Silicon Valley Defense Working Group Co

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
851613454
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
5713171586
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,539,773
Expenses
$1,298,657
Assets
$1,458,668
Liabilities
$333,683

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Michael Keating (Executive Director and Boardmember)
  • Jacqueline Tame (Executive Director)
  • James Cross (Boardmember & Vice President)
  • Chris Donaghey (Board Chairperson & President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Michael Keating (Executive Director and Boardmember): $291,634 total reported compensation
  • Jacqueline Tame (Executive Director): $44,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Silicon Valley Defense Group convenes experts in technology, investment, and government for discussions on how to better collaborate between the various groups. The comments and topics are then published on our website to help educate and inform public officials and the populous in order to make better national security decisions. The experts come from the defense industry, technology companies, US Dept of Defense and Intelligence agencies, policy makers in the federal government, investors in private and public markets. Events are held virtually and in meeting spaces and private dining spaces (hotels and restaurants). All of our activities support the development of our publications.

What it reported doing in 2025

The Silicon Valley Defense Group (SVDG) is a mission-focused nonprofit, dedicated to helping the American National Security ecosystem build a new Industrial Base. The organization focuses on enabling the proliferation and growth of non-traditional sources of national security innovation, such as dual-use commercial startup companies. Three disparate stakeholder groups have responsibility for enabling the acquisition of innovative technologies for national security: Founders, Investors, and Policymakers. SVDG acts as a convening authority and conduit between these groups, identifying and addressing barriers to innovation, and advancing collaboration. Programming focuses on analysis, reporting, writing, and education.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 88% 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

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: 55
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 55.6%; rating input score 56
  • Program expense ratio: 65.8%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.25 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 15.7%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.12; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 25.8%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 30.1% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 19.6% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.7% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 55.6% of revenue deployed · 65.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $854K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $292K · 8 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $104K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.
  • 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 56/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 17/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Whistleblower policy not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 46/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.