Catholic grassroots education and civic action to defend life, faith, and family.

66¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 202 volunteers and 14 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2023 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(4)
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
No
Donations are not tax-deductible
Worth a look: the IRS does not list gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2023
latest Form 990
Fine: the latest return is for FY2023, 3 tax years back; within 3 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
2 of 4
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $342K a year · 4% of revenue · last 4 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 2 of the last 4 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 4 filings
Spent on programs
66%
of spending
Fine: 66% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$654K
to officers and key staff · 11% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 11% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
3 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 3.1 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $10K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$306K
10% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 10% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
8
of 10 voting members
Looks good: 8 of 10 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$4.5M
-52% vs prior year
Spent
$5.8M
To programs
66%
Net assets
$2.6M
By yearFY2020–FY2023
Revenue
$4.5M
FY2023▼ -52%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$13.1M
FY2021$4.8M
FY2022$9.4M
FY2023$4.5M
Expenses
$5.8M
FY2023▼ -28%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$11.7M
FY2021$4.9M
FY2022$8.0M
FY2023$5.8M
Net assets
$2.6M
FY2023▼ -33%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$2.7M
FY2021$2.5M
FY2022$3.9M
FY2023$2.6M

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

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Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2023. IRS ruling in Sep 2005.

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

Where the money goes

66 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 66% · $3.8M Management & general 13% · $728K Fundraising 21% · $1.2M

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

15 people listed on the 990; $654K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
President
$229,000Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Development Officer
$109,656Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Marketing Serv
$104,875Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President, Programs
$92,500Pt VII · Sec A
Data Systems Manager
$60,375Pt VII · Sec A
Gift Officer
$57,500Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Brian Burch’s $229K as President is at the 93rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 1636 $1–10M religion 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 · 6 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Brian Burch$229,000$222,170$198,422$201,176
John Sherman$109,656$105,863$102,229—
Sarah Chastain$104,875———
Joshua Mercer$92,500$82,500$62,100—
Jonathan Kearney$60,375———
Jason Stern$57,500———

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

Promotes Catholic education and civic action to defend life, faith, and family.

Questions for Fidelis

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Your first name shows with your question. Fidelis answers here, for everyone.

Provided by the organization

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1 program · $3.8M · in their own filed words · FY2023
01

Fidelis is a national catholic advocacy group organized to educate and inspire every catholic in america to live out their faith in public life. Fidelis carries out this work principally through a D/B/A "catholicvote civic action or CATHOLICVOTE.ORG" which provides catholic citizens and concerned americans critical news, commentary…

$3.8Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

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

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$10K
Grants paid · 4 grants · $770K · 2020–2022
DO Right Pac (state Pac)FY2022$600,000
Susan B Anthony List INCVA · FY2022$100,000
Bienvenido in ActionTX · FY2020$45,000
United in PurposeTX · FY2020$25,000

By the numbers

The FY2023 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$4.5M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$4.5M
Other incomeLn 4–11$6K
Money outPt IX
$5.8M
Ln 25
Programscol B$3.8M
Managementcol C$728K
Fundraisingcol D$1.2M
Owns and owesPt X
$2.6M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$1.5M
Total assetsLn 16$2.9M
LiabilitiesLn 26$306K
PeoplePt VI, VII
15
listed · VII A
PaidVII A6
Voting boardVI 1a10
IndependentVI 1b8
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$4.5M
Other incomeLn 4–11$6K
Total revenueLn 12$4.5M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$1.5M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$1.5M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$19K
Other assetsLn 15$1.2M
Total assetsLn 16$2.9M
LiabilitiesLn 26$306K
Net assetsLn 32$2.6M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 514
VolunteersI 6202
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$2.8M$1.5M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$18K$19K
Total assetsLn 16$4.2M$2.9M
LiabilitiesLn 26$305K$306K
Net assetsLn 32$3.9M$2.6M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$114K$57K$29K$29K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$1.4M$707K$239K$409K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$93K$49K$17K$28K
Payroll taxesLn 10$110K$57K$20K$33K
Legal feesLn 11b$33K$33K
Accounting feesLn 11c$25K$25K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$3.2M$2.5M$209K$506K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$169K$160K$9K
Office expensesLn 13$173K$143K$27K$2K
OccupancyLn 16$70K$17K$42K$10K
TravelLn 17$154K$43K$111K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$14K$14K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$6K$6K
InsuranceLn 23$36K$9K$22K$5K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$218K$109K$51K$59K
All other expensesLn 24e$23K$5K$18K
Total functional expensesLn 25$5.8M$3.8M$728K$1.2M

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2023 Latest Viewing $4.5M$5.8M−$1.3M$2.6M 990 PDF
FY2022 $9.4M$8.0M$1.4M$3.9M 990 PDF
FY2021 $4.8M$4.9M−$166K$2.5M 990 PDF
FY2020 $13.1M$11.7M$1.4M$2.7M 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 J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $4,521,776 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $9,346,922$4,516,028
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $0$0
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $0$0
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $9,363$5,748
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $9,356,285$4,521,776
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $700,000$0
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $1,085,802$1,673,760
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $6,219,610$4,108,695
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $8,005,412$5,782,455
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $1,350,873−$1,260,679
Part VI · Governance 8 of 10 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body10
VI-1b Independent voting members8
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
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 $4,521,776 across 3 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $5,748 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$4,516,028
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$4,516,028
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $5,748 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$4,521,776
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $5,782,455 across 16 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $57,250 · Management $28,625 · Fundraising $28,625$114,500
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $707,474 · Management $239,308 · Fundraising $408,662$1,355,444
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $48,554 · Management $17,012 · Fundraising $27,764$93,330
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $57,474 · Management $20,142 · Fundraising $32,870$110,486
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $33,092$33,092
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $25,372$25,372
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $2,473,133 · Management $209,191 · Fundraising $506,180$3,188,504
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $160,398 · Management $8,578$168,976
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $143,489 · Management $27,429 · Fundraising $1,895$172,813
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $17,433 · Management $41,840 · Fundraising $10,459$69,732
IX-17 TravelPrograms $42,692 · Fundraising $110,914$153,606
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $13,626$13,626
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $5,784$5,784
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $9,005 · Management $21,613 · Fundraising $5,403$36,021
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $108,685 · Management $50,890 · Fundraising $58,808$218,383
IX-24e All other expensesManagement $4,680 · Fundraising $18,106$22,786
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $3,844,997 · Management $727,772 · Fundraising $1,209,686$5,782,455
Part X · Balance sheet $2,912,051 assets, 12 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $2,756,417$1,488,680
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $132,922$245,893
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $17,641$19,349
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $1,265,546$1,158,129
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $4,172,526$2,912,051
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $106,418$141,279
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $199,056$164,399
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $305,474$305,678
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $3,816,399$2,531,808
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $50,653$74,565
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $3,867,052$2,606,373
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $4,172,526$2,912,051
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,606,373 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$4,521,776
XI-2 Total expenses$5,782,455
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$1,260,679
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$3,867,052
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$2,606,373

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

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