Action For Democracy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
874640498
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3472610797
Rating
62
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Citizen Participation

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,777,230
Expenses
$5,891,600
Assets
$2,501,232
Liabilities
$221,581

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • David Koranyi (Board President)

Highest reported compensation

  • David Koranyi (Board President): $329,842 total reported compensation
  • Christopher Maroshegyi (Board Treasurer): $27,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The organization empowers citizens to defend and rebuild their democracies. The organization strives to build and mobilize a global pro-democracy solidarity movement to defend fundamental rights and freedom of speech.

What it reported doing in 2024

Activate the power of citizens and build a global pro-democracy movement to defend fundamental rights and freedom of speech. This actvity is organized around three interlinked pillars - (1) community building through organizing concerned citizens, (2) frontline support through partnering with democracy organizations to promote fair elections and accountable governance, (3) policy advocacy to mobilize support for democratic participation.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 81% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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 the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 61
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.1%; rating input score 60
  • Program expense ratio: 79.3%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $22.02 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 33.3%; rating input score 33; 7th 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: 24.2%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.42; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.1%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -52.4% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -20.6% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 99.9% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.1% of revenue deployed · 79.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 3 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $330K · 4 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $578K reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 33/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.