The Shareholder Commons

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
843285119
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Northampton, MA, USA
Phone
3024850497
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$573,312
Expenses
$948,144
Assets
$1,544,943
Liabilities
$4,466

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • SOPHIE FARIS (COO): $172,287 total reported compensation
  • FREDERICK H ALEXANDER (CHIEF EXEC O): $169,200 total reported compensation
  • SARA MURPHY (CSO): $163,211 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 shareholder commons (tsc) works to address social and environmental issues specifically from the perspective of shareholders who have broadly diversified their investments throughout different industries and geographic markets to optimize their portfolios' risk and return. The organization seeks to address investors' interests in optimizing their portfolios' long-term value. The organization do so through targeted field building initiatives to accelerate adoption of system-level investing.

What it reported doing in 2024

The shareholder commons (tsc) works to address social and environmental issues specifically from the perspective of shareholders who have broadly diversified their investments throughout different industries and geographic markets to optimize their portfolios' risk and return. We seek to address investors' interests in optimizing their portfolios' long-term value. We do so through targeted field building initiatives to accelerate adoption of system-level investing.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 91% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 47
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 79.6%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.88 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -65.4%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.63; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 53.2%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.1% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 31.7% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 79.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 6 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $755K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $172K · 8 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.