Public Concern Foundation Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 510217084
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2023, Form 990-T 2020
- Location
- New York, NY, USA
- Rating
- 65
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Community Improvement, Capacity Building N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $999,117
- Expenses
- $982,624
- Assets
- $53,322
- Liabilities
- $45,607
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- HAMILTON FISH (President)
Highest reported compensation
- HAMILTON FISH (President): $210,333 total reported compensation
- Eliza Fish (Trustee): $6,200 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The public concern foundation is a non-partisan educational organization thatpromotes the values of independent media and free speech. The foundation publishes the Washington spectator, a monthly digital newsletter on public affairs; hosts and administers journalism and writing fellowships; sponsors documentary films; and produces conferences and related events aimed at broadening the public conversation around on social and political topics.
What it reported doing in 2024
The public concern foundation produces a digital newsletter. Contributions are used to forward the task of sharing information and stimulating discussion through the newsletters and sponsoring research, symposia, and other foundation activities.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 62% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 74
- Transparency & Controls: 72
- Accountability: 65
- Sustainability: 23
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 77.7%; rating input score 78
- Program expense ratio: 79%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: $9.66 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.5%; rating input score 99; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 75%; rating input score 75; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: Limited
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 1.7%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.05; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.86; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 22%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -15.1% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -10.9% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -16.9% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 77.7% of revenue deployed · 79% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 4 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $776K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $210K · 4 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 25 of 27 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
- 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 37/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 41/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.