The Daily Signal Institute
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 992370652
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 2026086150
- Rating
- 57
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Media, Communications Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,598,549
- Expenses
- $1,370,524
- Assets
- $2,629,956
- Liabilities
- $507,833
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ROBERT BLUEY (PRESIDENT & EXECUTIVE EDITOR)
- ERIC KORSVALL (VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- DERRICK MORGAN (DIRECTOR): $649,481 total reported compensation
- ERIC KORSVALL (VICE PRESIDENT): $532,761 total reported compensation
- DAN MAULER (SECRETARY): $418,837 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 provide training for journalists, reporters, and editors, and educating the general public by producing nonpartisan news and editorial content that informs the national community on important public-policy issues and current events.
What it reported doing in 2024
Providing training for journalists, reporters, and editors, and educating the general public by producing nonpartisan news and editorial content.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 99% 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
MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 45
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 74
- Sustainability: 68
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 24.8%; rating input score 25
- Program expense ratio: 65.1%; rating input score 65
- Fundraising efficiency: $88.15 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- 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: 71.4%; rating input score 71; 12th 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: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 61.9%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.92; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 77.8%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 24.8% of revenue deployed · 65.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $892K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $649K · 15 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 5 filed related-organization links
- 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: Mission deployment rate scored 25/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 0/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.