The Commonwealth Club - World Affairs of California
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 940399260
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2018–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- San Francisco, CA, USA
- Phone
- 4155976700
- Rating
- 70
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $8,562,538
- Expenses
- $7,880,202
- Assets
- $44,938,548
- Liabilities
- $2,208,335
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
79 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DR GLORIA C DUFFY (CO-PRESIDENT/CO-CEO)
- PHILIP W YUN (CO-PRESIDENT/CO-CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- PHILIP W YUN (CO-PRESIDENT/CO-CEO): $279,563 total reported compensation
- NICHOLAS C LEON (VP FINANCE & CFO): $188,002 total reported compensation
- MICHELLE D'ALO (VP DEVELOPMENT & PROGRAMS): $184,935 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To be the leading national forum open to all for the impartial discussion of public issues important to the membership, community, and nation.
What it reported doing in 2024
The commonwealth club - world affairs of California (cc-wa) is the leading non-partisan national forum and facilitator for citizen education and engagement on domestic and international civic affairs. The primary purpose of cc-wa is to contribute to an informed and engaged democratic citizenry by educating the public about societal issues and creating social networks for good. To accomplish its purposes, cc-wa will hold public forums and education programs for students; initiate and pursue public policy studies; convene leaders and stakeholders; disseminate its content through print, electronic, and other digital means; provide conduits for engaging its members and the public in addressing societal challenges; and conduct any other activities consistent with its mission.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 70% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 91% 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
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 62
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 89
- Sustainability: 62
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 66.8%; rating input score 67
- Program expense ratio: 68%; rating input score 68
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.88 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st 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: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Claims monitoring procedures: Limited
- Requires narrative reports: Limited
- Conducts field audits: Limited
- May suspend future funding: Limited
- Requires financial reports: Limited
- Conducts site visits: Limited
- Requires grant agreements: Limited
- May require repayment: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 97.3%; rating input score 97; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 8%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.7; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 17.5%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -4.9% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 66.8% of revenue deployed · 68% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 71 of 73 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $280K · 79 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $554K reported
- Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 8 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.
- 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 21/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 58/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.