Government Accountability Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
454681912
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Tallahassee, FL, USA
Phone
8503297259
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,115,738
Expenses
$3,851,417
Assets
$1,301,454
Liabilities
$107,309

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PETER SCHWEIZER (PRESIDENT, SECRETARY/TREAS)
  • PETER BOYER (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JAMES BRUNER (VICE PRESIDENT OF RESEARCH)

Highest reported compensation

  • PETER SCHWEIZER (PRESIDENT, SECRETARY/TREAS): $270,255 total reported compensation
  • PETER BOYER (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT): $242,013 total reported compensation
  • STUART CHRISTMAS (EXECUTIVE VP & GENERAL COU): $224,177 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To investigate and expose crony capitalism, misuse of taxpayer monies, and other governmental corruption or malfeasance through journalistic efforts and with all forms of media.

What it reported doing in 2025

Government accountability institute is an independent non-profit media and research organization whose investigative journalism exposes cronyism and government corruption in order to educate the public about the often-hidden forces that drive government decisions affecting their daily lives. The result of this work is a more informed citizenry, better equipped for participation in civic life. The work of gai is done in a non-partisan and non-ideological manner. All information produced by gai for public dissemination is subjected to a rigorous fact-checking and editorial process, adhering to the strictest standards of journalistic integrity. Material is disseminated and published on gai's own platforms and also in cooperation with national news outlets. Gai's work has been featured on cnn, npr news, New York times, national review, 60 minutes, abc news, ny post, fox news, politico, Washington times, forbes, wall street journal, and numerous others. Gai research featured in three New York times #1 best selling books.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and some related-organization disclosures are missing.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.5%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 88.1%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Scored; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 75%; rating input score 75; 14th 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: 6.4%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.34; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.4%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.2% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 82.5% of revenue deployed · 88.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 4 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $270K · 7 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $434K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.