Democracy Matters Institute Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
161609711
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New Paltz, NY, USA
Phone
3157254211
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$13,481
Expenses
$14,250
Assets
$19,506
Liabilities
$128,421

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ADONAL FOYLE (President)
  • JOAN D MANDLE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

People named in this filing

  • BRANDY BONES (Director)
  • MILES PALMINTERI (Director)
  • DARYN CAMBRIDGE (Director)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

To educate and engage college students and communities in projects to strengthen our country's democratic system of governance.

What it reported doing in 2024

Non-partisan campus-based project that works to get private money out of politics and people back in. Offering paid internships to undergraduates and affiliate internships to high school students, democracy matters institute, inc. Mentors the next generation of leaders dedicated to strengthening our democracy. Students organize actions and projects connecting pro-democracy reforms to issues of environment, civil rights, education, health care, foreign policy and more.

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 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 71
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.2%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 74.9%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $269.62 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -5.7%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.37; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 6.58; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -24.3% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -9.3% per year; rating input score 0; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -20.1% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.2% of revenue deployed · 74.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 11 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $11K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 18 of 18 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.