Blackpastorg

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
261625373
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2022, Form 990-N 2012
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2069858553
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies, Related Historical Activities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$275,176
Expenses
$212,876
Assets
$343,414
Liabilities
$3,560

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DOUGLAS BENDER (PRESIDENT)
  • QUIN'NITA COBBINS-MODICA (VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • DOUGLAS BENDER (PRESIDENT)
  • QUIN'NITA COBBINS-MODICA (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • EDDIE BRAILSFORD (TREASURER)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To create a state-of-the-art online encyclopedia that brings african american and global african history to anyone in the world with access to a computer screen and the internet.

What it reported doing in 2025

Blackpast.org is at 13,000 pages the largest online educational resource available on the internet exclusively focused on african american and global african history. This resource is free and unrestriced to anyone around the world with access to the internet and a computer screen. Blackpast.org is dedicated to providng the inquisitive public with comprehensive, reliable and accurate information concerning the history of african americans in the united states and the people of african ancestry in other regions of the world. It is the aim of founders and sponsors to foster understanding through knowledge in order to generate constructive changes in our society.

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 98% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - 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: 92
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 63
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.1%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 89.3%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $25.03 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 22.6%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.61; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.1% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.4% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.7% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.1% of revenue deployed · 89.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $190K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.