Policy Issues Institute

Laguna Niguel, CA · Membership association · Since 2001

! Not tax-deductible Latest data FY2024
Revenue
$5.9M
▼ -30% vs prior year
Spent
$6.4M
To programs
64%
Net assets
$331K

Form 990 for the fiscal year ending December 2024 (IRS tax year 2024).

Figures match the IRS filing checked 8/20/26 · see original: IRS

Status and standing

Tax-deductible?
No
Per the IRS master file.
Can I give now?
No revocation on IRS record
Not on the IRS revocation list.
Filing up to date?
Filed FY2024 (typical filing lag)
Foundation funders?
Not on file
Spent on programs?
64% to programs
Form 990 Part IX, latest filing.
Size and trend
$1–10M
↓ -30% vs prior year
Legal name (IRS)Hdr · item CPolicy Issues Institute
EINHdr · item D33-0973052
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(4) · active
Ruling yearIRS BMFAug 2001
Year of formationHdr · item L2001
Latest filingForm 990FY2024 · Form 990
Principal addressHdr · item CLaguna Niguel, CA
NTEE classificationIRS BMFNonprofit
WebsiteHdr · item Jpolicyissuesinstitute.com

Where the money goes

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.64 Management & general $0.08 Fundraising $0.27
Program services64%$4.1M
Management & general8%$541K
Fundraising27%$1.8M
Total functional expensesLn 25$6.4M

Financial health

Revenue & expenses by yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$5.9M
FY2024▼ -30%
Expenses
$6.4M
FY2024▼ -28%
Operating surplus
-8%
revenue over expenses▼ -84% vs prior filing year
Earned revenue
0%
of revenue from program services & dues
Payroll share
16%
of spending is salaries & benefits▲ +34% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Total assets
$488K
FY2024▼ -51%
Total liabilities
$157K
FY2024▼ -18%
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$464K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$488K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B64%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 36
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 43

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$263K
Total assetsLn 16$488K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$157K
Total net assetsLn 32$331K
Months of cash on handcomputed0.5

Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants100%$5.9M
Investment income$29K
Total revenueLn 12$5.9M

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $488K · Operating expenses/yr $6.4M
0.9 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $4.1M · Total expenses $6.4M
64%
Management & General
Management & general $541K · Total expenses $6.4M
8%
Fundraising
Fundraising $1.8M · Total expenses $6.4M
27%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $2.0M · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $8.1M
$0.25 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $5.9M · Total revenue $5.9M
100%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $5.9M
—
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $0 · Total revenue $5.9M
0%
Investment reliance
Investment income $29K · Total revenue $5.9M
+0.5%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $0 · Total expenses $6.4M
0%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $5.9M · Prior year $8.5M
-30%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $7.7M · FY2024 $5.9M
-6%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $331K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $5.9M · Expenses $6.4M
-8%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $488K
—
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $331K · Total assets $488K
68%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $225K · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $0 · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $488K
46%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual James Lacy · Reported title CEO · Highest reported compensation $467K · Total expenses $6.4M
7%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $1.0M · Total expenses $6.4M
16%
Fundraising vendors
Fundraiser cost ratio
Paid to fundraisers $486K · Gross raised $5.9M
8%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 64%——
Overhead ratio 8%——
Fundraising cost ratio 30%——
Revenue growth -30%——
Investment management fee ratio 0%——
Legal fee ratio 0.1%——
Accounting fee ratio 0.3%——
Fundraising fee ratio 8%——

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.

Leadership and pay

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
$466,750Pt VII · Sec A
President
$409,000Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President
$45,090Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$42,000Pt VII · Sec A
$25,500Pt VII · Sec A
$500Pt VII · Sec A
$500Pt VII · Sec A
$500Pt VII · Sec A

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

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Floyd Brown$409,000$477,000$390,000$411,000$294,000
James Lacy$466,750$473,500$355,000$378,000$323,000
Alexander Tomescu$45,090$38,240$26,339$17,560$20,232
Lori Klein$42,000$500———
Barrett Garcia$25,500$29,000$28,000$26,500$24,000
Martin Matthews$500$500$500——
Robert Cambron$500$500$500——
Randy Goodwin$500$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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Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a6
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b3
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13No
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14No
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aNo
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Mission and programs

Researches and informs the public about critical American public policy issues.

Provided by the organization

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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $4.1M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

PII mailed over 450,000 petitions in 2024 to the public, to inform them of important public policy issues, and asking them to send their signed petitions to members of Congress and other government officials.

$4.1Mprogram expense

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Funders

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

Grants

Schedule I · this organization's grantmaking
Grants paid · 7 grants · $169K · 2023–2024
Pii Nonprofit 501c4-No on 32FY2024$50,700
Sa Ctzns for Voting-No on DdFY2024$47,250
National Review InstituteNY · FY2024$12,500
United States Justice FndtnFY2023$25,000
National Review InstituteNY · FY2023$17,500
Summit MinistriesFY2023$10,000
Pepperdine UniversityCA · FY2023$5,900

Filing history

YearRevenueExpensesChangeFiling
FY2024 Latest Viewing $5.9M$6.4M-30% 990 PDF
FY2023 $8.5M$8.8M-13% 990 PDF
FY2022 $9.8M$8.6M+60% 990 PDF
FY2021 $6.1M$6.9M-20% 990 PDF
FY2020 $7.7M$6.5M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash

Not shown yet: ratings, outcomes, and peer benchmarks. A Form 990 doesn’t report them.

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
Names, privacy, and removal requests More

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