Institute for Public Accuracy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
943281861
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Oakland, CA, USA
Phone
5107884541
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$989,632
Expenses
$1,046,683
Assets
$594,606
Liabilities
$246,502

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ELIZABETH SCHULMAN (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • NORMAN SOLOMON (Executive Dir.): $77,470 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To teach and disseminate educational materials to the public.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) reaches millions of Americans by arranging radio, TV, print and multimedia interviews for progressive policy analysts, highlighting key issues beneath the surface of the news. Through its public education and media work, IPA's ExposeFacts challenges the criminalization of whistleblowing, expands the scope of public discussion about protecting confidential sources, fights for a free press and publicizes vital information. IPA also serves as the fiscal sponsor for the Noam Chomsky Legacy Project, which is digitally archiving Chomsky's vast body of work, including all published material, audio and video, WHISPeR, a part of IPA's ExposeFacts, is a project that defends whistleblowers, particularly journalism sources.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 77% for direct work, and 23% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.1%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 85.2%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.14 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 44; 44th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -5.8%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.57; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.41; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.4%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.1% of revenue deployed · 85.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $892K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $77K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 46/100.