SD Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
882286627
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2029841342
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Public Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$11,111,406
Expenses
$9,026,038
Assets
$4,694,305
Liabilities
$969,710

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Megan Lewis (Executive Director/Director)
  • Charlotte Olena (Vice President of Advocacy)
  • Amanda Harrington (Vice President of Communications)
  • Megan Bellamy (Vice President of Law & Policy)

Highest reported compensation

  • Tshombe Hubbard (Chief Administrative Officer): $364,469 total reported compensation
  • Megan Lewis (Executive Director/Director): $283,815 total reported compensation
  • Alexander Lee (Chief People Officer): $265,966 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

SD Foundation is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization providing expert analysis and research on current and proposed election-related law.

What it reported doing in 2024

Public Education: Efforts undertaken to educate the public about laws and legislation related to elections; the impact of laws and legislation related to elections, and public perceptions about election-related issues through research, traditional and digital media, and stategic partnerships.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 89% 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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 81
  • Sustainability: 50
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.2%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 82.7%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $25.13 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.7%; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 18.8%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.52; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 23.8%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 48.3% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 35.5% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 43.3% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.2% of revenue deployed · 82.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $7.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $364K · 10 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $813K reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 58/100.