Student Press Law Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 521184647
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 2027855450
- Rating
- 72
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Legal Services
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,866,215
- Expenses
- $959,902
- Assets
- $4,567,021
- Liabilities
- $38,166
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- GARY GREEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- GARY GREEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $175,254 total reported compensation
- JOSH MOORE (ASSISTANT DIRECTOR): $119,917 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Advocates for student first amendment rights, for freedom of online speech, and for open government on campus and in their communities. The splc provides information, training and legal assistance at no charge to student journalists and the educators who work with them.
What it reported doing in 2024
The student press law center (splc) is the nation's only legal assistance agency devoted exclusively to educating high school and college journalists about the rights and responsibilities embodied in the first amendment, and supporting the student news media in their struggle to cover important issues free from censorship. In addition, splc operates a formal attorney referral network of more than 200 lawyers across the country who are available to provide free legal representation to local students when necessary. Approximately 2,000 student journalists, teachers and others from around the country contact the splc for assistance and support annually.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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: 54
- Transparency & Controls: 75
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 77
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 41%; rating input score 41
- Program expense ratio: 73.9%; rating input score 74
- Fundraising efficiency: $19.34 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 58; 58th 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; 76th 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 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- 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: 48.6%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.76; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 30.8%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 41% of revenue deployed · 73.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $709K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $175K · 17 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
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 41/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 58/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.