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Commonweal Foundation FY2023 filing

Tax-deductible

New York, NY501(c)(3)Since 1983 EIN 13-3174407Revenue $2.3M in FY2023

On file with the IRScommonwealmagazine.org475 Riverside Dr Ste 244, 10115-0013 · New York, NYTax-exempt since Sep 1983Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

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Commonweal is the oldest independent lay catholic journal of opinion in the united states covering literature, the arts, religion, society and politics. Commonweal through its magazine and website publishes editorials, columns, essays and poetry, along with film and book reviews. Commonweal maintains a relatively strong focus on issues of specific interest to catholics.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
63¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$447K 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
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
3 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $231K a year · 9% of revenue · last 6 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
63%
of spending
Worth a look: 63% of spending went to programs; under 65%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$447K
to officers and key staff · 19% of spending
Fine: pay to officers and key staff is 19% of spending; 15% to 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
1 mo
of spending, in cash
Plus $2.9M in investments, Pt X · Ln 11–13
Fine: 1.1 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
10
named funders · $576K
Looks good: 10 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$628K
19% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 19% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
22
of 25 voting members
Looks good: 22 of 25 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$2.3M
+35% vs prior year
Spent
$2.4M
To programs
63%
Net assets
$2.6M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$2.3M
FY2023▲ +35%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$1.6M
FY2021$2.2M
FY2022$1.7M
FY2023$2.3M
FY2024$3.4M
FY2025$3.7M
Expenses
$2.4M
FY2023▲ +9%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$2.1M
FY2021$2.0M
FY2022$2.2M
FY2023$2.4M
FY2024$2.5M
FY2025$2.4M
Net assets
$2.6M
FY2023▲ +4%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$3.4M
FY2021$4.0M
FY2022$2.5M
FY2023$2.6M
FY2024$3.9M
FY2025$5.3M

From the FY2023 Form 990 (year ending September 2023) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2023 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Sep 1983.

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

Where the money goes

63 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 63% · $1.5M Management & general 25% · $600K Fundraising 11% · $265K

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

28 people listed on the 990; $447K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2022); the FY2023 filing did not itemize Part VII
$125,731Pt VII · Sec A
Adrianna Melnyk
Vice President of Advancement
$104,556Pt VII · Sec A
James Hannan
Vice Pres & Treasurer & Se
$92,632Pt VII · Sec A
Thomas Baker
Director/Former Publisher
$82,207Pt VII · Sec A
Ellen Koneck
Director
$41,904Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Tim Welsh
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Dominic Preziosi$130,835$131,077$125,731$116,846$117,346$115,376
Thomas Baker——$82,207$117,237$121,161$116,719
Ellen Koneck$107,000$107,000$41,904———
Adrianna Melnyk—$102,791$104,556———
James Hannan$95,464$93,228$92,632$93,883$94,385$89,190
Peter Steinfels$1,250—————
Alice McDermott$850—————
John McGreevey$850—————

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 2Yes
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Publish and distribute information on public affairs, religion, literature, and the arts online.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $1.5M · in their own filed words · FY2022
01

Publication and online distribution of information on public affairs, religion, literature and the arts.

$1.5Mprogram expense

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 · FY2024
Vanguard Charitable Endowment ProgramFY2024$200K
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundFY2024$193K
Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust INCFY2024$50K
Dignity HealthFY2024$50K
Georgetown UniversityFY2024$25K
University of Notre Dame Du LacFY2024$25K
Helen V Brach FoundationFY2024$11K
American Gift FundFY2024$10K
Total grants receivedfrom 10 funders$576K
See all 10 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2023 990, line by line.

