Public Agenda Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
132847587
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2126866610
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,699,693
Expenses
$3,449,526
Assets
$4,984,778
Liabilities
$178,773

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ANDREW SELIGSOHN (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ANDREW SELIGSOHN (PRESIDENT): $286,723 total reported compensation
  • MICHELLE GROVE (CHIEF STRATEGY AND IMPACT OFFICER): $177,714 total reported compensation
  • KATIE LISA (DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT): $154,193 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Public agenda strengthens american democracy by connecting research to action enabling people and institutions to pursue changes that make a difference. We amplify the voices of americans and help communities discover and build on common ground.

What it reported doing in 2024

Research: public agenda's research employs both qualitative and quantitative methods to illuminate people's views and values through surveys, focus groups, in-depth interviewing, case studies, and more. Our research goes beyond traditional polling in a variety of ways. We explore people's views on solutions and constructive ways of addressing problems. We seek to understand the values, perceptions and concerns that shape people's opinions and experiences. And we recognize people's assets, expertise, and aspirations rather than just their needs and deficits.beyond opinion research, public agenda analyzes various forms of data to shed light on factors contributing to the way that democracy and key institutions workand don't workin the lives of americans.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 91% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 50
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 71.6%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.75 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 6.8%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.45; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 28.9%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.3% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 68% of revenue deployed · 71.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $287K · 17 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $315K reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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.
  • 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 43/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.