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601 VAN NESS AVENUE E731
Brooklyn NY 94102-3200
Brooklyn NY | IRS ruling year: 2013 | EIN: 46-0967274
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS FOUNDATION'S MISSION IS TO SUPPORT AND DEFEND JOURNALISM DEDICATED TO TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
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This charity's score is 100%, earning it a Four-Star rating. If this organization aligns with your passions and values, you can give with confidence.
This overall score is calculated from multiple beacon scores: 90% Accountability & Finance, 10% Leadership & Adaptability. Learn more about our criteria and methodology.
We recognize that not all metrics and beacons equally predict a charity’s success. The percentage each beacon contributes to the organization’s overall rating depends on the number of beacons an organization has earned.
Use the tool below to select different beacons to see how the weighting shifts when only one, two, or three beacons are earned.
Rating histories are available for a growing number of rated organizations. Check back later to see if this organization has a rating history!
The IRS is significantly delayed in processing nonprofits' annual tax filings (Forms 990). As a result, the Accountability & Finance score for Freedom of the Press Foundation is outdated and the overall rating may not be representative of its current operations. Please check with the charity directly for any questions you may have.
Freedom of the Press Foundation has earned a 100% for the Accountability & Finance beacon. See the metrics below for more information.
This beacon provides an assessment of a charity's financial health (financial efficiency, sustainability, and trustworthiness) and its commitment to governance practices and policies.
This Accountability & Finance score represents IRS Form 990 data up until FY 2019, which is the most recent Form 990 currently available to us.
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Full Credit
Partial Credit
No Credit
Not ApplicableBoard Composition - 7/8 - 25/25 ptsBoard Composition - 7/8 - 25/25 pts
Charity Navigator looks for at least 3 board members, with more than 50% of those members identified as independent (not salaried).
The presence of an independent governing body is strongly recommended by many industry professionals to allow for full deliberation and diversity of thinking on governance and other organizational matters.
Source: IRS Form 990
Independent Audit or Financial Review - Audited - 20/20 ptsIndependent Audit or Financial Review - Audited - 20/20 pts
An Audit, Review, or Compilation provides important information about financial accountability and accuracy. Organizations are scored based on their Total Revenue Amount:
| Total Revenue Amount | Expectation to Receive Credit |
|---|---|
| $1 million or higher | Expected to complete an audit |
| $500,000 - $1 million | Expected to complete an audit, review, or compilation |
| Less than $500,000 | No expectation (removed from scoring methodology) |
Source: IRS Form 990
Conflict of Interest Policy - Listed - 3/3 ptsConflict of Interest Policy - Listed - 3/3 pts
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a conflict of interest policy on the Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy protects the organization and by extension those it serves, when it is considering entering into a transaction that may benefit the private interest of an officer, director and/or key employee of the organization.
Source: IRS Form 990
Board Meeting Minutes - Documented - 3/3 ptsBoard Meeting Minutes - Documented - 3/3 pts
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990 that the organization has this process in place as an accountability and transparency measure.
An official record of the events that take place during a board meeting ensures that a contemporaneous document exists for future reference.
Source: IRS Form 990
Document Retention and Destruction - Listed - 3/3 ptsDocument Retention and Destruction - Listed - 3/3 pts
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a document retention and destruction policy per the Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy establishes guidelines for the handling, backing up, archiving and destruction of documents. These guidelines foster good record keeping procedures that promote data integrity.
Source: IRS Form 990
Whistleblower Policy - Listed - 3/3 ptsWhistleblower Policy - Listed - 3/3 pts
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a whistleblower policy per the Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy outlines procedures for handling employee complaints, as well as a confidential way for employees to report financial or other types of mismanagement.
Source: IRS Form 990
Website - Listed - 3/3 ptsWebsite - Listed - 3/3 pts
Charity Navigator looks for a website on the Form 990 as an accountability and transparency metric.
Nonprofits act in the public trust and reporting publicly on activities is an important component.
Source: IRS Form 990
Full CreditPartial CreditNo CreditNot ApplicableLiabilities to Assets Ratio - 6.73% - 15/15 ptsLiabilities to Assets Ratio - 6.73% - 15/15 pts
The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent 990). This ratio is an indicator of an organization’s solvency and/or long-term sustainability.
| Liabilities to Assets Ratio | Amount of Credit Received |
|---|---|
| Less than 50% | Full Credit |
| 50% - 59.9% | Partial Credit |
| 60% or more | No Credit |
Source: IRS Form 990
Program Expense Ratio - 88.73% - 25/25 ptsProgram Expense Ratio - 88.73% - 25/25 pts
The Program Expense Ratio is determined by Program Expenses divided by Total Expense (average of most recent three 990s). This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver.
| Program Expense Percentage | Amount of Credit Received |
|---|---|
| 70% or higher | Full Credit |
| 60% - 69.9% | Partial Credit |
| 50% - 59.9% | Zero Points for Program Expense Score |
| Below 50% | Zero Points for Both Program Expense AND Liabilities to Assets Scores |
Source: IRS Form 990
This chart displays the trend of revenue and expenses over the past several years for this organization, as reported on their IRS Form 990.
