Building America's Future

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
851359192
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
5122776095
Rating
63
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$100,223,489
Expenses
$98,194,223
Assets
$9,201,119
Liabilities
$232,943

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATHERINE NEAL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • KATHERINE NEAL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $215,000 total reported compensation
  • TIMOTHY MCKONE (SECRETARY): $48,000 total reported compensation
  • BERNARD OKUN (DIRECTOR): $48,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Building America’s Future is a non-profit organization that supports conservative policies and ideas that make America’s future strong.

What it reported doing in 2024

Conducted and publicized research to inform and empower americans to take ownership of our country's policy direction and demand that our government at the federal, state, and local levels enact policy reforms to improve the lives of all americans. Specifically, baf ran issue advocacy campaigns related to the following topics: domestic energy production, protection from communist china, border security, opposing heavy-handed government bans and mandates, 340b program reforms, and voter registration efforts.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 72% for direct work, and 28% for 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 few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 42
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.2%; rating input score 62
  • Program expense ratio: 63.4%; rating input score 63
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1,427.04 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 4th 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: 2%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.09; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.4%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 39.6% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 46.3% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 34% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 14 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 62.2% of revenue deployed · 63.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 3 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $62.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $215K · 5 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $33.6M reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 21 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 14 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 2/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 43/100.