American Atheists
Legal name: American Atheists Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 742466507
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Cranford, NJ, USA
- Phone
- (908) 276-7300 — Main Number
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Religion Related N.E.C.
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,587,603
- Expenses
- $1,499,047
- Assets
- $1,627,841
- Liabilities
- $11,069
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- NICHOLAS FISH (PRESIDENT)
- ALISON GILL (VICE PRESIDENT, LEGAL AND)
- DEBORAH GODDARD (VICE PRESIDENT, PROGRAMS)
Highest reported compensation
- NICHOLAS FISH (PRESIDENT): $130,529 total reported compensation
- ALISON GILL (VICE PRESIDENT, LEGAL AND): $108,139 total reported compensation
- DEBORAH GODDARD (VICE PRESIDENT, PROGRAMS): $91,712 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
American Atheists exists to fight for the idea that you shouldn’t have to believe in god to be treated as a full and equal American. Want to learn more about our work or how to get involved? We rely on the support and dedication of people from all across the country to protect the rights of atheists and advocate on behalf of our community. Contact Us. We hope you’ll support the work of an organization that is unapologetic about our values and who we are. Please stand with us by making a tax-deductible gift today! Donate Now. Support Our Work Our work is driven by our core values and our vision for the future.
What it reported doing in 2024
The promotion and education with respect to issues regarding atheism and the separation of church and state through conventions, newsletters, television, websites and other media forums.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 92% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 57
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 47
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 60.9%; rating input score 61
- Program expense ratio: 63.4%; rating input score 63
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.75 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- 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: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 5.6%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.09; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 22%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -2.3% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 60.9% of revenue deployed · 63.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $950K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $131K · 15 people listed
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.