Issue One Action

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
460792299
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2017
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2022990265
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$768,886
Expenses
$706,448
Assets
$1,372,397
Liabilities
$106,482

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

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • NICHOLAS PENNIMAN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
  • ALIX FRASER (VICE PRESIDENT, TECHNOLOGY)
  • NICOLE LAGACE (VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICAT)

Highest reported compensation

  • NICHOLAS PENNIMAN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $424,605 total reported compensation
  • AMELIA LEONARDI (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $352,878 total reported compensation
  • LOUISA IMPERIALE (CHIEF ADVANCEMENT OFFICER): $244,019 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Issue one action is uniting republicans, democrats, and independents to protect our elections and fix our political system. We are committed to free, fair, and secure elections and reducing the influence of well-financed special interests over politics

What it reported doing in 2024

Election protectiona nonpartisan advocacy program of issue one action dedicated to achieving lasting political reform to end the dysfunction in Washington. We advocate for election integrity policies and call out election denier candidates. We call on congress to promote transparency and disclosure, increase participation in elections, reduce pay-to-play politics, strengthen enforcement of existing laws, and improve government integrity and accountability.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.5%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 85.5%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $30.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 68; 68th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.1%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.94; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 33.3%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 21.6% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22.4% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.5% of revenue deployed · 85.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $604K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $425K · 28 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.