The Better Angels Society Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
454587107
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2028099976
Rating
89
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Film, Video

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$9,876,301
Expenses
$11,715,776
Assets
$20,131,014
Liabilities
$12,639

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATHERINE MALONE-FRANCE (PRESIDENT AND CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • KATHERINE MALONE-FRANCE (PRESIDENT AND CEO): $331,900 total reported compensation
  • BEE NANCE (CFAO): $175,170 total reported compensation
  • REBECCA DANIELS (SR DIR, PHILANTHROPIC OPS & PLAN): $140,928 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 better angels society supports outstanding american history documentaries to inspire lifelong learning, promote civic engagement, and encourage civil discourse.the organization advances this mission by raising funds to support individual documentary films focused on u.s. History and characterized by thorough archival research and engaging storytelling; awarding the annual library of congress lavine/ken burns prize for film and better angels lavine fellowship to provide resources, recognition, and mentorship to outstanding u.s. History documentaries; and creating partnership programs to engage young people in making documentaries about u.s. History to build skills in critical thinking, communications, research, history, and civics.

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025, the better angels society provided $450,000 to support training, networking, and mentorship to ensure that thoroughly researched and engaging documentaries about american history continue to be created. The society led the fifth year of the better angels lavine fellowship program, a mentoring program for documentaries-in-process, selected from applicants for the prize for film. The society also supported educational programs that build junior high, high school, and college-age students' skills in critical thinking, history, civics, research, and communications through the process of making documentaries about the history of the united states. These programs, in collaboration with national history day and the lincoln presidential foundation, provided free training sessions, mentorship from experts in historical research and filmmaking, and public recognition to promote outstanding american history documentaries and inspire participation in this discipline. The society also provided support to film festivals to highlight outstanding historical documentaries, encourage civil discourse related to them, and encourage best practices in their creation.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 91% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 93
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 89.7%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $24 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 64; 64th 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: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 49th 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: 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: -18.6%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.72; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.5%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 89.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $10.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $332K · 21 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $299K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2012 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 9 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.
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.