Sandra Day O'connor Institute for American Democracy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
263521510
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2008
Location
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Phone
6027303300
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,439,169
Expenses
$1,784,380
Assets
$3,812,868
Liabilities
$354,827

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

Leadership & pay

29 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SARAH E SUGGS (PRESIDENT/ CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • SARAH E SUGGS (PRESIDENT/ CEO): $285,068 total reported compensation
  • HEATHER SCHADER (COO): $179,969 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 sandra day o'connor institute for american democracy is a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting civic engagement and education, founded by justice sandra day o'connor, the first woman to serve on the united states supreme court. The institute focuses on fostering a deeper understanding of democracy through multigenerational educational in-person and online programs and initiatives. It aims to engage individuals in discussions about civic responsibilities and the government. The institute also emphasizes the significance of non-partisan dialogue in strengthening democratic values and practices.

What it reported doing in 2024

Civics for life: civics for life is a signature initiative of the sandra day o'connor institute for american democracy, delivering and creating high-impact, multigenerational civic education, civic engagement, and civil discourse through its digital platform: civicsforlife.org. The site offers original videos, expert essays, podcasts, and interactive tools that engage hundreds of thousands of users nationwide in understanding and strengthening american democracy. Its public square program fosters meaningful, respectful dialogue on pressing civic issues while also modeling civil discourse.civics for life serves multigenerational learners, but the institute also leads a nationally recognized portfolio of youth programs-including camp o'connor USA, the o'connor civics challenge, and the o'connor institute ambassadors civics and debate club-which together continue the institute's impact in building civic knowledge and engagement across generations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 54
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 51.6%; rating input score 52
  • Program expense ratio: 68%; rating input score 68
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.58 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • 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: 26.8%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.14; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 26.1%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.8% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.5% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 51.6% of revenue deployed · 68% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 27 of 27 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $285K · 29 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 52/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.