Responsive Gov Action

Legal name: Responsive Gov Action Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
922635543
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
7083748631
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$12,140,000
Expenses
$9,449,186
Assets
$3,463,647
Liabilities
$149,338

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SAMUEL GIL OLIKER FRIEDLAND (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
  • ASHISH SINHA (DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
  • ARIEL JUROW-KLEIMAN (PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • SAMUEL GIL OLIKER FRIEDLAND (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $224,472 total reported compensation
  • NEAL UBRIANI (CHIEF OF POLICY): $211,889 total reported compensation
  • ALEXANDER TISCHENKO (CHIEF COUNSEL SENIOR POLICY ADVISOR): $198,126 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Ensuring state and federal governments work effectively for the very people they serve.

What it reported doing in 2024

Responsive gov action partnered with nonpartisan organizations advocating for sustained federal funding for election administration and researched innovative policy models for sustainable state and federal election administration funding

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 80% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 61
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.6%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 95.9%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: $493.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 22.2%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.37; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.3%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 186.7% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 170.3% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 138.8% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 74.6% of revenue deployed · 95.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $9.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $224K · 9 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $428K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 18 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 17 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.