Fidelis Center for Law & Policy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
202787890
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Carmel, IN, USA
Phone
3176696127
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Civil Liberties

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,551,997
Expenses
$5,262,055
Assets
$3,204,142
Liabilities
$423,642

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PATRICK T GILLEN (PRESIDENT & CHIEF COUNSE)
  • BRIAN BURCH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • JOSHUA MERCER (VICE PRESIDENT, PROGRAMMIN)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN SHERMAN (CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER): $263,056 total reported compensation
  • BRIAN BURCH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $259,664 total reported compensation
  • JOSHUA MERCER (VICE PRESIDENT, PROGRAMMIN): $208,206 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 fidelis center was established to educate and defend the constitutional rights of citizens, specifically on issues related to life, faith and family. The center seeks to faithfully promote catholic social doctrine in american civic life through education, litigation and related activities.

What it reported doing in 2024

The fidelis center for law and policy operates as an allied affiliate of fidelis, and directs several programs, including educational initiatives, online videos, email newsletters, social media campaigns and videos, and other public communications designed to inspire, inform and shape the public life of the nation.during the year, the fidelis center operated an additional d/b/a "edify," a digital learning initiative that produced bi-monthly animated video productions, ebooks and podcasts featuring prominent national experts on issues of public import. The edify platform aims to to help american catholics and all concerned citizens better understand difficult questions through the lens of authentic catholic social teaching, science, philosophy, art, and law. Collectively the videos and podcasts were watched by millions of listeners and online viewers.our public interest litigation program is designed to coordinate, fund, or engage in strategic litigation to promote the sanctity of life, civil rights, and the family. The program provides critical funding in several important legal cases where legal services are provided to clients without charge. The center also produced amicus briefs for several key cases before circuit courts and the supreme court of the united states, representing the interests of concerned catholic citizens.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 54% for direct work, and 46% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 51
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64.1%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 79.8%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.24 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 20th 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: 19.7%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.61; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.9%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.2% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64.1% of revenue deployed · 79.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 9 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $263K · 15 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $120K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 41/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.