Free Code Camp Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
820779546
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Plano, TX, USA
Phone
4156636049
Rating
63
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Computer Science

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,986,509
Expenses
$1,653,194
Assets
$9,750,593
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Michael Quincy Larson (Exec Dir/Treas): $325,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

We help people learn computer programming for free by creating thousands of videos, articles, and interactive coding lessons which are all freely available to the public.

What it reported doing in 2024

YouTube Channel - We developed more than 100 full-length video courses about math, programming, and technology, and made them freely available on freeCodeCamps YouTube channel, which now has more than 11 million subscribers. Many of these courses were created by university professors and experienced practitioners from the field of software development. In cases where most of the coursework was taught by an expert outside of our organization, we curated and edited these courses, and worked with the original creator to ensure quality. These courses were watched more than 100 million times in 2024 by learners around the world.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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 total spending goes to programs and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 57
  • Accountability: 65
  • Sustainability: 81
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 48.7%; rating input score 49
  • Program expense ratio: 84.1%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.35 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 45; 45th 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: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 44.6%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.9; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.7%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.7% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.3% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 42.1% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 48.7% of revenue deployed · 84.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $325K · 3 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $115K reported
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 49/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 45/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.