Thorn

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
270943677
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
El Segundo, CA, USA
Phone
6504096385
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Victims' Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$16,355,617
Expenses
$21,769,314
Assets
$32,719,427
Liabilities
$2,256,847

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JULIE CORDUA (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
  • JOHN STARR (VICE PRESIDENT, INDUSTRY)
  • PAMELA SMITH (VICE PRESIDENT, EXTERNAL AFFAIRS)
  • EMILY SCHULTZ (VICE PRESIDENT, ENGINEERING)
  • SMITA MENON (VICE PRESIDENT, PRODUCT)
  • REBECCA PORTNOFF (VICE PRESIDENT, DATA SCIENCE)

Highest reported compensation

  • JULIE CORDUA (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $355,491 total reported compensation
  • JAMES WILLIAMS (GENERAL COUNSEL): $313,870 total reported compensation
  • JAMES PITKOW (CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER): $294,501 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Thorn is dedicated to creating a world where every child is free to simply be a kid by building technology and deploying programs to defend children from sexual exploitation. Thorn's work is guided by three principles: (see continuation on schedule o)(1) acceleration of victim identification and rescue, (2) equipping online platforms with technology tools to prevent re-victimization through the spread and recirculation of online content, and (3) to educate and equip the public to protect against the creation of csam and to create public pressure for action by other audiences.

What it reported doing in 2024

Thorn uses it's expertise to identify threats and opportunities to create an internet free of child sexual abuse material. Thorn aims to create awarness by creating public awareness and mobilizing the public to eliminate the sexual abuse of children and the spread of images of their abuse on the internet.

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 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: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 58
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 80.1%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.64 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -33.1%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.5; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.3%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 23.9% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.3% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.2% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 80.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $17.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $355K · 20 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.6M reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 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: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 51/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.