Drug Policy Action
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 521951197
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- New York, NY, USA
- Phone
- 2126138040
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Civil Rights
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $8,567,359
- Expenses
- $6,943,741
- Assets
- $27,049,799
- Liabilities
- $6,757,535
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DEREK OSCAR HODEL (PRESIDENT)
- KASSANDRA FREDERIQUE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- KASSANDRA FREDERIQUE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $323,198 total reported compensation
- MELISSA GARCIA (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $122,123 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Drug policy action seeks to reform federal, state, and local drug policies. We educate the public about drug laws and involve them in our efforts to ensure that government policies on these issues advance the public interest.
What it reported doing in 2024
General advocacy: drug policy action works to end the war on drugs and build a better approach in its place through legislative and ballot measure advocacy. We have three major goals:1. Treat drug use as a health issue by reforming policies and law to increase access to addiction services and reduce the role of the criminal legal system2. Promote family safety and economic security by reforming policies and laws to expand access to housing, public benefits, and education
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 98% of its reported program spending out as grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - 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 revenue has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 87
- Transparency & Controls: 68
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 73
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 80.3%; rating input score 80
- Program expense ratio: 97.4%; rating input score 97
- Fundraising efficiency: $179.37 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th 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: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: No; rating input score 0
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 19%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.9; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -8.8% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -4.9% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 80.3% of revenue deployed · 97.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $6.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $323K · 7 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 6 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 — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.