California Student Public Interest Research Group Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
952809351
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
2132513680
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$920,781
Expenses
$555,541
Assets
$2,824,698
Liabilities
$197,991

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

Leadership & pay

77 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • VERONIKA MICHELS (ORGANIZING DIRECTOR): $46,340 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 specific and primary purposes for which this corporation is formed are to identify and evaluate issues involving public policy and the public interest; to coordinate efforts of analysis and research between existing public interest groups and the academic sectors of society; to present active and responsible representation before legislative, administrative, and regulatory bodies and agencies and when so deemed necessary, to pursue redress of grievances to the interest of the public through litigation and other legal means.

What it reported doing in 2024

Public education and outreach: recruiting volunteers, distrubuting educational literature, conducting surveys discussing the following issues with the general public and students at university of California at berkley, davis, irvine, riverside, san diego, santa barbara, santa cruz, los angeles, and the university of southern California: protecting our oceans and forests, reducing the use of single use plastics and keeping higher education affordable.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 83% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 77
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 51.3%; rating input score 51
  • Program expense ratio: 75.2%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $22.45 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: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • 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: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 39.7%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.08; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.3%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.2% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 51.3% of revenue deployed · 75.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 39 of 39 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $418K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $46K · 77 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $137K reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 51/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.