Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 470798343
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Lincoln, NE, USA
- Phone
- 4024388853
- Rating
- 74
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Human Services
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $7,005,934
- Expenses
- $4,542,357
- Assets
- $12,189,239
- Liabilities
- $748,898
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
27 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ARTHUR I ZYGIELBAUM PHD (PRESIDENT)
- KATIE JOSEPH (VICE PRESIDENT)
- CATHERINE WILSON (PAST PRESIDENT)
- REBECCA GOULD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- REBECCA GOULD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $159,662 total reported compensation
- NIC SWIERCEK (DEVELOPMENT & ENGAGEMENT S): $130,622 total reported compensation
- KRISTINE HULL (SENIOR DIRECTOR): $128,042 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Nebraska appleseed fights for justice and opportunity for all nebraskans. We take a systemic approach to complex issues - such as child welfare, immigration policy, affordable healthcare and poverty - and we take our work wherever we believe we can do the most good, whether that's at the courthouse, in the statehouse or in the community.
What it reported doing in 2024
Economic justice - building a Nebraska where everyone has a real chance to achieve the american dream. Removing barriers to economic stability and connecting people in poverty to programs and resources that lead to true financial independence.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 95% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 90% 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 total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 62
- Transparency & Controls: 71
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 73
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 53.6%; rating input score 54
- Program expense ratio: 79.1%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: $17.16 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd 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: 92.2%; rating input score 92; 27th 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- 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: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 35.2%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.68; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 11.7%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 11% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 15.4% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 53.6% of revenue deployed · 79.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $3.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $160K · 27 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 12 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 9 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.
- 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 54/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 55/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.