Institute for Citizen Focused Service
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 862967724
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2022–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Alexandria, VA, USA
- Phone
- 7035589063
- Rating
- 67
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $4,788,889
- Expenses
- $4,059,938
- Assets
- $1,968,085
- Liabilities
- $31,974
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- HUBBEL RELAT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- HUBBEL RELAT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $239,992 total reported compensation
- DOUGLAS DOMENECH (CHAIRMAN): $15,000 total reported compensation
- MARK PFEIFLE (DIRECTOR): $15,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Institute for citizen focused service, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization provides fiscal sponsorship, aims to increase transparency on important public policy issues, educates the public about government operations, and seeks to improve government operations through research, analysis and outreach in the fields of conservation, environmental stewardship, and infrastructure development.
What it reported doing in 2024
The institute for citizen focused service's transparency-related portfolio includes a range of projects that make public records, government reports, and activities of the federal and state governments more readily accessible to the general populace. The institute for citizen focused service promotes federal government news, press releases, and decisions in a comprehensive, timely, and objective manner using advanced technology and expert insights.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 99% 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. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 69
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 56
- Sustainability: 53
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 66.5%; rating input score 66
- Program expense ratio: 78.4%; rating input score 78
- Fundraising efficiency: $16.11 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- 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: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 15.2%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.48; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.7%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 13% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 34.6% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 83.5% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 66.5% of revenue deployed · 78.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 1 of 3 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $240K · 4 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.2M reported
- Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 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.
- Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 33/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 53/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 43/100.