Common Sense Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
861543050
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2029489890
Rating
65
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,672,204
Expenses
$6,841,253
Assets
$3,189,911
Liabilities
$3,058,703

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARION SMITH (PRESIDENT AND C.E.O.)
  • CHRISTINE EMERY (VICE PRESIDENT, DEVELOPMENT)
  • JOEL BOWERS (VICE PRESIDENT, SOUTHERN US)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARION SMITH (PRESIDENT AND C.E.O.): $288,181 total reported compensation
  • CHRISTINE EMERY (VICE PRESIDENT, DEVELOPMENT): $248,833 total reported compensation
  • ELIZABETH STIFF (CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER): $248,680 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Common sense society's mission is to promote the principles of liberty, prosperity, and beauty.

What it reported doing in 2023

Education - activities which educate various beneficiaries, including students, teachers, and parents on the principles that foster liberty, prosperity and beauty.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 91% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 68
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.1%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 69.6%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.54 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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: 98.9%; rating input score 99; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 60%; rating input score 60; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.5%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.47; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.96; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27.7%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5.7% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -10.7% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -3.1% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.1% of revenue deployed · 69.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $4.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $288K · 11 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $256K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 36 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2022 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 45/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.