Open to Debate Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
271022579
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2123034331
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Social Science

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,234,812
Expenses
$5,510,936
Assets
$1,026,733
Liabilities
$946,057

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CLEA CONNER (CEO/DIRECTOR)
  • ROBERT ROSENKRANZ (PRESIDENT & DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • CLEA CONNER (CEO/DIRECTOR): $414,178 total reported compensation
  • LIA MATTHOW (COO): $326,817 total reported compensation
  • ANDREW LIPSON (DIR. OF PRODUCTION): $187,369 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The organization's mission is to engage broader audiences in the organization's mission to address extreme polarization through debate. In addition to repositioning the organization in the market with a more accessible name, open to debate produces a weekly series of provocative and informative debates online and at live venues throughout the united states. The goals of this initiative are (1) to raise the level of public discourse on our most divisive issues, (2) to provide a weekly forum for intelligent discussion, grounded in civil dialogue, facts and informed by reasoned analysis, (3) to transcend the toxically emotional and the reflexively ideological arguments that are dividing americans, (4) to encourage recognition that understanding opposing viewpoints is what can build empathy and bridge the divide, and (5) to engage american citizens as active participants in fair and balanced debate.

What it reported doing in 2024

To advance our mission of restoring balance, facts, reasoned analysis, and civility to american public discourse, open to debate produces 52 episodes for public radio distribution, which is distributed as a podcast, video series, and companion newsletter. To meet the demand for weekly content production, we developed a virtual debate platform to allow for live audiences and members of the media to engage with debaters in real time across the country, which resulted in hundreds of new journalist engagements and tens of thousands of new online subscribers. More than 300 public radio stations now carry the weekly program, and another 50 stations broadcast select episodes. The program is carried in more than 50% of the top 25 npr markets, including #1, wnyc, with an estimated 4.3 million listeners across the country in 2025. Debates are also syndicated on real clear media's digital properties, on social media platforms and on the youtube channel, with over 280k subscribers. Open to debate's primary public service is the production of a weekly debate program. Leading thinkers and authorities on the issues argue on each side of a consequential question. A moderator keeps the proceedings orderly, respectful, and civil. Each side attempts to persuade the audience to change their minds or reinforce their beliefs. This adversarial context is electric, adding drama and excitement to the experience.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 67
  • Accountability: 71
  • Sustainability: 13
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.6%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 69.9%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.62 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th 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: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -5.3%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.19; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.92; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.7%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73.6% of revenue deployed · 69.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 11 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $414K · 19 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $303K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.