Accountability Lab
Accountability Lab reported $10.1 million in revenue and $6.0 million in expenses for calendar year 2025. Of every $100 it spent, $74.01 went to program services, $24.24 to management and general costs and $1.75 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 98.8% of the total. Government grants made up 20.4%. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $175,136 (DIRECTOR-ACCOUNTABLE NOW). 6 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 806% between 2019 and 2025. Source: Form 990, 2025.
Where $100 of spending went
Calendar year 2025 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $6.0MFor context, the median across 3,633 covered human services charities: $88.24 programs, $11.54 management, $0.22 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).
Where $100 of revenue came from
Calendar year 2025 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $10MThe 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | 2025 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 74.0% | 87.1% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 24.2% | 11.4% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 1.7% | 0.2% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | $0.01 | $0.02 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 98.8% | 21.3% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 20.4% | 2.4% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 1.0% | 69.7% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $175,136 | $274,992 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 2.93% | 1.19% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 6 | 6 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 10.3 | 6.9 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 10 of 13 | 100.0% |
A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.
What the money paid for, in its own words
2025 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expenseCoalition-building, policy advocacy, fiscal partnershipal actively participates in and builds coalitions at local, national, and international levels. Key 2025 activities include:1. Continued strategic, operational and fiscal support to the al network across the world.2. Leadership in various future of the field conversations and convenings across the ecosystem.3. Fiscal partnership program with 5 new partners
Hackcorruption (innovation & anti-corruption technology)since 2022, al has convened innovators across 19 countries and 4 regions to develop 23+ anti-corruption tools, including procurement monitoring systems, beneficial ownership databases, participatory infrastructure tracking tools, and knowledge graphs of national procurement data. In 2025: we reinvested in a few promising organisations to scale existing tools and skills by convening 12 individuals from previous years' cohorts from paraguay, indonesia, bangladesh and mexico
Civic strength partners (csp)civic strength partners (csp) - in 2025, Accountability Lab co-founded civic strength partners (civicstrengthpartners.org), a strategic matchmaking and transition-support initiative created in collaboration with development gateway: an irex venture and digital public. Csp was established in response to a mounting global funding crisis in which thousands of civil society organizations face leadership transitions, political pressures, and the risk of losing critical knowledge, tools, and community trust
Highest reported compensation
2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here| Role | From this org | From related orgs | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIRECTOR-ACCOUNTABLE NOW Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $165,000 | $0 | $10,136 | $175,136 |
| CO-CEO Director/trustee, officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $127,500 | $0 | $23,459 | $150,959 |
| DIRECTOR-TAP NETWORK Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $114,801 | $0 | $27,804 | $142,605 |
| CO-CEO Director/trustee, officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $120,175 | $0 | $5,320 | $125,495 |
| CO-CEO Director/trustee, officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $108,193 | $0 | $5,320 | $113,513 |
| FINANCE DIRECTOR Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $100,594 | $0 | $5,262 | $105,856 |
6 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Accountability Lab (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $496K (Part IX, line 5).
7 years of filings
Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linkedGovernance answers, as filed
2025 · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means- Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b13 · 10 independent
- Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
- Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
- Whistleblower policy Part VI 13Yes
- Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
- Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aYes
- Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
- Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2No
- Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
- Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
- Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26No
- Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4No
- Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18No
- Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bYes
- Employees Part I, line 514
- Volunteers Part I, line 610
Largest outside contractors
2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only| DEVELOPMENT GATEWAY Technical services | $615,807 |
Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 2 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.
Private foundation grants it received
3 private foundations reported grants to Accountability Lab totaling $573K on their tax year 2023 Form 990-PF returns. See which foundations, on WHOFUNDS.
Source: WHOFUNDS open grant graph, matched from Form 990-PF Part XV.
Correct a figure or respond
Every number above is copied from Accountability Lab's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Accountability Lab, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
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Of every $100 Accountability Lab spent in 2025, $74.01 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
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Similar-sized charities in this cause
- Salt Lake County FoundationSalt Lake City, UT · revenue $10M · programs 99.9% · 2024
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All human services charities · Largest charities in District of Columbia
Questions people ask
How much of Accountability Lab's spending goes to programs?
In calendar year 2025, Accountability Lab reported that 74.0% of its $6.0 million in expenses went to program services, 24.2% to management and general and 1.7% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does Accountability Lab pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation Accountability Lab reported for one person in calendar year 2025 was $175,136, for the role of DIRECTOR-ACCOUNTABLE NOW (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does Accountability Lab get its money?
Of $10.1 million in revenue in calendar year 2025, 98.8% came from contributions and grants (including 20.4% from government grants) and 1.0% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is Accountability Lab a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 45-4613016 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(a)(vi))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.
Sources
- 2025: Form 990 for calendar year 2025, object 202632679349301118 · read the filing · XML
- 2024: Form 990 for calendar year 2024, object 202503119349302740 · read the filing
- 2023: Form 990 for calendar year 2023, object 202403049349301205 · read the filing
- 2022: Form 990 for calendar year 2022, object 202321329349305052 · read the filing
- 2021: Form 990 for calendar year 2021, object 202203089349301950 · read the filing
- 2020: Form 990 for calendar year 2020, object 202103149349305700 · read the filing
- 2019: Form 990 for calendar year 2019, object 202013159349303561 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 45-4613016: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.