Campaign for Accountability Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
814080431
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2027805750
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Government and Public Administration

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,818,328
Expenses
$2,932,914
Assets
$2,087,409
Liabilities
$43,061

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBIN BRAND (PRESIDENT)
  • MICHELLE KUPPERSMITH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHELLE KUPPERSMITH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $241,186 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Millions of americans' lives are negatively impacted by decisions made behind the doors of corporate boardrooms, government offices, and shadowy nonprofit groups. Cfa works on behalf of the public interest to expose corruption, negligence, and (continued on schedule o) unethical behavior wherever it may occur.

What it reported doing in 2024

To investigate the actions of powerful interests at every level of society, ranging from the largest corporations to the smallest county governments. Our current prioritites include federal accountability, state oversight, corporate responsibility, consumer protection and reproductive rights.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 93% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 92
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.7%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 91.8%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $31.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: Pass
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -4.1%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.71; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.2%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 21.1% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.8% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.8% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 95.7% of revenue deployed · 91.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $241K · 4 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $1.7M reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.