Presented here are up to five of this organization's highest compensated employees. This compensation data includes salary, cash bonuses, and expense accounts and is displayed exactly how it is reported to the IRS. The amounts do not include nontaxable benefits, deferred compensation, or other amounts not reported on Form W-2. In some cases, these amounts may include compensation from related organizations. Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting
Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2019
Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website
Activities:
Activity data not reported from the IRS
Foundation Status:
Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (BMF foundation code: 15)
Affiliation:
Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). (BMF affiliation code: 3)
The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. We leverage finance and accountability data from it to form Encompass ratings. Click here to search for this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available). Simply enter the organization's name (Freedom of the Press Foundation) or EIN (460967274) in the 'Search Term' field.
This organization was impacted by COVID-19 in a way that effected their financial health in 2020. This normally would have reduced their star rating. Due to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, we give charities such as this one the opportunity to share the story of COVID's impact on them, and doing this pauses our revision of their rating. Charities may submit their own pandemic responses through their nonprofit portal.
Freedom of the Press Foundation reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:
Program Delivery
Staffing
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's operations financially:
COVID-19 did not affect the financial structure of our organization.
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs:
COVID-19 has continued to be a major challenge for the newsrooms we work with. Because news organizations were stretched thin and remote work policies changed frequently and unpredictably, it was hard to advance the adoption of new technologies like the SecureDrop Workstation. Additionally, due to travel restrictions, our digital security training program was not able to conduct in-person training with newsrooms, both inside and outside of the U.S.
How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19:
Because of the global health crisis, our team quickly re-tooled the way the SecureDrop project was installed and supported, and managed to successfully conduct the SecureDrop Workstation pilot in a remote capacity. Additionally, many newsrooms have still been fully and partially remote or communicating with each other and with sources electronically instead of in person. Freedom of the Press Foundation’s digital security training team has thus continued to successfully train journalists within newsrooms in the U.S. and around the world on practical digital security tools in a remote capacity.
Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:
WE intend to keep both of these adaptations in place to ensure we are accessible to newsrooms that need us.
Not Currently Scored
Freedom of the Press Foundation cannot currently be evaluated by our Impact & Results methodology because either (A) it is eligible, but we have not yet received data; (B) we have not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact; (C) its programs are not direct services; or (D) it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
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Freedom of the Press Foundation reported its three largest programs on its FY 2019 Form 990 as:
Spent in most recent FY
Percent of program expenses
SECUREDROP IS AN OPEN-SOURCE WHISTLEBLOWER SUBMISSION SYSTEM AND SOFTWARE PROJECT THAT FREEDOM OF THE PRESS FOUNDATION DEVELOPS, MAINTAINS, AND HELPS NEWS ORGANIZATIONS INSTALL. SECUREDROP COMBINES A ... (More)
SECUREDROP IS AN OPEN-SOURCE WHISTLEBLOWER SUBMISSION SYSTEM AND SOFTWARE PROJECT THAT FREEDOM OF THE PRESS FOUNDATION DEVELOPS, MAINTAINS, AND HELPS NEWS ORGANIZATIONS INSTALL. SECUREDROP COMBINES A VARIETY OF OPEN-SOURCE SECURE COMMUNICATIONS TOOLS AND PRACTICES INTO ONE EASIER-TO-USE PACKAGE THAT ALLOWS JOURNALISTS AND SOURCES TO COMMUNICATE SAFELY AND SECURELY ONLINE. SECUREDROP IS CURRENTLY USED AT OVER 70 MAJOR NEWS ORGANIZATIONS WORLDWIDE, INCLUDING THE NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, ASSOCIATED PRESS, USA TODAY, PROPUBLICA, THE NEW YORKER, THE GUARDIAN, AND THE INTERCEPT. IT IS ONE OF THE PREMIERE TOOLS ADVOCATED FOR JOURNALISTS WHO WANT TO IMPROVE THEIR DIGITAL SECURITY. (Less)
Spent in most recent FY
Percent of program expenses
THE US PRESS FREEDOM TRACKER - IN 2017, FREEDOM OF THE PRESS FOUNDATION LAUNCHED THE US PRESS FREEDOM TRACKER, A NEWS SITE AND DATABASE THAT ATTEMPTS TO COMPREHENSIVELY DOCUMENT VIRTUALLY EVERY PRESS ... (More)
THE US PRESS FREEDOM TRACKER - IN 2017, FREEDOM OF THE PRESS FOUNDATION LAUNCHED THE US PRESS FREEDOM TRACKER, A NEWS SITE AND DATABASE THAT ATTEMPTS TO COMPREHENSIVELY DOCUMENT VIRTUALLY EVERY PRESS FREEDOM VIOLATION IN THE UNITED STATES, INCLUDING THE NU (Less)
Spent in most recent FY
Percent of program expenses
OPEN WHISPER SYSTEMS FISCAL SPONSORSHIP: FREEDOM OF THE PRESS FOUNDATION ENTERED INTO A FISCAL SPONSORSHIP AGREEMENT (THE AGREEMENT) IN JUNE 2015, WITH A LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, TO CARRY OUT A PROJ ... (More)
OPEN WHISPER SYSTEMS FISCAL SPONSORSHIP: FREEDOM OF THE PRESS FOUNDATION ENTERED INTO A FISCAL SPONSORSHIP AGREEMENT (THE AGREEMENT) IN JUNE 2015, WITH A LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, TO CARRY OUT A PROJECT FOR WHICH THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS FOUNDATION HAS RA (Less)
Freedom of the Press Foundation cannot currently be evaluated by our Culture & Community methodology because we have not received data from the charity regarding its Constituent Feedback or Equity Practices strategies.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
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Freedom of the Press Foundation has earned a 100% for the Leadership & Adaptability beacon. See the metrics below for more information.
