Democracyinactionorg Activism

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
200244151
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2011
Forms available
Form 990 2011
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2025582808
Rating confidence
Limited
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,339,640
Expenses
$2,297,784
Assets
$205,102
Liabilities
$49,004

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2011. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2011. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Democracyinaction's core activities are providing, supporting, and training online organizing tools for small and medium sized 501(c)(3) nonprofits for pennies on the dollar relative to the fees demanded by the private sector. Individuals and organizations of every stripe are grappling with the novel challenges and opportunities of the online environment. There are hundreds of dedicated organizations struggling to incorporate online organizing into their work; the technology can be expensive and arcane, and many organizations are simply unprepared to weave it into their overall operation. Democracyinaction exists to serve organizations across the spectrum of technical acumen, so that they can serve their constituencies, encourage civic participation and activism, and fulfill their missions both online and offline.

What it reported doing in 2011

Democracyinaction is currently supporting a network of over 600 organizations which connect to over 30 million individuals seeking to empower change by real world action. In addition, we have expanded our technology and our staff infrastructure to allow us to efficiently support the larger user base and at the same time be on the forefront of technological innovation. Our primary measurement of our success is the growth and vitality of the organizations we exist to serve. And in this area we have seen considerable development, not only in number of internet supporters, but in overall sophistication using online communications, advocacy and fundraising tools.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 100% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 64
  • Accountability: 51
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 59th 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 60%; rating input score 60; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.8%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.09; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: -0.3% per year; rating input score 0; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -46.9% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $206K · 5 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2010 to 2011
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.