Fairvote Illinois
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 851203775
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2023–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2022
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- 3125856808
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Voter Education, Registration
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $71,448
- Expenses
- $99,258
- Assets
- $13,818
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Abigail Drumm (President)
People named in this filing
- James Garfield (Director)
- Abigail Drumm (President)
- Lawrence Garfield (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-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
FairVote Illinois Inc. is organized exclusively for civic and educational purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3). The organization will engage in activities permissible under section 501(c)(3) including: conducting research and educating the public on issues related to election and political reforms, including but not limited to ranked choice voting. No part of any activities of the organization will include participating in or intervening in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. This corporation is not organized for profit, and no part of the net earnings of this corporation shall inure to the benefit of any member of the Board of Directors or any other individual except that this corporation may make payments of reasonable compensation for services rendered. This purpose meets all the IRS standards for seeking 501(c)(3) tax exempt status.
What it reported doing in 2025
Local chapters / community outreach - Local chapters were started and maintained, which empowered volunteers to talk to their elected officials and to do community outreach related to ranked choice voting providing a path for Illinois citizens to get involved with spreading awareness for ranked choice voting in their community.
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. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 71
- Transparency & Controls: 82
- Sustainability: 18
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 79.1%; rating input score 79
- Program expense ratio: 56.9%; rating input score 57
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -38.9%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.14; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 18.4% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -68.9% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 79.1% of revenue deployed · 56.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 3 filed program accomplishments · $56K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
- Consistency: 6 of 6 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 57/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.