This beacon provides an assessment of the organization's leadership capacity, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to innovate or respond to changes in constituent demand/need or other relevant social and economic conditions to achieve the organization's mission.
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Full CreditPartial CreditNo CreditNot ApplicableMission - 10/10 ptsMission - 10/10 pts
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization's mission
Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that protects, defends, and empowers public-interest journalism in the 21st century.
Vision - 10/10 ptsVision - 10/10 pts
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s vision.
We believe that a thriving free press—one that can change the course of history—depends not only on strong advocacy, but also on actively empowering journalists and whistleblowers to do their job in the face of adversity. Our goal is to protect and promote the basic human right of freedom of the press in a world where surveillance, censorship, and hacking risks are becoming more sophisticated and pervasive. These threats can keep the public from learning vital information about their governments. It’s our job to defend the public’s right to know.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Goals - 20/20 ptsGoals - 20/20 pts
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: Empower journalists to defend themselves against emerging threats.
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
Goal Two: Protest whistleblowers and the public's right to know.
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
Goal Three: Lead the effort to monitor press freedom violations in the United States.
Goal Type: Focus on core programs to achieve mission and scale back on programs not seen as core.
Leadership Development - 15/15 ptsLeadership Development - 15/15 pts
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development
Each employee is entitled to a $1,000/year professional development stipend. Many FPFers use this stipend on classes and books to further their knowledge of our industry and to empower them with the training they need for upward mobility.
Mobilizing for Mission - 15/15 ptsMobilizing for Mission - 15/15 pts
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
Strategic Partnerships
Networks of Collective Impact Efforts
Thought Leadership
Raising Awareness
Community Building
Policy Advocacy
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has a committee of steering members that includes the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the Knight First Amendment Institute, Reporters Without Borders, and Index on Censorship. The Tracker is also a collaboration of more than 30 journalism and advocacy organizations. The SecureDrop community is very active and participation is key to the development of the software, especially since it is open source. The SecureDrop community consists of over 150 codebase volunteers, documentation writers, and language translators. Our Digital Security Training Program partners with the International Women’s Media Foundation and PEN America on initiatives like online harassment, doxxing, and hostile environment reporting. We also collaborate with Field of Vision to offer the Digital Security for Filmmakers program and with the Center for Investigative Journalism to offer the Source Protection Programme.
Adaptability Story - 30/30 ptsAdaptability Story - 30/30 pts
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
In a world where press freedom is under constant threat, part of our mission here at Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) will always be to defend investigative journalists who are in the most danger. It’s why, here in the United States, we meticulously document the record number of arrests and assaults on journalists through the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. And when the number of journalists in jail worldwide is at an all-time high, it’s critical we keep drawing attention to draconian laws meant to silence dissent. But we see our job as more than that. We strive to not only defend journalists but to empower them in the face of adversity. Surveillance is an ever-growing risk, which means SecureDrop, the open source whistleblower submission system, is more important than ever in making sure brave sources can safely talk to journalists. And thanks to constant pressure from FPF and our press freedom allies, this year the Justice Department was forced to adopt the most stringent rules against spying on journalists in modern history. Reporters of all stripes also face increased threats from online harassment and hacking, so we’ve also expanded our digital security effort to create more tools than ever before. For the first time, documentary filmmakers now have a huge resource to better protect themselves while filming, in the form of our new Digital Security for Filmmakers project. And soon, journalism students all across the country will be able to receive the same digital security training previously only available to small groups of investigative journalists. Our U.S. Journalism School Digital Security Curriculum project is now available to the public. There remains so much to be on alert about. We need to hold local governments and police accountable for infringing on the rights of reporters. And the Justice Department continues to pursue a dangerous prosecution that could criminalize important aspects of the institutionally protected newsgathering process.
Impact & Results
Accountability & Finance
Culture & Community
Leadership & Adaptability
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