Vdare Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 223691487
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Berkeley Springs, WV, USA
- Phone
- 8603098257
- Rating
- 62
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $435,608
- Expenses
- $1,236,086
- Assets
- $407,328
- Liabilities
- $1,924
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
5 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LYDIA BRIMELOW (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- PETER BRIMELOW (VP EDITOR): $195,000 total reported compensation
- LYDIA BRIMELOW (PRESIDENT): $50,833 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Create and manage internet publication
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 85% 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 the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 70
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 37
- Sustainability: 14
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 38.7%; rating input score 39
- Fundraising efficiency: $2.67 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 22nd 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: 40%; rating input score 40; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -183.8%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.33; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 19.9%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 38.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 2 of 5 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $478K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $195K · 5 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 23 of 24 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2011 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: Program expense ratio scored 39/100.
- Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 40/100.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 12/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.