The Center for Media Justice DBA MediaJustice

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
300520981
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Oakland, CA, USA
Phone
5106983800
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,789,962
Expenses
$4,458,848
Assets
$4,850,959
Liabilities
$199,821

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Steven Renderos (Executive Dir.): $197,312 total reported compensation
  • Teresa Basilio (Network Director): $170,795 total reported compensation
  • Shubha Balabaer (Operations Dir.): $166,364 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to build a powerful movement for a more just and participatory media and digital world.

What it reported doing in 2024

In FY25, MediaJustice built community power to challenge how corporations and governments use media and technology. To assess community needs, MJ conducted a seven-city listening tour engaging 47 grassroots organizations to assess the post-election landscape and identify emergent needs. As a result, MJ launched 11 political education workshops in English and Spanish making meaning of the political moment and how to respond. Over 155,000 people viewed the series, and our organizing and communications tools were downloaded over 3,000 times. MJ provided technical assistance, narrative strategy, and campaign support to 20 communities, and pursued interventions to protect consumer privacy, defend communications rights and access, and keep public dollars from funding surveillance tech.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 93% 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

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: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 72.6%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.78 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • 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: 90%; rating input score 90; 21st 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: -59.8%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.09; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 21.9%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 72.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $197K · 15 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $176K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.