Principles First for America Ltd
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 843733436
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2023–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2022
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 2028006948
- Rating
- 72
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $334,960
- Expenses
- $215,284
- Assets
- $393,486
- Liabilities
- $89,447
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- HEATH MAYO (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- JEFFREY CARSON (COO (THRU 06/24)): $6,600 total reported compensation
- BRITTANY MARTINEZ (COO (FROM 10/24)): $3,536 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
We are a nationwide grassroots movement of people who share a love of american democracy and concern for the direction of our existing leadership. We've watched as institutions on the right have been co-opted by bad-faith actors willing to put politics and personality over principle. And we've seen those in positions of leadership compromise themselves out of cynical self-interest. We believe good-faith americans deserve something better. We're building an alternative that elevates principled leaders around the country to speak out as a voice of clarity.
What it reported doing in 2024
In 2024, principles first for america (pfa) co-hosted the annual summit, which brought together national leaders and volunteers to engage in substantive discussions on democracy, governance, and civic responsibility. Additionally, pfa hosted small-scale engagement initiatives and community outreach efforts to expand its reach and educate and promote civic engagement and democratic principles.
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 100% 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 - 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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 49
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 63
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 36.2%; rating input score 36
- Program expense ratio: 56.4%; rating input score 56
- Fundraising efficiency: $272.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 35.7%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.83; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.7%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 70.4% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 29.9% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 14.9% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 36.2% of revenue deployed · 56.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $121K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $7K · 7 people listed
- Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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 36/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 56/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.