Mozilla Foundation EIN 20-0097189

Mozilla Foundation FY2021 filing

EIN  20-0097189 Public charity (501(c)(3)) San Francisco, CA Founded 2003
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →
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Verified accurate 8/6/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$10–100M
What they do
Supports global leaders and projects through grants and fellowships to ensure the internet remains a safe, open, and trustworthy public resource.
Leadership
Mark Surman · Executive Director · $338K
Money in and out
$30.7M revenue, $23.3M expenses
Bottom line
73% program efficiency

Supports global leaders and projects through grants and fellowships to ensure the internet remains a safe, open, and trustworthy public resource. For fiscal year 2021 it reported $30.7M in revenue, $23.3M in expenses, and $74.5M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2021
Total revenue
$30.7M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$23.3M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$74.5M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $7.3M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.73 Management & general $0.19 Fundraising $0.08
Program efficiency
73%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
32.3mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
+24%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2021 · Form 990
Revenue
$30.7M
FY2021▲ +16%
Expenses
$23.3M
FY2021▲ +29%
Total assets
$77.0M
FY2021▲ +15%
Total liabilities
$2.5M
FY2021▲ +2%
Total revenue
$30.7M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$23.3M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$74.5M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$7.3M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$77.0M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B73%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 38
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 46
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $17.1M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2021.
01

Leadership developmentmozilla leverages fellowships and awards to support people and projects around the world who are standing up for internet health. In 2021, we funded data scientists in kenya, activists in brazil, open-source developers in the U.S., and several others.

$11.1Mprogram expense
02

Movement Buildingmozilla Uses Several Strategies

From campaigns to publicity - to build a critical mass of consumers that can hold tech companies accountable. In 2021, we published two editions of *privacy not included, our privacy-centric buyer's guide. We catalyzed thousands of people around the world to donate their voices to our open-source common voice dataset.

$5.2Mprogram expense
03

Agenda settingmozilla researchers study emerging issues at the intersection of the internet and society, and then shepherd them into the public conversation. In 2021, we published a new edition of our internet health report, investigating bias, labor rights, and transparency online.

$789Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CMozilla Foundation
EINHdr · item D20-0097189
Principal addressHdr · item CSan Francisco, CA
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.mozilla.org
Year of formationHdr · item L2003
State of legal domicileHdr · item MCA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFScience & Technology (U40)
Ruling yearIRS BMFJun 2004

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a8
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b6
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director
$337,714Pt VII · Sec A
VP, Global Programs
$294,489Pt VII · Sec A
VP, Advocacy and Engagement
$266,262Pt VII · Sec A
Executive Vice President
$242,929Pt VII · Sec A
Director, Fundraising
$189,429Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Operations
$161,431Pt VII · Sec A
Director, Organizational Effectiveness
$132,925Pt VII · Sec A
Lead, Fundraising and Email
$117,724Pt VII · Sec A

Mark Surman’s $611K as President, Director is at the 82nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 140 $10–100M science & technology 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
Mark Surman$610,704$661,886$344,483$337,714$299,228
J Bob Alotta$434,746$417,327$314,036$294,489$285,514
Angela Plohman$363,756$415,549$246,486$242,929$214,755
Ashley Boyd$309,984$368,445$304,915$266,262$246,817
Nabiha Syed$310,566
Lainie Decoursy$281,271$200,137$169,846$132,925
Jessica Keating$260,056
David Walker$230,654$219,117$212,153

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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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Program service revenue$20.2M · 66%
Contributions & grants$9.9M · 32%
Investment income$533K · 2%
Program service revenue66%$20.2M
Contributions & grants32%$9.9M
Investment income2%$533K
— government grantsLn 1e$600K
Total revenueLn 12$30.7M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.73 Management & general $0.19 Fundraising $0.08
Program services73%$17.1M
Management & general19%$4.3M
Fundraising8%$1.9M
Total functional expensesLn 25$23.3M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$25.7M
Total assetsLn 16$77.0M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$2.5M
Total net assetsLn 32$74.5M
Months of cash on handcomputed13.2

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2021 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $62.9M · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $23.3M · Less non-cash grants $800 · Cash operating expenses/yr $23.3M
32.3 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $17.1M · Total expenses $23.3M
73%
Management & General
Management & general $4.3M · Total expenses $23.3M
19%
Fundraising
Fundraising $1.9M · Total expenses $23.3M
8%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (2-yr avg) $1.9M · Solicited contributions (2-yr avg) $9.2M
$0.20 to raise $1 (2-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $9.9M · Total revenue $30.7M
32%
Government reliance
Government grants $600K · Total revenue $30.7M
2%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $20.2M · Total revenue $30.7M
66%
Investment reliance
Investment income $533K · Total revenue $30.7M
+2%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $20.2M · Total expenses $23.3M
87%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $30.7M · Prior year $26.5M
+16%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $74.5M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $30.7M · Expenses $23.3M
+24%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $77.0M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $74.5M · Total assets $77.0M
97%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $34.8M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $2.4M · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $77.0M
48%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Mark Surman · Reported title EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR · Highest reported compensation $338K · Total expenses $23.3M
1%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $11.6M · Total expenses $23.3M
50%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 73%
Overhead ratio 19%
Fundraising cost ratio 19%
Revenue growth 16%
Legal fee ratio 1%
Accounting fee ratio 2%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$363
Grants paid · 125 grants · $9.5M · 2020–2023
See all 125 grants →

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024 (Latest)$37.2M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$64.7M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$49.7M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$30.7M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$26.5M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2021IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
Names, privacy, and removal requests More

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