The 88 Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
822241028
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2017
Location
Evanston, IL, USA
Phone
3175025744
Rating
55
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Human Rights

Reported finances

Revenue
$848,227
Expenses
$349,804
Assets
$633,521
Liabilities
$6,403

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Michael Caster (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Benjamin Swanton (Executive Dir.): $127,500 total reported compensation
  • Kaylee Uland (Executive Dir.): $67,575 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The 88 Project support & encourages freedom of expression in Vietnam by sharing the stories of, and advocating for, Vietnamese activists

What it reported doing in 2025

The 88 Project (sole project): Maintained and updated website and tools to promote freedom of expression in Vietnam, including weekly newsletters, a database of imprisoned activists, social media updates, and other original content

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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 56
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Accountability: 0
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 41.2%; rating input score 41
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Limited
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 58.8%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.81; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 55.8%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 44.3% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 65.5% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 41.2% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 4 board members independent · 0 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $350K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $128K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 41/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.