The Copyright Alliance

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
562628005
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2025402243
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,848,910
Expenses
$1,840,192
Assets
$3,776,158
Liabilities
$1,549,931

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KEITH KUPFERSCHMID (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • KEITH KUPFERSCHMID (CEO): $522,631 total reported compensation
  • KEVIN MADIGAN (SECRETARY/TREASURER PART Y): $215,648 total reported compensation
  • EILEEN BRAMLET (SVP, COMMUNICATIONS & EVEN): $177,160 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The copyright alliance is the unified voice of the copyright community, representing the interests of thousands of individuals and organizations across the spectrum of copyright disciplines. The copyright alliance is dedicated to advocating policies that promote and preserve the value of copyright and to protecting the rights of creators and innovators.

What it reported doing in 2024

Educating the public and policymakers: the alliance works to educate the public and policymakers about current practices and developments in copyright protection and enforcement. This will be done by (a)sponsoring seminars and other public forums at whichpolicymakers, experts in copyright, and the general public can obtain information and discuss and debate issues concerning copyright protection and enforcement, and (b)providing information (including testimony) to governmental authorities on the status of copyrightprotection and enforcement and related issues. These activities further the organization's mission because good policy concerning copyright depends on the open and frank exchange of ideas, the focused study of specific problems, and a thorough understanding of how the issues actually play out in the lives of individuals, companies, industries, and national and global economies.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 94% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 63
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.4%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 72%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0.44 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 0.5%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.05; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.41; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 58.6%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.4% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.4% of revenue deployed · 72% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $523K · 16 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 2/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.