Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

The Knight First Amendment Institute was established in 2016 by Columbia University and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to defend the freedoms of speech and the press in the digital age. Our Litigation, Research, and Public Education efforts are currently focused on these three areas: 1. Free Speech and Social Media (Safeguarding the vitality and integrity of public discourse online) Conversations that once took place in parks, sidewalks, and public squares now take place largely online, and often on privately owned social media platforms. As a society, we are just beginning to grapple with the question of how the First Amendment and free speech principles should apply in these digital spaces. Our work in this area seeks to illuminate the forces that are shaping public discourse online, and to ensure the inclusivity and integrity of digital spaces that are increasingly important to our democracy. 2. Privacy and Surveillance (Protecting the privacy vital to free thought and expression) Our laws restricting surveillance and data collection are struggling to keep pace with new technology that can track and reveal our expressive lives in ever more detail, and with new business models that rely on the aggregation and exploitation of this information. Our work in this area is meant to illuminate the scope and impact of surveillance by government and private corporations, promote stronger legal protections for privacy, and enrich public understanding of the interplay between privacy and the freedoms of inquiry, speech, and association. 3. Transparency and Democracy (Ensuring access to information necessary for self-government) The First Amendment embraces the public's right to access the information needed to hold the powerful accountable and participate fully in the process of self-government. Our aim in defending and promoting transparency is not simply to compel the disclosure of information that the public is entitled to know, but to broaden public access to information through changes in government policy and the law.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 90.2%; rating input score 90
• Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
• Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 28.6%; rating input score 29; 6th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 75
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Limited
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Fail
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 15.9%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.28; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 7.8%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 18.7% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings