Polaris Project FY2023 filing

Tax-deductible

Washington, DC501(c)(3)Since 2002InternationalEIN 03-0391561

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Polaris works to end sex and labor trafficking and restore freedom to survivors.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
58¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$1.7M paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

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FY2023 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
2 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $1.6M a year · 13% of revenue · last 5 filings
Concern: a surplus in 2 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
58%
of spending
Worth a look: 58% of spending went to programs; under 65%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$1.7M
to officers and key staff · 12% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 12% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
1 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 1.1 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $15K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$9.3M
80% of total assets
Worth a look: liabilities are 80% of assets; over 65%.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
12
of 12 voting members
Looks good: 12 of 12 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$10.2M
-31% vs prior year
Spent
$15.0M
To programs
58%
Net assets
$2.3M
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$10.2M
FY2023▼ -31%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$8.9M
FY2021$15.9M
FY2022$14.8M
FY2023$10.2M
FY2024$11.1M
Expenses
$15.0M
FY2023▲ +3%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$13.1M
FY2021$13.1M
FY2022$14.5M
FY2023$15.0M
FY2024$13.2M
Net assets
$2.3M
FY2023▼ -67%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$3.7M
FY2021$6.5M
FY2022$6.9M
FY2023$2.3M
FY2024−$141K

From the FY2023 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

You’re viewing the FY2023 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Apr 2002.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

58 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 58% · $8.6M Management & general 33% · $4.9M Fundraising 10% · $1.5M

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

22 people listed on the 990; $1.7M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director & CEO
$267,333Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Financial Officer
$195,653Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Development Officer
$191,672Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Strategy & Impact Officer
$189,997Pt VII · Sec A
Chief People Officer
$183,412Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Communications Officer
$157,272Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Tech Operations
$138,427Pt VII · Sec A
National Hotline Director
$137,015Pt VII · Sec A

Catherine Chen’s $239K as Executive Director & CEO is at the 44th percentile of top reported officer pay among 345 $10–100M international nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Catherine Chen$238,552$267,333$260,440$232,769$191,968
Patrick McIntre$196,701————
Alfonso Wright$193,424$195,653$190,124$173,538$146,490
Michelle Nicholson$193,346$183,412$192,028$193,576$184,968
Jennifer Jinks—$189,997$191,747$128,222—
Patrick McIntyre—$191,672$185,509$140,023—
Nancy Choi————$189,279
Caren Benjamin—$157,272$182,925$174,841$179,979

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Fights sex and labor trafficking, restoring freedom to survivors.

Provided by the organization

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3 program services account for $6.8M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2023.
01

National Human Trafficking Hotline

Polaris continued operating the U.S. National human trafficking hotline (NHTH), with funding from the U.S. Department of health and human services, office on trafficking in persons (otip) and private donations.

$5.4Mprogram expense
02

Learning, Innovation and Data Systems

The program develops a data driven understanding of human trafficking, generates research and data products for use by the anti-trafficking field, and supports polaris monitoring and evaluation to ensure programs have their intended impact.

$1.1Mprogram expense
03

Strategic Initiative on Labor Trafficking

The strategic initiative on labor trafficking works to end labor trafficking of migrant workers in the agricultural sector between mexico and the U.S. In mexico, polaris work includes support for the expansion of mexicos first national human trafficking hotline and building a source country worker data platform to collect information…

$363Kprogram expense

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Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$15K

By the numbers

The FY2023 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$10.2M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$10.1M
Investment incomeLn 3$125K
Other incomeLn 4–11$32K
Money outPt IX
$15.0M
Ln 25
Programscol B$8.6M
Managementcol C$4.9M
Fundraisingcol D$1.5M
Owns and owesPt X
$2.3M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$1.4M
Total assetsLn 16$11.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$9.3M
PeoplePt VI, VII
22
listed · VII A
PaidVII A10
Voting boardVI 1a12
IndependentVI 1b12
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$10.1M
Government grantsLn 1e$4.8M
Investment incomeLn 3$125K
Other incomeLn 4–11$32K
Total revenueLn 12$10.2M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$1.1M
SavingsLn 2$324K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$1.4M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$1.8M
Total assetsLn 16$11.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$9.3M
Net assetsLn 32$2.3M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 5177
VolunteersI 610
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY23End FY23
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$3.5M$1.4M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$2.1M$1.8M
Total assetsLn 16$17.4M$11.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$10.5M$9.3M
Net assetsLn 32$6.9M$2.3M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$1.3M$808K$385K$94K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$8.6M$5.5M$2.6M$557K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$69K$39K$23K$6K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$1.2M$716K$353K$84K
Payroll taxesLn 10$436K$306K$105K$26K
Legal feesLn 11b$60K$0$60K$0
Accounting feesLn 11c$91K$0$91K$0
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$425K$425K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$1.9M$971K$878K$3K
Office expensesLn 13$109K$22K$28K$60K
Information technologyLn 14$365K$176K$111K$79K
OccupancyLn 16$35K$0$35K$0
TravelLn 17$107K$67K$19K$21K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$142K$21K$19K$103K
InterestLn 20$15K$0$15K$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$6K$4K$1K$403
InsuranceLn 23$12K$8K$3K$832
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$184K$28K$154K$2K
Total functional expensesLn 25$15.0M$8.6M$4.9M$1.5M

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest $11.1M$13.2M−$2.2M−$141K 990 PDF
FY2023 Viewing $10.2M$15.0M−$4.7M$2.3M 990 PDF
FY2022 $14.8M$14.5M$288K$6.9M 990 PDF
FY2021 $15.9M$13.1M$2.8M$6.5M 990 PDF
FY2020 $8.9M$13.1M−$4.2M$3.7M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2023 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $10,212,332 across 6 lines filed
VIII-1e Government grants$4,831,020
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$5,224,295
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$10,055,315
VIII-3 Investment incomeUnrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $125,445$125,445
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $31,572 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$31,572
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $31,572 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $125,445$10,212,332
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $14,954,213 across 18 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $808,086 · Management $385,240 · Fundraising $93,620$1,286,946
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $5,461,700 · Management $2,588,855 · Fundraising $556,689$8,607,244
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $39,080 · Management $23,495 · Fundraising $6,358$68,933
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $715,746 · Management $352,683 · Fundraising $84,486$1,152,915
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $305,824 · Management $104,640 · Fundraising $25,677$436,141
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $0 · Management $60,301 · Fundraising $0$60,301
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $0 · Management $90,903 · Fundraising $0$90,903
IX-11e Professional fundraising feesFundraising $424,519$424,519
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $970,583 · Management $877,519 · Fundraising $2,922$1,851,024
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $21,532 · Management $27,542 · Fundraising $60,197$109,271
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $175,723 · Management $110,671 · Fundraising $78,822$365,216
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $0 · Management $34,522 · Fundraising $0$34,522
IX-17 TravelPrograms $66,564 · Management $19,176 · Fundraising $20,908$106,648
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $20,711 · Management $18,617 · Fundraising $103,037$142,365
IX-20 InterestPrograms $0 · Management $14,926 · Fundraising $0$14,926
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $4,093 · Management $1,210 · Fundraising $403$5,706
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $8,443 · Management $2,875 · Fundraising $832$12,150
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $27,977 · Management $154,453 · Fundraising $2,053$184,483
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $8,626,062 · Management $4,867,628 · Fundraising $1,460,523$14,954,213
Part X · Balance sheet $11,603,345 assets, 14 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $1,610,145$1,095,833
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $1,919,477$323,740
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $4,708,539$1,983,998
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $148,864$148,045
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $2,093,592$1,774,237
X-14 Intangible assetsStart of year $6,907,823$6,277,492
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $17,393,440$11,603,345
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $837,418$522,214
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $9,398,151$8,626,613
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $10,516,403$9,323,274
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $1,646,959$174,172
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $5,230,078$2,105,899
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $6,877,037$2,280,071
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $17,393,440$11,603,345
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,280,071 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$10,212,332
XI-2 Total expenses$14,954,213
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$4,741,881
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$6,877,037
XI-8 Prior period adjustments$144,915
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$2,280,071

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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