The Cooperative Impact Lab

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
831002641
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
5103905500
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$745,005
Expenses
$691,910
Assets
$249,172
Liabilities
$17,840

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATHARINE GAGE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • KATHARINE GAGE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $160,060 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Strengthen the power and impact of the progressive movement by building people power in creative, networked, and forward-looking ways.

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2024, cil built on its commitment to equipping charitable and social advocacy nonprofit organizations with the tools and strategies needed to advance their missions. Through training and coaching, cil supported hundreds of organizations in understanding and implementing generative ai to improve their operations, communications, and community engagement. Cil ran multiple cohorts specifically designed to help 501(c)(3) nonprofits navigate ai adoption and develop effective workflows. In addition, cil hosted a series of generative ai hackathons to directly address pressing nonprofit challenges, bringing together practitioners, technical experts, and community leaders to pilot new solutions. Cil also engaged in advocacy work to strengthen civic participation, including the responsible (continued on schedule o)use of social media for voter and community engagement.

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 96% 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 - 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70.5%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 75.9%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.54 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • 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: 97.6%; rating input score 98; 45th 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.1%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.36; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 23.1%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -23.8% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -23% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -22.4% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 70.5% of revenue deployed · 75.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $525K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $160K · 4 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 40/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.