Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Jul 2005.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
94 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
42 people listed on the 990; $2.0M paid to officers and key staff.
Jonathan Cowan’s $413K as President and CEO is at the 83rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 129 $10–100M civil rights & advocacy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Cowan | $413,118 | $413,528 | $414,937 | $306,684 | $306,145 |
| Matthew Bennett Secretary and | $379,453 | $379,363 | $383,379 | $291,581 | $291,887 |
| James Kessler | $377,021 | $377,318 | $378,910 | $302,608 | $306,543 |
| Lanae M Erickson SR VP for | $299,942 | $299,964 | $248,240 | $249,773 | $225,236 |
| Gabriel a Horwitz Senior | $296,343 | — | — | — | — |
| Gabriel a Horwitz | — | $296,335 | $248,152 | $247,994 | $220,049 |
| Joshua Freed | — | $295,072 | $246,273 | $246,990 | $218,098 |
| Joshua Freed Senior VP | $294,687 | — | — | — | — |
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
Researches and develops centrist policy ideas focused on middle-class affordability, healthcare cost reduction, and entrepreneurial opportunities for non-college-educated workers.
Questions for Third Way
Your first name shows with your question. Third Way answers here, for everyone.
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Please note that for this program, and for all of the organization's programs, all reports developed by third way are made available to the general public through its website: WWW.THIRDWAY.ORG.CLIMATE and energy the climate and energy program's mission is to change the national policy conversation and put the united states on the…
Social policy and politicsin 2020, the social policy and politics program focused on 1) answering what a coalition to defeat populism must look like, 2) offering a comprehensive federal college quality agenda that shifts focus from cost to value among policymakers, the press, and other influencers and 3) addressing threats on contentious…
Economics program in 2020, our economic program focused on two core areas: 1) developing an agenda to rescue the economy and us health care system in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2) advancing a case for a new contract on work.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $7.8M | $11.7M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $20.0M | $25.2M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $1.2M | $1.5M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $29.3M | $38.9M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $2.1M | $5.5M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $27.3M | $33.4M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $957K | $957K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $1.2M | $1.1M | $106K | $19K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $4.7M | $4.4M | $268K | $56K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $182K | $169K | $10K | $2K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $416K | $382K | $28K | $6K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $392K | $364K | $23K | $4K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $12K | $12K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $53K | $30K | $23K | $588 |
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $56K | $56K | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $139K | $139K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $3.7M | $3.7M | $17K | $2K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $1.8M | $1.8M | $636 | $118 |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $254K | $232K | $20K | $2K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $317K | $300K | $15K | $3K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $553K | $532K | $17K | $4K |
| TravelLn 17 | $39K | $39K | $685 | $92 |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $23K | $22K | $974 | |
| InterestLn 20 | $8K | $8K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $328K | $294K | $27K | $6K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $17K | $15K | $2K | $385 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $251K | $201K | $314 | $50K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $15.5M | $14.6M | $717K | $213K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest | $31.7M | $24.5M | $7.2M | $58.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $27.2M | $21.3M | $5.9M | $50.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $27.4M | $23.1M | $4.3M | $40.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $24.1M | $18.4M | $5.7M | $42.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 Viewing | $18.4M | $15.5M | $2.9M | $33.4M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $18,388,215 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 30 of 33 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $18,388,215 across 7 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $15,511,587 across 21 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $38,888,126 assets, 17 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $33,422,996 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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