Democracy Works Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 272460359
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2011
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY, USA
- Phone
- 7189231400
- Rating
- 87
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Voter Education, Registration
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $4,090,831
- Expenses
- $9,515,520
- Assets
- $9,706,292
- Liabilities
- $806,394
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
18 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LUIS LOZADA (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
Highest reported compensation
- LUIS LOZADA (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $294,489 total reported compensation
- SONYA GLAZER (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $231,170 total reported compensation
- JARELL LLOYD (VP OF ENGINEERING): $216,331 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The organization's mission is to leverage web-technologies to improve civic engagement and voter education.
What it reported doing in 2024
Democracy works builds tools and technology to drive voter access and participation. Turbovote is dw's flagship voter engagement tool, providing users with personalized election reminders, registration assistance, ballot information and more useful guidance to encourage participation in every election. The voting information project ("vip") is a partnership between democracy works and the states to uplift official election information. Vip data is published via google's civic information api and is a quick, easy way for voters to find their polling location and more. Democracy works also provides elections data and voting guidance through our elections api, surfacing unparalleled coverage of upcoming local, state, and federal elections to tech and social media platforms, as well as developers.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 21
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 81.3%; rating input score 81
- Fundraising efficiency: $2.38 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: -132.6%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.02; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 15.7%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 13.2% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 14.6% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 21.6% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 81.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $7.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $294K · 18 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $481K reported
- Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 8 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 6/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.