Free Software Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042888848
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Boston, MA, USA
Phone
6175425942
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,362,457
Expenses
$1,431,359
Assets
$1,513,376
Liabilities
$82,189

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Zoe Kooyman (Executive Director from February 2)
  • Ian Kelling (President from 92025 Staff Seat)

Highest reported compensation

  • Zoe Kooyman (Executive Director from February 2): $147,746 total reported compensation
  • Ian Kelling (President from 92025 Staff Seat): $96,214 total reported compensation
  • Johanna Rozestraten (Deputy Director Until March 2025): $48,137 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To promote and defend computer users rights to use, study, copy, and modify the software on their computer, as well as the related documentation. To assist in the development and use of free software and documentation.

What it reported doing in 2024

The license education program assists developers and users in understanding software licensing and determining which software is ethically safe for them to use. It answers questions from the public, offers guidance in best practices, publishes articles on free software licensing issues, sends speakers to events, investigates and resolves violations of the GNU general public license (GPL), lesser GPL, and GNU free documentation license, certifies hardware products that respect user freedom, and presents continuing legal education courses for lawyers. The GNU Project does collaborative development and distribution of an operating system (OS) that respects users freedom. GNU software is licensed freely so that users can run, share, study, and modify it however is best for them. The GNU system is used most popularly with the kernel Linux, forming the GNU/Linux OS used on millions of computers worldwide, including the MA.

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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.1%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 85.1%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.89 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 25th 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: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 18th 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: -5.1%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.06; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.1%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.1% of revenue deployed · 85.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $148K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 48/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 24/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 44/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.