Policylink Equity Action Network

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
473469925
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Oakland, CA, USA
Phone
5106632333
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Intergroup, Race Relations

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,162
Expenses
$62,841
Assets
$31,248
Liabilities
$23,782

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHAEL A MCAFEE (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
  • ASHLEIGH G GARDERE (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHAEL A MCAFEE (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $666,239 total reported compensation
  • MICHAEL J HASSID (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $460,036 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To advance equity initiatives at local, state, and federal levels of government.

What it reported doing in 2024

The crosscutting strategies portfolio includes initiatives that provide an underlying service to all areas of policylink's work, creating an enabling environment for policy change, supporting and growing the equity movement, and building new alliances and partnerships. These include: a. Data + research - developing data and research to equip community leaders and policymakers with the tools necessary to advance equitable growth and to inform community action.b. Communications - establishing a national voicethrough narrative, arts, and cultureto advance policy and catalyze the imagination necessary to envision alternative futures and build the will to make them real.c. Impact - leveraging results-based accountability to measure the effectiveness of our work and drive continuous improvement of our programs and internal operations.d. Fiscal sponsorship of projects aligned with policylink equity action network's mission.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 75% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 9
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 85.2%; rating input score 85
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: -1,117.4%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.5; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.76; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 190.2%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -7.4% per year; rating input score 0; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -58.5% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -37.1% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 85.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $54K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $666K · 11 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.