Hacks Hackers

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
455351484
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2014
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
6503538787
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,036,524
Expenses
$2,634,136
Assets
$1,094,304
Liabilities
$3,839

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BURT HERMAN (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • CONNIE M SEHAT (RESEARCHER-AT-LARGE): $138,914 total reported compensation
  • MARK COATNEY (BUSINESS PRODUCT LEAD): $132,000 total reported compensation
  • DEBORAH L ROTMAN (DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $114,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The organization exists to bring together journalists (hacks) and technologists (hackers) who are leaders in their sectors to advance media innovation and foster public trust in the information ecosystem. We do that by a)convening summits, hackathons, ideathons and workshopsthat bring together talent from cross-disciplinary backgrounds, including journalism, technology and academia to ideate and innovate. B) create innovation labs where we directly work with journalists to prototype and test newtechnologies, c) spread knowledge through our newsletters, webinars and other forums for learning about technology and media, (d) solicit and receive funds for the accomplishment of the above purposes, and (e) pursue any other purpose permitted to be pursued by a charity (or, by a private foundation should this organization ever become a private foundation), as that term is defined in 26 usc 501(a) and (c)(3) and associated regulations, as each may from time to time be amended.

What it reported doing in 2024

Media innovation: bringing together cross-disciplinary talent from journalism, technology, academia, and civic organizations to spark and scale innovative solutions for today's media challenges. The program focuses on accelerating media innovation through strategic convening, support and partnership building. We design and host gatherings that deliberately mix different types of expertise - journalists, technologists, designers and researchers - creating opportunities for cross-pollination of ideas and new collaborations that wouldn't happen otherwise. Through structured support and resources, we help teams move from concept to prototype, transforming theoretical solutions into practical applications.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 58% for direct work, and 42% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 98
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 52
  • Sustainability: 18
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 97.6%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: $170.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 50%; rating input score 50; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 33.3%; rating input score 33; 7th 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -29.3%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.42; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.1%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 29.2% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 24.9% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.1% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 97.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $139K · 7 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $724K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 13 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 6 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.
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 33/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grants require schedule f did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.