The Nonzero Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
454015017
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2020
Location
Princeton, NJ, USA
Phone
6096889515
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy

Reported finances

Revenue
$526,021
Expenses
$334,492
Assets
$320,981
Liabilities
$5,281

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBERT WRIGHT (PRESIDENT/TREASURER)

Highest reported compensation

  • ROBERT WRIGHT (PRESIDENT/TREASURER): $69,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Aims to foster the spread of knowledge and help people appreciate diverse perspectives, thereby building bridges across national, cultural, ethnic, religious, and ideological divides.

What it reported doing in 2024

The foundation's program services in 2024 consisted of (1) operating the nonzero video and audio podcast channels, which feature dialogues about public policy, culture, international affairs, science, and philosophy; and (2) publishing the nonzero newsletter, which covers those same areas and comes out at least twice per week. Roughly 150 audio/video podcasts were produced, and more than 150,000 words of original content were published in the newsletter. The nonzero newsletter, the nonzero podcast, the nonzero website, and the nonzero youtube channel together disseminate the analysis of, and dialogue about, important issues in the areas of public policy, science, technology, and philosophy. The ideological diversity and civil tone found in nonzero dialogues stands in contrast to the tendency of the internet to create ideologically homogenous "cocoons" of like-minded people who disparage opposing views without closely examining them. In that sense the nonzero network is counteracting the tribalizing tendency of the internet--a tendency that is partly responsible for the much-noted polarization of american politics. Nonzero takes pride in the diversity of perspectives represented in its content--including its commenter forums, where thoughtful disagreement is expressed in (mostly) civil terms. This contrasts with the strong ideological bent of many politically oriented websites, and with the acrimonious atmosphere of many comment sections on the internet.topics under discussion are commensurately diverse, encompassing, among other subjects, domestic policy, foreign policy, the impact of technology on society, and philosophical questions raised by modern science.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 72% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 90% 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 - 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: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 60
  • Sustainability: 63
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 48.1%; rating input score 48
  • Program expense ratio: 75.6%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $27.21 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 36.4%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.96; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20.6%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 48.1% of revenue deployed · 75.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $253K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $69K · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 48/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 41/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.