Institute for Diversity and Civic Life

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
473265073
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Phone
5129105503
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Interdisciplinary Research

Reported finances

Revenue
$88,898
Expenses
$72,297
Assets
$75,642
Liabilities
$13,712

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Mindy Gulati (President)
  • Denisha Jenkins (Vice President)
  • Tiffany Puett (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Tiffany Puett (Executive Director): $26,517 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 Institute for Diversity and Civic Life has a mission to create more inclusive public spaces through storytelling, research, and education. We work to expand civic imaginations and build bridges across differences. Our programs harness the power of stories to transform. We create platforms to amplify underrepresented voices, empower Texans to tell their stories on their own terms and in more nuanced ways, and diversify the historical record. Our programs bridge academic and public conversations, cultivate conversations about belonging and recognition, and facilitate collaboration across communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Migration Narratives Project documents and explores experiences of migration in Texas and contributes to the public understanding of immigration and refugee experiences.

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 53% for direct work, and 47% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.9%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 99.5%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1,631.04 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 18.7%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.05; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 36.7%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19.5% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -38.6% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -35.9% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.9% of revenue deployed · 99.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $27K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 15/100.