Innocence Project INC EIN 32-0077563 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

Innocence Project INC FY2020 filing

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Exonerates wrongfully convicted individuals through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future unjust imprisonments. For fiscal year 2020 it reported $21.4M in revenue, $15.9M in expenses, and $45.6M in net assets.Pt I

Founded
2003
Type
Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Human Services
Location
New York, NY
Website
www.innocenceproject.org
Filings
6 on file (2020–2020)
Revenue
$21.4MFY2020
Expenses
$15.9M
Net assets
$45.6M
People
27
Filings
6
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  32-0077563 Public charity (501(c)(3)) New York, NY Founded 2003
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2020 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →
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Figures match the IRS filing checked 8/6/26 · see original: IRS
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Size
$10–100M
What they do
Exonerates wrongfully convicted individuals through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future unjust imprisonments.
Leadership
Madeline Delone · Executive Director/Secretary · $244K
Money in and out
$21.4M revenue, $15.9M expenses
Bottom line
75% program efficiency
Where the money goes · FY2020
Total revenue
$21.4M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$15.9M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$45.6M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $5.4M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.75 Management & general $0.13 Fundraising $0.12
Program efficiency
75%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
31.3mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
+25%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2020 · Form 990
Revenue
$21.4M
FY2020
Expenses
$15.9M
FY2020
Total assets
$49.1M
FY2020
Total liabilities
$3.5M
FY2020
Total revenue
$21.4M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$15.9M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$45.6M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$5.4M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$49.1M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B75%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 319
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 419
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $7.1M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2019.
01

Legal Services (includes Legal, Intake and Social Work)

The innocence project leverages the fact-finding science of dna testing to expose errors in the criminal justice system and to exonerate people in prison or on death row for crimes they did not commit.

$4.5Mprogram expense
02

Policy

The innocence project works with congress, state legislatures and courts, executive agencies, local leaders, and law enforcement to pass laws, policies, and rules to reveal and prevent wrongful convictions.

$1.8Mprogram expense
03

Science and Research

The innocence project provides resources to assist researchers, lawyers, journalists, and members of the public interested in wrongful convictions. These resources include statistics about exoneration cases, systematic literature reviews of specific research questions, evaluation of forensic science methods, analyses of special topics…

$801Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CInnocence Project INC
EINHdr · item D32-0077563
Principal addressHdr · item CNew York, NY
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.innocenceproject.org
Year of formationHdr · item L2003
State of legal domicileHdr · item MNY
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFHuman Services (P20)
Ruling yearIRS BMFDec 2007

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a19
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b19
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 · most recent filed roster (FY2019); the FY2020 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Director/Secretary
$244,134Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Development
$178,753Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Operations
$178,721Pt VII · Sec A
Policy Director
$177,174Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Financial Officer
$175,409Pt VII · Sec A
First Staff Attorney
$166,724Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Strategic Litigation
$165,159Pt VII · Sec A
Interim Executive Director
$124,094Pt VII · Sec A

Christina Swarns’s $448K as Executive Director is at the 93rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 3123 $10–100M human services 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Christina Swarns$448,414$420,072$387,735$370,960
Meryl Schwartz$365,630$124,094
Madeline Delone$280,872$244,134
Fiona Guthrie$277,520$259,854$244,490$234,304
Joseph Thompson$270,591$252,809$236,019$240,091$187,885$175,409
Bhavandeep Sodhi$254,985$227,369
Corrine Padavano$252,928$205,762
Denise Tomasini-Joshi$246,686$239,257$185,011

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
Contributions & grants$20.6M · 96%
Investment income$519K · 2%
Other revenue$224K · 1%
Contributions & grants96%$20.6M
Investment income2%$519K
Other revenue1%$224K
Program service revenue$11K
Total revenueLn 12$21.4M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.75 Management & general $0.13 Fundraising $0.12
Program services75%$11.9M
Management & general13%$2.1M
Fundraising12%$1.9M
Total functional expensesLn 25$15.9M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$18.0M
Total assetsLn 16$49.1M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$3.5M
Total net assetsLn 32$45.6M
Months of cash on handcomputed13.5

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2020 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $40.8M · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $15.9M · Less non-cash grants $278K · Cash operating expenses/yr $15.7M
31.3 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $11.9M · Total expenses $15.9M
75%
Management & General
Management & general $2.1M · Total expenses $15.9M
13%
Fundraising
Fundraising $1.9M · Total expenses $15.9M
12%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense $1.9M · Solicited contributions $20.6M
$0.09 to raise $1
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $20.6M · Total revenue $21.4M
96%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $21.4M
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $11K · Total revenue $21.4M
0.05%
Investment reliance
Investment income $519K · Total revenue $21.4M
+2%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $11K · Total expenses $15.9M
0.07%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $21.4M · Prior year —
No prior year on file
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $45.6M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $21.4M · Expenses $15.9M
+25%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $49.1M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $45.6M · Total assets $49.1M
93%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $22.9M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $49.1M
47%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Madeline Delone · Reported title EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/SECRETARY · Highest reported compensation $244K · Total expenses $15.9M
2%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $10.6M · Total expenses $15.9M
66%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 75%
Overhead ratio 13%
Fundraising cost ratio 9%
Legal fee ratio <0.01%
Accounting fee ratio 0.2%

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 · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
See all 10 funders →

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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
FY2025 (Latest)$37.3M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$33.6M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$32.5M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$42.3M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$39.9M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$21.4M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2020IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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