Ripple Effect Images

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
273756018
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2016
Location
Reston, VA, USA
Phone
7038630465
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
International, Foreign Affairs, and National Security N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$239,172
Expenses
$299,498
Assets
$10,957
Liabilities
$12,168

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MEGAN ROCK (BOARD CHAIR PRESIDENT)
  • JEANNE FARR (BOARD CHAIR VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ELIZABETH BLOOMFIELD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOSE CORBELLA (CREATIVE DIRECTOR): $143,439 total reported compensation
  • ELIZABETH BLOOMFIELD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $111,300 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Ripple effect images' mission is to raise awareness and funding by harnessing the power of visual storytelling to help scale solutions for women and children globally.

What it reported doing in 2024

Ripple effect images harnesses the power of visual storytelling to help scale solutions for women and girls globally. We identify best practice aid programs and document their sustainable solutions. With an extraordinary team of national geographic filmakers that includes emmy, pulitzer, and world press award winners, and a recipient of the national humanities medal, ripple effect images acts as a multiplier for our aid partners to create world class visual assets that drive significant funding to aid programs. In the first six years, our aid partners reported raising more than 10 million dollars using our stories and films. At a time when mainstream media has become mostly reactive, we shine a light on issues that impact poor women every day yet are rarely reported. We then proactively push these stories out across a vibrant social media platform via media partnerships, publications, and presentations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 89% 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

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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 72
  • Sustainability: 7
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96.9%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 77.4%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.54 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 45; 45th 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: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -25.2%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.04; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.11; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 85.1%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 96.9% of revenue deployed · 77.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $232K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $143K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2012 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.