The Daily Pennsylvanian Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
222546201
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone
2154224640
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Student Services, Organizations of Students

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$830,808
Expenses
$1,169,199
Assets
$3,702,987
Liabilities
$75,015

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MOLLY COHEN (PRESIDENT)
  • ZAIN QUERSHI (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • STEVEN MOLBERGER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • KATHERINE ROSS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEVEN MOLBERGER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $151,946 total reported compensation
  • KATHERINE ROSS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $128,547 total reported compensation
  • MOLLY COHEN (PRESIDENT): $3,200 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 daily pennsylvanian exists to inform the penn community of relevant news and opinion while providing a training vehicle for students.

What it reported doing in 2024

The daily pennsylvanian is the independent student newspaper of the university of Pennsylvania. Penn students, faculty and staff turn to 'the dp' in print and online as their source of campus news, sports, opinion, and arts & entertainment information. Editorial departments include news, sports, opinion, photography, video, design, copy, social media, and 34th street magazine.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 99.8%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 70.9%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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: -40.7%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.17; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 25.1%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.8% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 99.8% of revenue deployed · 70.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $829K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $152K · 19 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.