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Protect Democracy Project
Protect Democracy Project reported $55.5 million in revenue and $34.4 million in expenses for calendar year 2024. Of every $100 it spent, $82.28 went to program services, $14.02 to management and general costs and $3.70 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 94.3% of the total. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $420,955 (PRESIDENT/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR). 54 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 347% between 2019 and 2024. Source: Form 990, 2024.
Where $100 of spending went
Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $34MFor context, the median across 132 covered civil rights, social action & advocacy charities: $84.11 programs, $11.40 management, $4.49 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).
Where $100 of revenue came from
Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $55MThe 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | 2024 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 82.3% | 82.1% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 14.0% | 11.1% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 3.7% | 4.4% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | $0.02 | $0.05 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 94.3% | 94.9% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 0.5% | 0.3% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $420,955 | $321,771 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 1.22% | 1.81% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 54 | 8 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 32.5 | 10.5 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 3 of 4 | 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
2024 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expenseProtect Democracy Project provides public education about threats to democratic norms and institutions and how the american people can best confront them. Protect Democracy Project advances its educational mission through monitoring, investigating, advocacy, lobbying, public outreach, and, when appropriate, litigating against actions that threaten our democracy and the free, fair, and fully-informed pursuit of self-government
Highest reported compensation
2024 · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRESIDENT/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Director/trustee, officer, 36.50 hrs/week | $377,276 | $0 | $43,679 | $420,955 |
| CO-MANAGING DIRECTOR Key employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $309,591 | $0 | $34,924 | $344,515 |
| CO-MANAGING DIRECTOR Key employee, 37.00 hrs/week | $276,923 | $0 | $51,521 | $328,444 |
| IMPACT DIRECTOR Highest compensated employee, 37.80 hrs/week | $228,497 | $0 | $35,611 | $264,108 |
| COUNSEL Highest compensated employee, 38.00 hrs/week | $200,566 | $0 | $51,717 | $252,283 |
| IMPACT DIRECTOR Highest compensated employee, 36.50 hrs/week | $207,324 | $0 | $43,241 | $250,565 |
| IMPACT DIRECTOR Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $230,739 | $0 | $14,304 | $245,043 |
| COUNSEL Highest compensated employee, 38.40 hrs/week | $215,945 | $0 | $25,194 | $241,139 |
54 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Protect Democracy Project (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $1.1M (Part IX, line 5).
6 years of filings
Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linkedGovernance answers, as filed
2024 · 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–1b4 · 3 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 4Yes
- Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18Yes
- Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bNo
- Employees Part I, line 5127
- Volunteers Part I, line 69
Largest outside contractors
2024 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only| CLYDE GROUP Communications services | $904,214 |
| THE DUFOUR COLLABORATIVE Consulting services | $393,993 |
| GBX HOLDINGS LLC Consulting services | $263,073 |
| JENSEN HUGHES INC Security services | $223,956 |
| NGO SCALING ADVISORS LLC Consulting services | $168,269 |
Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 6 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.
Private foundation grants it received
52 private foundations reported grants to Protect Democracy Project totaling $15M 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 Protect Democracy Project's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Protect Democracy Project, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
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Of every $100 Protect Democracy Project spent in 2024, $82.28 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
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All civil rights, social action & advocacy charities · Largest charities in District of Columbia
Questions people ask
How much of Protect Democracy Project's spending goes to programs?
In calendar year 2024, Protect Democracy Project reported that 82.3% of its $34.4 million in expenses went to program services, 14.0% to management and general and 3.7% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does Protect Democracy Project pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation Protect Democracy Project reported for one person in calendar year 2024 was $420,955, for the role of PRESIDENT/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does Protect Democracy Project get its money?
Of $55.5 million in revenue in calendar year 2024, 94.3% came from contributions and grants and 0.5% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is Protect Democracy Project a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 81-4777062 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. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.
Sources
- 2024: Form 990 for calendar year 2024, object 202533159349302808 · read the filing · XML
- 2023: Form 990 for calendar year 2023, object 202413169349302981 · read the filing
- 2022: Form 990 for calendar year 2022, object 202333189349305498 · read the filing
- 2021: Form 990 for calendar year 2021, object 202213199349310026 · read the filing
- 2020: Form 990 for calendar year 2020, object 202113199349306196 · read the filing
- 2019: Form 990 for calendar year 2019, object 202023219349311652 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 81-4777062: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.