Protego Press

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
842218365
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Phone
2126478710
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public, Society Benefit N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,440,636
Expenses
$838,516
Assets
$911,835
Liabilities
$16,658

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JUSTIN HENDRIX (CEO, EDITOR AND SECRETARY)

Highest reported compensation

  • JUSTIN HENDRIX (CEO, EDITOR AND SECRETARY): $161,083 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 provoke debate and discussion on issues and ideas at the intersection of technology and democracy.

What it reported doing in 2024

Program services - through publishing analyses and perspective, protego press advances ideas and explores phenomena related to technology policy. Through research, protego press produces new insights into issues at the intersection of technology and democracy. Through the fellowship initiative, protego press convenes experts and helps them produce new ideas and coverage on policy issues.during 2024 the organization published more than 800 articles and podcasts on technology policy issues; produced multiple research reports on issues related to technology and technology policy; developed a fellowship program.

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 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 54
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 40.6%; rating input score 41
  • Program expense ratio: 69.8%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $39.34 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 41.8%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.09; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.2%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 82.2% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 67.3% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 59.7% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 40.6% of revenue deployed · 69.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $585K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $161K · 6 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 41/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.