATIONS (THRU 9/27/24)): $201,121 total reported compensation
  • SAYER LAGALLE (ESRN DIRECTOR): $152,888 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.