Social Security Works Education Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
461500551
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2017, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2026373906
Rating
63
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,021,309
Expenses
$2,000,040
Assets
$1,913,436
Liabilities
$62,138

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ALEXANDER LAWSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ALEXANDER LAWSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $189,362 total reported compensation
  • MICHAEL PHELAN (OFFICER): $172,201 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To educate the general public, media, and policy-makers about the benefits of protecting social security benefits; to protect and improve the economic status of disadvantaged and at-risk populations, and, in so doing, to promote social justice for current and future generations of children as well as young, middle-aged and older adults; to oppose any cuts to social security benefits, including increasing the retirement age and oppose any effort to privatize social security. This corporation is organized and operated exclusively for educational purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code

What it reported doing in 2024

The social security works education fund created numerous written policy resources explaining complex policy issues in accessible everday language. Ssw ef created numerous fact sheets and resources that were crucial in the politically charged and fast-moving environments of various budget and fiscal debates in Washington, d. C. Social security works education fund also educated the public through more than twenty in-person trainings, and by sponsoring a radio show, the zero hour, dedicated to strengthening the information environment around issues of economic justice, particularly proposals that would impact our social security system.

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 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 few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 55
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 68
  • Sustainability: 64
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 44.8%; rating input score 45
  • Program expense ratio: 90.1%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 60%; rating input score 60; 9th 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: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 50.3%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.96; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.1%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16.5% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 23.6% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.9% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 44.8% of revenue deployed · 90.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $189K · 7 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 45/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.