Innovative Policy Lab Research Improving Peoples Lives
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 471056434
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2018–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2016
- Location
- Providence, RI, USA
- Phone
- 3019417475
- Rating
- 61
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Educational Services and Schools - Other
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $6,889,294
- Expenses
- $6,562,465
- Assets
- $1,618,586
- Liabilities
- $962,545
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DR JUSTINE HASTINGS (PRESIDENT)
- GEORGIA ANGELL (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- JUDSON NEER (CTO): $311,122 total reported compensation
- ABBY MCQUADE (CBO): $304,853 total reported compensation
- GEORGIA ANGELL (CEO): $272,506 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Innovative policy lab is a tech-for-social-impact nonprofit that works with governments to help them use data, science, and technology to improve policy and lives. We equip our policy leaders to create policy that works; delivering measurable improvement per dollar spent for americans in need.
What it reported doing in 2024
Ripl's program service accomplishments combine policy knowledge, innovative technology, and top-tier data science to empower governments to use their data more effectively, and help policymakers make informed decisions that directly benefit their constituents. The tangible impacts are far-reaching and include economic mobility, educational outcomes, healthcare costs, and public resources.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 69% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 55
- Transparency & Controls: 65
- Accountability: 72
- Sustainability: 28
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 59.6%; rating input score 60
- Program expense ratio: 62.9%; rating input score 63
- Fundraising efficiency: $2.67 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
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: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 11th 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: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 4.7%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.25; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.59; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 29%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 25.9% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 23.3% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -4.8% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 59.6% of revenue deployed · 62.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 6 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $311K · 14 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $514K reported
- Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2018 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 9 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.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 7/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 7/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 50/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.