Download 990
from philanthropy.org
1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$2.3M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.3M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$793K
Investment incomeLn 3$243K
Money outPt IX
$2.4M
Ln 25
Programscol B$1.5M
Managementcol C$600K
Fundraisingcol D$265K
Owns and owesPt X
$2.6M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$208K
Total assetsLn 16$3.3M
LiabilitiesLn 26$628K
PeoplePt VI, VII
28
listed · VII A
PaidVII A5
Voting boardVI 1a25
IndependentVI 1b22
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.3M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$10K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$337K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$793K
Investment incomeLn 3$243K
Other incomeLn 4–11$21K
Gains on assetsLn 7$164K
Total revenueLn 12$2.3M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$208K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$208K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$2.9M
Other assetsLn 15$56K
Total assetsLn 16$3.3M
LiabilitiesLn 26$628K
Net assetsLn 32$2.6M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 518
VolunteersI 60
Fiscal year endsHeaderSeptember
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$190K$208K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$3.3M$2.9M
Total assetsLn 16$3.6M$3.3M
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.0M$628K
Net assetsLn 32$2.5M$2.6M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$402K$174K$228K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$744K$476K$140K$128K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$32K$20K$7K$5K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$115K$75K$18K$21K
Payroll taxesLn 10$89K$51K$30K$8K
Accounting feesLn 11c$29K$29K
Investment management feesLn 11f$30K$30K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$47K$47K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$31K$31K
Office expensesLn 13$308K$258K$4K$46K
Information technologyLn 14$68K$62K$7K
OccupancyLn 16$35K$35K
TravelLn 17$3K$3K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$7K$7K
InsuranceLn 23$14K$14K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$298K$238K$50K$9K
All other expensesLn 24e$114K$114K−$136
Total functional expensesLn 25$2.4M$1.5M$600K$265K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $3.7M$2.4M$1.2M$5.3M 990 PDF
FY2024 $3.4M$2.5M$950K$3.9M 990 PDF
FY2023 Viewing $2.3M$2.4M−$53K$2.6M 990 PDF
FY2022 $1.7M$2.2M−$457K$2.5M 990 PDF
FY2021 $2.2M$2.0M$197K$4.0M 990 PDF
FY2020 $1.6M$2.1M−$470K$3.4M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support O · Explanations
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $2,312,170 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $721,964$1,255,791
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $738,063$792,820
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $270,402$242,814
I-11 Other revenuePrior year −$22,904$20,745
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $1,707,525$2,312,170
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $0$0
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $1,183,942$1,382,301
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $980,209$983,072
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $2,164,151$2,365,373
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$456,626−$53,203
Part VI · Governance 22 of 25 board members independent, 1 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body25
VI-1b Independent voting members22
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsYes
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $2,312,170 across 10 lines filed
VIII-1c Fundraising events$336,993
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$918,798
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$10,457
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$1,255,791
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $792,820$792,820
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $78,603$78,603
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $164,211$164,211
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $20,745$20,745
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $813,565 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $242,814$2,312,170
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,365,373 across 17 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $174,113 · Management $228,325$402,438
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $475,876 · Management $139,962 · Fundraising $128,125$743,963
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $19,661 · Management $6,997 · Fundraising $5,301$31,959
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $75,256 · Management $18,363 · Fundraising $21,227$114,846
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $51,008 · Management $30,140 · Fundraising $7,947$89,095
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $29,410$29,410
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $30,000$30,000
IX-11g Other fees for servicesFundraising $47,342$47,342
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $30,527$30,527
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $258,225 · Management $3,553 · Fundraising $45,840$307,618
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $61,636 · Management $6,733$68,369
IX-16 OccupancyManagement $34,880$34,880
IX-17 TravelPrograms $2,612$2,612
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationManagement $6,910$6,910
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $14,176$14,176
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $238,082 · Management $50,264 · Fundraising $9,344$297,690
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $113,674 · Management −$136$113,538
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $1,500,670 · Management $599,577 · Fundraising $265,126$2,365,373
Part X · Balance sheet $3,266,753 assets, 14 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $189,887$207,842
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $33,985$30,308
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $56,180$26,627
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $3,257,202$2,945,701
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $17,517$56,275
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $3,554,771$3,266,753
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $110,992$120,123
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $915,615$460,171
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $1,996$47,809
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $1,028,603$628,103
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $2,435,031$2,501,016
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $91,137$137,634
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $2,526,168$2,638,650
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $3,554,771$3,266,753
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,638,650 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$2,312,170
XI-2 Total expenses$2,365,373
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$53,203
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$2,526,168
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$165,685
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$2,638,650

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

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