Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521234565
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, US
Phone
202 408 1080
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$52,523,656
Expenses
$48,575,049
Assets
$171,997,860
Liabilities
$24,634,760

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Sharon Parrott (President)
  • Michael Leachman (Senior Vice President of SFP)

Highest reported compensation

  • Sharon Parrott (President): $406,147 total reported compensation
  • Lisa Bornstein (COO and General Counsel thru 8/16/24): $333,538 total reported compensation
  • Ellen Nissenbaum (Senior VP - Government Affairs): $303,284 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 Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is a nonpartisan research and policy institute that advances federal and state policies to help build a nation where everyone — regardless of income, race, ethnicity, or other factors — has the resources they need to thrive and share in the nation’s prosperity.

What it reported doing in 2024

Low-income program and related projects: Performs research, analysis and development of strategies to improve federal policy and federal and state implementation of low-income programs. The Center also conducts policy analysis and promotes outreach strategies related to the earned income tax credit and the low-income component of the child tax credit.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 75% for direct work, and 25% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.5%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 86.8%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $24.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th 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: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: 7.5%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.54; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 15 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 81.5% of revenue deployed · 86.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $42.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $406K · 23 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.4M reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 158 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 148 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 — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.