Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Legal name: Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Advocacy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
813742328
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Palo Alto, CA, USA
Phone
6508047100
Rating
94
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$75,998,182
Expenses
$32,089,962
Assets
$32,871,568
Liabilities
$12,020,574

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CRISTINA HUEZO (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • CRISTINA HUEZO (PRESIDENT)
  • LIZ CASTELLANOS (SECRETARY/TREASURER (FROM 9/14/24))
  • BRIAN MANCA (SECRETARY/TREASURER (THRU 9/23/24))

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to bring learning science into the tools used every day by teachers and students… Mark and Priscilla support the communities where they live and work by partnering with local nonprofits, supporting local solutions, and addressing emerging needs….

What it reported doing in 2024

Chan zuckerberg initiative advocacy ("czia") promotes public policy change through research, education, advocacy, grantmaking, and other activities in furtherance of its exempt purposes. The organization promotes the general welfare of individuals and their communities by advocating for beneficial changes in public policy.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 91% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

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

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 99.7%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 57.8%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.02; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.37; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.6% per year; rating input score 100; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 99.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $32M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants and related organizations
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 11 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 40/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.