We the Protesters Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 813764408
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2019, Form 990-N 2021
- Location
- New York, NY, USA
- Phone
- 4108447544
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Civil Rights
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,474,624
- Expenses
- $8,493,795
- Assets
- $24,906,844
- Liabilities
- $717,110
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DERAY MCKESSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- DERAY MCKESSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $236,372 total reported compensation
- SHAUNA ANTHONY (CHIEF OF STAFF): $223,528 total reported compensation
- WILLIAM DONAHOE (MANAGING DIRECTOR, TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN): $199,158 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
We the protesters, inc dba campaign zero is a 501(c)3 national non-profit organization committed to a world beyond policing and the carceral system. Through research-driven solutions, we work in and across communities to transfer the power of the police to those disproportionately impacted by the police. To achieve this goal, we create campaigns that uplift community-based solutions beyond policing to support the growth of safe and thriving neighborhoods.our work actively centers on: shrinking the reliance and power of the police; ending mass incarceration; supporting fundamental fairness, accountability, and transparency from law enforcement; and directly supporting and partnering with mission-aligned organizations.
What it reported doing in 2024
The following campaigns were our 25% focus for 2024: pay-to-stay: the practice of pay-to-stay fees involve charging individuals-both adults and youths-in correctional facilities for costs relating to their incarceration. Pay-to-stay fees not only affect individuals during their time in incarceration but can also result in post-release debt. The campaign focuses specifically on the imposition of room and board and medical fees at the state level for adults and youth serving a sentence.criminal activity & nuisance ordinances: criminal activity & nuisance ordinances (canos) are laws that penalize individuals who receive 911 calls or calls for service to their household, which can lead to eviction of the entire household. The aim of the campaign is to eliminate these policies, as well as serve as a tool for publicly recognizing where these policies are, and which jurisdictions are the most problematic. Model jurors - summonsing process: the current practices of the jury summonsing process across the country are inequitable and discriminatory. Many communities and demographic groups are excluded in this process due to noninclusive qualifications and financial barriers, which all ultimately interfere with an individual's constitutional right to a jury of their peers. By collecting data & implementing policies identified in our rubric, this campaign aims to take the first step to create fairer, and more equitable and inclusive jury summons processes across every state. This is the first of two phases aimed at providing a long-term solution for transforming jury service along the principles of equity and fundamental fairness.end gang enhancements: gang enhancements are criminal statutes that sanction enhanced punishments for individuals deemed gang-affiliated by police. In practice, these enhancements create longer prison sentences for alleged gang members, for the same crimes committed by private citizens. The criteria that states with gang enhancements use to determine if someone is gang-affiliated is rife with pathological understandings of race and criminalization. Campaign zero does not believe there are any rational proscriptive indicators that would justify labeling a civilian as gang-affiliated. The phenomenon of gang-crime is a product of socioeconomic disinvestment, historical discrimination, and state-sponsored violence. Campaign zero aims to legislatively eliminate these enhancements.safe cities - r&d data product: "safe cities" by cz challenges traditional punitive public safety approaches by emphasizing the multidimensional nature of safety. The project builds data pipelines to local open data portals, employs advanced data engineering, and co-develops an action framework for restorative and effective safety solutions.drug-free zone laws: drug-free zones were initially meant to nail drug dealers who target schoolchildren. But they've gone too far, taking over entire cities across the united states. Drug-free zones, often disproportionately affecting low-income communities and those with higher proportions of people of color. In these zones, legislative sentence enhancements make incarceration lengthier. Campaign zero aims to address the disproportionate impact of these zone laws through a national awareness & policy campaign.end solitary confinement: across the u.s., there is a growing understanding that solitary confinement is human torture. A significant body of research has shown that solitary confinement creates long-term physical and psychological harm. Meanwhile, solitary confinement has not been shown to deter future rule violations or violence, and has in fact been associated with increased recidivism. Campaign zero aims to support efforts to eliminate solitary confinement through our data collection campaign of confinement policies across all states + d.c.parole - evaluating the parole process: parole helps reduce the harm of the carceral state while creating space for transformative change and true public safet
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 67% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 79
- Transparency & Controls: 68
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 32
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 60%; rating input score 60
- Fundraising efficiency: $8.15 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- 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: No; rating input score 0
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: 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: -243.2%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.93; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 22.5%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 27% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 28.5% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 60% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 6 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $236K · 15 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $1.2M reported
- Consistency: 37 of 38 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2016 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 10 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.