Floodlight Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 861433162
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2021–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 2026561358
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Printing, Publishing
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,877,084
- Expenses
- $1,235,286
- Assets
- $1,930,876
- Liabilities
- $1,319
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Emily Holden (President & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Emily Holden (President & CEO): $179,013 total reported compensation
- Deanne J Hall (editor in chief): $159,363 total reported compensation
- Lee Pedinoff (COO): $146,466 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Floodlight is an environmental news organization that investigates the people and corporations stalling climate action. We collaborate with local and nonprofit publications.
What it reported doing in 2024
In 2024, Floodlight continued its investigative and accountability-focused journalism, with a staff of eight producing a record amount of coverage. The organization revealed a secret network blocking renewable power, tracked how campaign cash is slowing the energy transition, and reported from fenceline communities fighting against pollution. Floodlight's work contributed to significant audience growth, with a substantial increase in newsletter subscribers. In April 2024, the organization shifted its distribution model to broaden its reach and launched a new website designed to showcase its stories uncovering the forces stalling climate action and to facilitate republication of its work by newsrooms. Floodlight maintained collaborations with numerous news organizations, including national outlets such as The Guardian, NPR, and Grist, as well as local partners, continuing its mission to provide investigative reporting on environmental and climate issues.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 99% 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 - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 65
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 67
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 55.4%; rating input score 55
- Program expense ratio: 83.6%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: $22.58 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 34.2%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.56; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 60.3%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 37.7% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 26.1% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 35.7% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 55.4% of revenue deployed · 83.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $179K · 9 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
- 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: Mission deployment rate scored 55/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.