Centerline Action Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
882307642
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2025965199
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Civil Liberties

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,209,000
Expenses
$2,689,777
Assets
$1,272,976
Liabilities
$138,920

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JAMES DOZIER (DIRECTOR AND PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHAEL NAPOLITANO (DIRECTOR AND TREASURER): $5,000 total reported compensation
  • DAVID LANGDON (DIRECTOR AND SECRETARY): $5,000 total reported compensation
  • JAMES DOZIER (DIRECTOR AND PRESIDENT): $2,500 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Centerline action is an advocacy organization focused on advancing legislation centered on defending core constitutional freedoms and liberties, preserving a free market economy, and limiting the role of government in americans' everyday lives.

What it reported doing in 2024

Centerline action was founded to engage policy makers and the public on commonsense politics that defend core constitutional freedoms and liberties, preserving a free market economy, and limiting the role of government in americans' everyday lives. This work included: - advocacy in support of clean energy manufacturing and infrastructure, expanding economic opportunity, free market policies, and lgbt freedom; - qualitative and quantitative research to gauge support for broad range of issues including clean energy infrastructure and conservation, economic opportunity, free market policies, and the freedom to marry; - provide public statements of support for policy priorities via press releases, paid media efforts, press engagements, and letters of support.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 86% 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. 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: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 94.3%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: $164.78 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 98.6%; rating input score 99; 36th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 16.2%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.47; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.5%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 37.3% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 42.4% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 78.6% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79% of revenue deployed · 94.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $5K · 4 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.5M reported
  • Consistency: 21 of 22 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.