Commonweal Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
133174407
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2126624200
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,665,679
Expenses
$2,445,187
Assets
$5,846,741
Liabilities
$539,508

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

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DOMINIC PREZIOSI (PRESIDENT)
  • ELLEN KONECK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DOMINIC PREZIOSI (PRESIDENT): $169,837 total reported compensation
  • JAMES HANNAN (VICE PRES & TREASURER & SE): $116,524 total reported compensation
  • ELLEN KONECK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $112,763 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Commonweal is the oldest independent lay catholic journal of opinion in the united states covering literature, the arts, religion, society and politics. Commonweal through its magazine and website publishes editorials, columns, essays and poetry, along with film and book reviews. Commonweal maintains a relatively strong focus on issues of specific interest to catholics.

What it reported doing in 2024

Publication and online distribution of information on public affairs, religion, literature and the arts.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 75% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 55
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 48.6%; rating input score 49
  • Program expense ratio: 67.2%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.64 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 91.3%; rating input score 91; 22nd 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: 33.3%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.39; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.5%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 48.6% of revenue deployed · 67.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 23 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $170K · 27 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $384K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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: Mission deployment rate scored 49/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.