Voteamerica

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
843442002
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Sacramento, CA, USA
Phone
9178820405
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Voter Education, Registration

Reported finances

Revenue
$11,483,621
Expenses
$9,862,087
Assets
$2,194,098
Liabilities
$11,494

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DEBRA CLEAVER (CEO AND BOARD PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DEBRA CLEAVER (CEO AND BOARD PRESIDENT): $234,761 total reported compensation
  • EMILY BEHLMANN (SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER): $145,189 total reported compensation
  • JENNIFER LAUV (DATA ENGINEER): $110,025 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 mission of voteamerica is to strengthen united states democracy by increasing voter turnout.

What it reported doing in 2024

Get out the vote - voteamerica runs very large-scale voter registration and voter turnout campaigns, with the goal of increasing turnout and diversifying the electorate. We use a variety of marketing channels, including direct mail, text messages, digital ads, radio ads, and campus-owned media.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 81
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.2%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 93.4%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $27.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 11th 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 14.1%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.22; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.8% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.2% of revenue deployed · 93.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $9.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $235K · 5 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $7.9M reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors 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: 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.

  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 51/100.