Center for Popular Democracy

Legal name: Center for Popular Democracy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
453813436
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Brooklyn, NY, US
Phone
3479852220
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$40,876,653
Expenses
$31,794,284
Assets
$42,364,579
Liabilities
$3,847,527

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAMAREO COOPER (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • ANALILIA MEJIA (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAMAREO COOPER (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $235,179 total reported compensation
  • ANALILIA MEJIA (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $232,873 total reported compensation
  • JENNIFER FREEDMAN (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $224,816 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To create equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy by providing strength and building support for a network of over 50 leading community-based organizing groups from 34 states across the country.

What it reported doing in 2024

Executive office programs: executive office programs in 2024 included the network management program, the forge organizing journal, and special cultural initiatives. In 2024, cpd's network management team provided support and capacity-building to cpd's network of 51 affiliates, including providing coaching and technical assistance in the areas of data management, organizing flow, and member leadership to the network, publishing and maintaining an ongoing calendar of engagement and action opportunities for affiliates in the network, and organizing and convening network meetings with senior staff from affiliates to strategize and plan around key priorities. The forge is an online journal and community for organizers. The forge strengthens the field of organizing by creating space for organizers across traditions to reflect, learn, and strategize, and by generating conversation and collaboration among organizers through publishing learnings and responses. It produces issues of an online journal, special series, standalone articles, interviews, public events, panels and roundtable discussions, and other media. In 2024, the forge published over 80 articles on its website on various topics, including racial justice, racial equity, building resilient organizations, and youth organizing.in 2024, cpd's murals unite program created street art with world-renowned artists in 5 cities, allentown, pa, phoenix, az, las vegas, nv, detroit, mi and long island, ny. We also organized 3 hip hop concerts calling for peace.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 65% for direct work, and 35% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 66
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66.8%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 83.2%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $32.74 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 22.2%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.33; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.7%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.6% per year; rating input score 100; 77th 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: 66.8% of revenue deployed · 83.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 6 filed program accomplishments · $26.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $235K · 22 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $812K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 56 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 43 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 47/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.