Common Counsel Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
943214166
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Oakland, CA, USA
Phone
(510) 834-2995
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Nonprofit Management

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$51,414,712
Expenses
$126,096,528
Assets
$67,481,943
Liabilities
$3,756,692

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SANGEETA CHOWDHRY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • SANGEETA CHOWDHRY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $339,667 total reported compensation
  • KARISSA LEWIS (INNOVATION LABS DIRECTOR, MEMBERSHIP): $267,689 total reported compensation
  • PHILIP SMITH (CHIEF FINANCE OFFICER): $245,223 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

We mobilize resources to support social movements. Founded in 1988, Common Counsel Foundation has prioritized support for community-based organizations, building the leadership of low-income people, women, youth, people of color and others working for justice, equity, and a healthy, sustainable environment. Expand/Collapse Common Counsel Foundation is the fertile soil that provides solid ground for collaborations between grassroots organizations and movement-aligned philanthropy to take root and grow.

What it reported doing in 2024

Strategic and values-driven grantmaking - in 2024, common counsel foundation (common counsel) made just over $48 million in grants to charitable organizations that are advancing effective solutions to longstanding social and environmental inequities, through its direct grantmaking. Founded in 1988, common counsel advances equity and environmental health through a combination of direct grant making and strategic philanthropic advising for client member funds and manages projects focused on organizational development, leadership training and sustainability and donor education. Common counsel partners with families and individual donors to expand philanthropic resources for grassroots groups composed of and led by members of vulnerable communities and social movements. In order to expand the scale of philanthropic resources for community-led groups, common counsel utilizes two guiding principles for its strategic grantmaking. First, common counsel invests in community leadership to advance meaningful solutions to critical social, economic and ecological challenges. Second, common counsel supports increased collaboration through shared campaigns and long-term alliances that serve to amplify the effectiveness of local efforts. For decades, these two strategies have allowed groups to develop community leadership, to advance systemic solutions defined by community members themselves, and to ensure health and equity for everyone.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 89% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 83% 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 97
  • Transparency & Controls: 67
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 97.3%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: $72.38 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Pass
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 47th 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: -145.3%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.54; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.9%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 35.6% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 26.8% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 30% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 97.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $122.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $340K · 16 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.3M reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 632 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 621 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.
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 57/100.