Democracy Fund Voice Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
465051755
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2024207943
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public, Society Benefit N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$13,312,671
Expenses
$16,867,909
Assets
$16,389,132
Liabilities
$5,832,889

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Joseph Goldman (President & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Joseph Goldman (President & CEO): $575,366 total reported compensation
  • Laura Chambers (Chief Operating Officer): $459,032 total reported compensation
  • Sanjiv Rao (Managing Program Director): $368,603 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Democracy Fund Voice is an organization established in 2014 to conduct and support advocacy that will produce a stronger, healthier democracy in the United States.

What it reported doing in 2024

Representative and Accountable GovernanceGoverning institutions should provide equal voice and power to all Americans, leaders should be accountable and responsive, and abuses of power should be rare. Achieving this vision requires reforming our institutions so that voters see themselves and their opinions represented in government and its policy decisions. The Governance program seeks to defend against threats that undermine our democracy and works to advance long-term, structural change that shifts power to the people and away from a select few.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 81% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 92.6%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 66th 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: Fail
    • 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: -26.7%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.97; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 19.6% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 38.7% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 92.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $15.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $575K · 11 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $669K reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 50 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 50 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: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.