Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Jul 1982.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
72 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
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
44 people listed on the 990; $2.3M paid to officers and key staff.
Marc Tobias’s $225K as COO is at the 81st percentile of top reported officer pay among 1168 $1–10M 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
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Breen | — | — | $351,160 | $268,637 | $288,882 |
| Breen Michael F | — | $325,891 | — | — | — |
| Shora Kareem | — | $228,518 | — | — | — |
| Kareem Shora | — | — | $225,315 | — | — |
| Marc Tobias | $224,655 | — | — | — | — |
| Welton Chang | — | — | — | $200,822 | $223,969 |
| Nyiendo Licha M | — | $198,788 | — | — | — |
| Bernfield James B | — | $185,317 | — | — | — |
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
Investigates and exposes global human rights abuses and corruption, advocating for systemic policy changes and supporting human rights defenders to promote justice worldwide.
Questions for Human Rights First
Your first name shows with your question. Human Rights First answers here, for everyone.
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Policy and legal representationhuman rights first provides free legal representation to refugees seeking asylum in the united states. Working with a nationwide network of pro bono attorneys, the organization screens cases, trains lawyers, and works to ensure that asylum seekers and immigrants have access to due process.
Innovation labthe innovation lab develops technological solutions to protect human rights. Key 2024 activities include enhancing ai tools to improve human rights investigations and developing ai tools to track legislation with human rights implications.
Accountability and human rights defendershuman rights first promotes accountability for corruption and human rights abuses by investigating, documenting, and exposing human rights abuses, then advocates for systemic change at the national and international levels.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2024 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY24 | End FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $2.0M | $585K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $5.3M | $3.9M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $169K | $95K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $16.9M | $8.9M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $4.2M | $4.2M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $12.7M | $4.7M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $1.9M | $1.2M | $443K | $265K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $5.4M | $4.4M | $592K | $385K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $99K | $76K | $15K | $8K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $825K | $620K | $134K | $72K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $552K | $406K | $95K | $50K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $43K | $43K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $61K | $61K | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $32K | $32K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $1.1M | $593K | $468K | $2K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $27K | $26K | $1K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $236K | $168K | $48K | $19K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $104K | $86K | $10K | $8K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $1.1M | $867K | $137K | $96K |
| TravelLn 17 | $123K | $76K | $40K | $7K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $25K | $20K | $4K | |
| InterestLn 20 | $121K | $121K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $92K | $73K | $11K | $8K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $70K | $53K | $17K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $366K | $180K | $118K | $68K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $66K | $27K | $39K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $12.2M | $8.8M | $2.4M | $989K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest Viewing | $7.6M | $12.2M | −$4.7M | $4.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $14.7M | $15.1M | −$375K | $12.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $14.5M | $15.9M | −$1.4M | $13.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $13.9M | $13.5M | $345K | $16.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $12.9M | $10.4M | $2.5M | $15.7M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $7,586,875 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 24 of 25 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $7,586,875 across 10 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $12,244,953 across 20 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $8,913,031 assets, 17 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $4,746,039 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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