Consumers' Research Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 221500498
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2017–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2013
- Location
- Vienna, VA, USA
- Phone
- 7039621782
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $9,387,174
- Expenses
- $9,346,824
- Assets
- $965,505
- Liabilities
- $404,344
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- WILLIAM HILD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- WILLIAM HILD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $270,108 total reported compensation
- BEAU BRUNSON (DIRECTOR OF POLICY & REGULATORY AFFAIRS): $219,967 total reported compensation
- CLARK RUPER (DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $214,611 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Consumers' research is an independent educational organization whose mission is to increase the knowledge and understanding of issues, policies, products and services of concern to consumers and to promote the freedom to act on that knowledge and understanding.
What it reported doing in 2024
Research: organization performs research, provides regulatory comments, and produces reports to increase knowledge and understanding of issues, policies, products and services of concern to consumers and to promote the freedom to act on that knowledge and understanding.consumer education: organization believes that the safest consumer is an educated, savvy consumer. We regularly operate multi-channel consumer education campaigns to provide useful, actionable information to consumers as they make decisions in the marketplace.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% 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.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 89
- Transparency & Controls: 83
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 24
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 91.8%; rating input score 92
- Program expense ratio: 92.1%; rating input score 92
- Fundraising efficiency: $26.64 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 0.4%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.1; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.42; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.2%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 32.7% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 31.2% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 91.8% of revenue deployed · 92.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $8.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $270K · 6 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $6.1M reported
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2017 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 5 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: Operating margin scored 35/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.