Movement Action Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
991974259
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2028627849
Rating
57
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$28,346,663
Expenses
$3,211,113
Assets
$50,121,232
Liabilities
$196,290

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DEEPAK BHARGAVA (PRESIDENT)
  • MARY LASSEN (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DEEPAK BHARGAVA (PRESIDENT): $901,885 total reported compensation
  • DANIEL ALTSCHULER (SECRETARY AND TREASURER): $482,104 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Support people who have been denied power to build it, so they can change unjust systems and create a more democratic, inclusive, and sustainable society.

What it reported doing in 2025

Knowledge sharing (research and convenings): this program area is dedicated to fostering connections, sharing insights, and bridging the traditional silos separating organizers, philanthropic funders, and academic researchers. In 2025, maf deepened its capacity to support cross-sector convenings that bring together organizers, funders, and researchers to share strategies, evaluate progress, and build a more connected and effective field. By facilitating these convenings and relevant research, maf aims to accelerate the translation of research into actionable organizing strategies, ensuring that they are informed by on-the-ground realities as well as cultivating an ecosystem where knowledge exchange drives tangible social change and sustained impact.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 46% for direct work, and 54% for grants.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 34
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 63
  • Sustainability: 88
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 12.4%; rating input score 12
  • Program expense ratio: 80.9%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 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: 60%; rating input score 60; 9th 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: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: 88.7%; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 15.61; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.8%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 92.6% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 67.7% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 12.4% of revenue deployed · 80.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $902K · 5 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 12/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 37/100.