We The People Action Fund
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 843528071
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2022–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2019
- Location
- Detroit, MI, USA
- Phone
- 3135202430
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Voter Education, Registration
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,232,819
- Expenses
- $1,657,713
- Assets
- $4,583,971
- Liabilities
- $899,374
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Maria Ibarra-Frayre (Co-Executive Director)
- Megan Hess (Co - Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- Maria Ibarra-Frayre (Co-Executive Director): $89,585 total reported compensation
- Megan Hess (Co - Executive Director): $80,496 total reported compensation
- Arturo Reyes (Executive Officer): $67,163 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To promote racial and economic justice throughout Michigan by training and organizing community leaders across the state; Engaging community members in the development of thoughtful public policy solutions through nonpartisan educational means; Engaging in voter education.
What it reported doing in 2024
On July 30 , 2024, we received $300,000 from the Sixteen Thirty Fund through their Rural Action Fund to WTPAF for general operating support. We The People Action Fund is an organization that works to build and strengthen multi-racial, working-class community organizing infrastructure across Michigan in order to build shared vision for our state and contest for progressive governing power.We The People Action Fund (WTPAF) and its sister 501c3 organization We The People MI (WTPMI) launched in the summer of 2017, focusing first on building deep relationships in a wide range of rural, urban, and suburban communities across the state, from the Keweenaw Peninsula to the city of Detroit. We are focused on 1) building rigorous, disciplined, organizing capacity in communities across the state, 2) developing a strong proactive narrative and peoples agenda rooted in communities, and 3) uniting Michiganders across identities and geographies and engaging people to build collectively toward economic and racial justice. Our long-term goal is to build a robust organized base of multi-racial working class people that recognize a linked fate across many communities in Michigan and advance a statewide strategy to contend for governing power in Michigan. On October 10 , 2024, we received $250,000 from the Initia Foundation to WTPAF for general operating support. We The People Action Fund is an organization that works to build and strengthen multi-racial, working-class community organizing infrastructure across Michigan in order to build shared vision for our state and contest for progressive governing power. We The People Action Fund (WTPAF) and its sister 501c3 organization We The People MI (WTPMI) launched in the summer of 2017, focusing first on building deep relationships in a wide range of rural, urban, and suburban communities across the state, from the Keweenaw Peninsula to the city of Detroit. We are focused on 1) building rigorous, disciplined, organizing capacity in communities across the state, 2) developing a strong proactive narrative and peoples agenda rooted in communities, and 3) uniting Michiganders across identities and geographies and engaging people to build collectively toward economic and and racial justice. Our long-term goal is to build a robust organized base of multi-racial working class people that recognize a linked fate across many communities in Michigan and advance a statewide strategy to contend for governing power in Michigan. On December 4 , 2024, we received $200,000 from the Our American Future Action Fund to WTPAF for social welfare activity within the meaning of Section 501(c)(4) of the Code.
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 85% 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
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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 81
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 70
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 71.3%; rating input score 71
- Program expense ratio: 96%; rating input score 96
- Fundraising efficiency: $127.25 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 25.8%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.77; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.8%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -6.4% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 40.4% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 71.3% of revenue deployed · 96% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $90K · 6 people listed
- Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 5 filed related-organization links
- 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 43/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.