FairVote Minnesota
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 010911420
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Saint Paul, MN, USA
- Phone
- 7638072550
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Voter Education, Registration
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $830,518
- Expenses
- $675,217
- Assets
- $22,908
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Jeanne Massey (Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- Sarah Kruger (Chief of Staff): $112,339 total reported compensation
- Jeanne Massey (Executive Director): $101,632 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Organizes and advocates for local and state policy change to improve voting methods in public elections.
What it reported doing in 2024
Legislative Advocacy: In 2024, FairVote Minnesota continued to make meaningful progress toward statewide ranked choice voting (RCV). Building on the legislative study authorized in 2023, which included examination of statewide RCV, we advanced the RCV Local Options bill through the Minnesota House, falling just two votes short of passage. This near-success positions the bill well for future legislative cycles and strengthens momentum for expanding local authority to adopt RCV.Bloomington Repeal DefenseA major 2024 highlight was the successful defense of RCV in Bloomington, following a well-funded repeal attempt. Working with local organizers, volunteers, and community partners, we helped ensure voters had accurate information about RCV. In November, Bloomington voters decisively rejected the repeal measure, reaffirming strong public support for fair, representative local elections.
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
STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 74
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 54
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 70.4%; rating input score 70
- Program expense ratio: 86.5%; rating input score 87
- Fundraising efficiency: $20.68 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 59; 59th 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: Yes; rating input score 100
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: 18.7%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.03; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0.5%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 15.9% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -3.6% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 70.4% of revenue deployed · 86.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $584K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $112K · 12 people listed
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 59/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 2/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.