Sojourners Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237380554
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2023288842
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,639,909
Expenses
$6,200,700
Assets
$6,457,752
Liabilities
$3,664,607

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Rev Adam Taylor (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Rev Adam Taylor (President): $264,715 total reported compensation
  • Karen Lattea (VP Hr): $158,583 total reported compensation
  • Jill Holcomb (VP Advancement): $124,366 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 mission of Sojourners is to articulate the biblical call to social justice, inspiring hope and building a movement to transform individuals, communities, the church and the world.

What it reported doing in 2024

Messaging & Media: Sojourners (www.sojo.net) broadens the public dialogue in the United States regarding the intersection of faith, public life and culture. Sojourners articulates a strong moral and religious imperative behind more just and responsible policies. This is done through both national media and our own media platforms (Sojourners magazine, social media, and our digital platforms), and through speaking tours and interviews of Sojourners' President Adam Taylor and other staff. Our digital publication is among the most read Christian social justice publications. More than 1.5 million people from across the world visited Sojourners' website in the last year. We offer analysis, news and commentary on current issues and events, and we produce a number of additional electronic and print resources for pastors and faith leaders.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 81% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97.5%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 73%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.11 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 23rd 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: -33.6%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.04; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.57; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.8%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 97.5% of revenue deployed · 73% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 13 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $4.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $265K · 18 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $457K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.