Guardianorg Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
812404459
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2015
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
6469359008
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,961,068
Expenses
$5,185,411
Assets
$3,263,425
Liabilities
$2,251,392

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RACHEL WHITE (EX-PRESIDENT [01/24-10/24])
  • JANE SPENCER (INTERIM PRESIDENT [11/24-12/24])

Highest reported compensation

  • RACHEL WHITE (EX-PRESIDENT [01/24-10/24]): $46,424 total reported compensation
  • VICTORIA COLLINS (SECRETARY [01/24-12/24]): $24,462 total reported compensation
  • JANE SPENCER (INTERIM PRESIDENT [11/24-12/24]): $13,513 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Guardian.org foundation is organized and operated to educate, advance, and inform public discourse and citizen participation around the most pressing issues of the time through the support and advancement of independent journalism.

What it reported doing in 2024

In keeping with the guardian.org foundation's mission to inform public discourse and citizen participation around the most pressing issues of the time, the grant funds were used solely to support investigative journalism which exposes human rights violations that persist in the world, journalism on the rise of gun violence and gun violence solutions, increased journalism on factory farming and animal cruelty, climate change, the health of oceans, biodiversity loss and species extinction, environmental injustice and efforts to address it, america's broken food systems, voting rights and democracy in the us, non-communicable diseases, workers' rights, access to housing, and vaccine equity.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as 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 the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 64
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Pass
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 13%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.63; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.69; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.9%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.9% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 21.2% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.9% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $46K · 11 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.