People Powered Global Hub for Participatory Democracy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
853664003
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Phone
9173976403
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,930,374
Expenses
$1,890,289
Assets
$2,196,389
Liabilities
$206,086

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Josh Lerner (Co - Executive Director (Left in July 2026))
  • Greta Rios (Co - Executive Director)
  • Brittany Giroux Lane (Co-President)
  • Nicolas Diaz Cruz (Co-President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Josh Lerner (Co - Executive Director (Left in July 2026)): $103,631 total reported compensation
  • Nagham Sabah (Finance Director): $98,469 total reported compensation
  • Greta Rios (Co - Executive Director): $94,310 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Organization operates globally and was formed to support programs in which community directly participate in making the public policy decisions that affect their lives, including participatory budgeting, participatory urban planning, participatory policy-making, and citizen assemblies. The Organizations mission is to expand peoples power to make government decisons, by supporting organizations and governments that are building participatory democracy around the world.

What it reported doing in 2025

RESOURCES: We make practical participatory democracy resources more accessible to governments and organizations. We partner with researchers, organizers, technologists, and designers to compile and develop the guides, tools, and content that organizations and governments need to implement participatory democracy programs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 71% for direct work, and 29% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 50
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 60
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 41.3%; rating input score 41
  • Program expense ratio: 63.3%; rating input score 63
  • Fundraising efficiency: $20.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Fail
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th 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: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 35.5%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.16; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.7%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 27.4% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.1% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 41.3% of revenue deployed · 63.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $104K · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 41/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 59/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.