Citizen University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
464270721
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2069058333
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Citizen Participation

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,016,776
Expenses
$2,223,986
Assets
$2,305,735
Liabilities
$84,010

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RICH TAFEL (PRESIDENT)
  • KATIE HONG (VICE PRESIDENT & SECRETARY)
  • ERIC LIU (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • ERIC LIU (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $166,140 total reported compensation
  • CHRIS HAYASHIDA-KNIGHT (CHIEF ADMINISTRATION OFFICER): $123,168 total reported compensation
  • KAYLA DEMONTE (CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER): $96,461 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Citizen university is working to fortify the habits and skills of powerful, responsible citizenship in communities across the country. Our vision is a nation of vibrant, self-governing communities where each person understands their civic power, commits to taking responsibility, and is meaningfully contributing to a healthy, shared civic life. We do this by equipping and supporting civic catalysts around the country to practice and spread habits of citizenship in ways that feel relational, relevant, and sustainable.

What it reported doing in 2024

The national civic collaboratory is a national mutual aid society and project incubator for hundreds of the country's most innovative civic practitioners and catalysts from across the political spectrum. At our meetings held in cities around the us, innovators experiment and test new ideas, share cutting-edge projects, and form norms of collaboration as they support one another in their work. Members are from across the political spectrum and many domains: immigrant rights, veterans advocacy, civics education, voting reform, tech, arts and culture, worker organizing, corporate citizenship, and more. Each quarter, about 75 members of the network meet to support each other not just with ideas or feedback, but to provide true commitments of help and support to get a slate of national projects and initiatives off the ground.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.6%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 78.3%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.61 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: 71.8%; rating input score 72; 19th 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: 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: -10.3%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.04; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 17.3%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.5% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.1% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.6% of revenue deployed · 78.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 6 filed program accomplishments · $1.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $166K · 9 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 36 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.