Informed California Foundation DBA - Open Vallejo

What it reported doing in 2025

Investigative Reporting in the Public InterestOpen Vallejo published groundbreaking, original stories in 2025 that generated major impact in Vallejo, across California, and nationally.Open Vallejo broke a major national story when it was the sole newsroom to report from the scene of 82-year-old Curtis Linds homicide in Vallejo in January 2025. The newsroom soon connected Linds killing to a group of bright young people who authorities allege are connected to half a dozen homicides around the country. Open Vallejo repeatedly scooped far larger and better-resourced outlets, and was featured in a major national program.In May 2025, Open Vallejo published I cant breathe: video shows death Vallejo police concealed for years, a major new investigation and accompanying video revealing body camera footage and chilling new details about the 2016 death of Darryl Dean Mefferd in Vallejo police custody. The investigation, distinct from the newsrooms original 2024 report, was made possible by Open Vallejos public records litigation and ongoing reporting, which convinced four outside law enforcement agencies to release their records even as the city of Vallejo refused. The investigation won the June 2025 Sidney Award, among other honors. After Mefferds family filed a civil rights lawsuit, a federal judge subsequently ruled that Vallejo could not invoke a statute of limitations defense due to allegations that officials actively concealed Mefferds death, and cited Open Vallejos reporting for bringing the incident to light.Open Vallejo reported from the scene of an August 29, 2025 police shooting in which two young Vallejo officers shot a 24-year-old man amid an apparent mental health crisis. The newsrooms ongoing reporting began when reporters filed public records requests before the crime scene tape came down. We then exclusively obtained and published more than an hour of footage officials fought to keep secret, and revealed that two police oversight officials posted online comments that experts said threatened the integrity of the investigation. Open Vallejo also obtained records showing the mayor expressed grave concerns over those comments to the police chief and city manager, who ignored her. The day after the story ran, one of the officials who commented resigned.Open Vallejo investigated the prosecution of Jos Carrizales, a formerly homeless activist facing a dozen charges including six counts of Disturbing the Peace by Offensive Language for criticizing police at encampment sweeps. The newsroom obtained body camera footage and incident reports from six incidents, analyzed a decade of criminal charging data across all nine Bay Area counties, and consulted leading First Amendment experts who concluded the charges raised serious constitutional concerns.Open Vallejo reported on former Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams testimony that he was threatened and harassed out of the job, shedding new light on an incident the newsroom first reported in 2022.Open Vallejo also published a practical public service guide helping Vallejo residents locate free groceries when federal food assistance programs were suspended, correcting outdated information on government and nonprofit websites.Public Records Requests and LitigationOpen Vallejo filed numerous public records requests in 2025, prompting the release of a large number of public records. The newsroom continued enforcement litigation against the city of Vallejo to compel disclosure of public records related to police shootings and serious uses of force, even after a prior ruling in the newsrooms favor. The litigation continued to generate new public record releases. Open Vallejo also continued its prosecution of a separate public records lawsuit against the Solano County District Attorney and Sheriff for police accountability records, which similarly resulted in the disclosure of records that had remained out of public view for years.Freedom of the PressOpen Vallejos reporting first revealed to

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
• Program expense ratio: 94.1%; rating input score 94
• Fundraising efficiency: $72.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 24th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Fail
  • CEO compensation review process: Fail
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -13.1%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.32; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.59; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 4.2%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 44.6% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 28.2% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings