IRS Form 990 for the Daily Kos Education Fund, from 2019, the compensation page
I have been a registered user at Daily Kos, since the second day you could be one. For twenty years now, come October.
I have seen Daily Kos slowly change, over the years, from a casual upstart blog, to a large established online publication.
I learned that Daily Kos ownership and management were planning a large layoff of staff, not from Daily Kos ownership and management, but from Brandi Buchman, on Twitter.
(I follow Buchman for her superb trial liveblogging. For the continued progress of Daily Kos, I’d rather see more original journalism — a hardworking reporter going to a courthouse every morning, e.g., and reporting all day on what she sees herself there — rather than less.)
I saw, in the Daily Kos Guild post that Buchman linked to, a call from the Guild for more financial transparency from Daily Kos management:
be honest and transparent about the organization’s financial status, including an audit of Daily Kos’ finances by CWA financial analysts, and an independent audit;
I want to make a similar call on Daily Kos ownership and management to be more transparent about the organization’s financial status, including publishing an audit, from a different direction:
Me, as a potential donor of money to Kos Media LLC, so I could make an informed decision on whether to donate here.
And then, generally, from wanting any potential donor to be able to make an informed decision on whether to donate.
And from wanting the website to meet the ethical standards for organizations soliciting donations, published by the Better Business Bureau. Which should hardly be a controversial position.
I intend here to:
- Go over the compensation page from a Form 990 for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the Daily Kos Education Fund, as a relatable example, to show what small financial disclosure is legally required of nonprofits soliciting donations;
- Quote from the ethical standards for nonprofits soliciting donations, from the Better Business Bureau, and which should apply to any organization soliciting donations, and to profit-seeking organizations soliciting donations perhaps even more strongly; and
- Post a Billy Bragg YouTube.
1. A Minimal Standard: Form 990 Equivalent Disclosure
Almost all organizations that solicit donations are non-profits.
Nonprofit organizations in the U.S. are required to submit a Form 990 to the IRS, and to make the form available to the public. The form provides the public and potential donors with a small amount of financial information about the organization.
The Daily Kos Education Fund, d.b.a. Prism, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is called a “sister organization” of Daily Kos, and has the following mission statement:
Through in-depth and thought-provoking journalism, Prism reflects the lived experiences of people most impacted by injustice. As an independent and nonprofit newsroom led by journalists of color, we tell stories from the ground up: to disrupt harmful narratives, and to inform movements for justice.
Many nonprofits publish their Form 990s on their website. I couldn’t find one on the Prism website, and neither could I find a contact page where I could ask. Neither could I find one submitted to Guidestar.
I found a 2019 form from an internet search, here. I’ve posted the page for officer and key employee compensation, above.
Here is the gist of the Form 990, as of 2019:
- Markos Moulitsas is Chair, devotes about 3 hours a week to Prism, and gets $0 compensation.
- Susan Gardner is Secretary, devotes about 3 hours a week, and gets $0 compensation.
- Iara D. Peng is Executive Director of the organization, works a nominal 40 hours a week, and gets a salary of $175k.
There are not any embarrassing secrets here.
The vast majority of organizations in the United States that solicit donations to keep them going, must provide at least this minimal information about themselves, so that potential donors can make at least a minimally-informed decision.
2. Better Business Bureau Standards for Charity Accountability
Some organizations publish ethical standards or guidelines for financial information that nonprofits should provide to the public, beyond what the law requires. The standards center around values of transparency, accountability, trust, and the need for potential donors to make informed decisions.
I’ve quoted some extracts from standards published by the Better Business Bureau, below, with my boldface emphasis.
The standards basically don’t even imagine a privately-held company soliciting donations, but the values expressed, the goals behind the standards, should totally apply to Daily Kos.
BBB Standards for Charity Accountability
Finances
11. Audit Report - Make available to all, on request, complete annual financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. When total annual gross income exceeds $1 million, these statements should be audited in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. For charities whose annual gross income is less than $1 million, a review by a certified public accountant is sufficient to meet this standard. For charities whose annual gross income is less than $250,000, an internally produced, complete financial statement is sufficient to meet this standard.
Solicitations and Informational Materials
16. Annual Report - Have an annual report available to all, on request, that includes: a) the organization's mission statement, b) a summary of the past year's program service accomplishments, c) a roster of the officers and members of the board of directors, and d) financial information that includes (i) total income in the past fiscal year, (ii) expenses in the same program, fund raising and administrative categories as in the financial statements, and (iii) ending net assets.
17. Website Disclosures - Include on any charity websites that solicit contributions, the same information that is recommended for annual reports, as well as the mailing address of the charity and electronic access to its most recent IRS Form 990.
3. The Billy Bragg YouTube
