Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in May 2004.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
69 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
12 people listed on the 990; $650K paid to officers and key staff.
Russell McGurk’s $258K as President (1/1/25-6/30/25) is at the 94th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1851 $1–10M environment 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 | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russell McGurk | $258,122 | $256,713 | $288,081 | $333,527 | — | — |
| McGurk Russell | — | — | — | — | $263,896 | $231,667 |
| Michael Gaynor | $249,279 | $157,303 | $158,370 | $164,734 | $131,767 | — |
| Curtis Sloan Secretary | — | — | — | — | $165,647 | $154,976 |
| Elizabeth Cantwell | $139,047 | — | — | $103,780 | — | — |
| Bonnie Carter | $127,934 | $99,968 | $102,737 | $105,234 | — | — |
| Brett Sebastian | $110,429 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Emily Traiforos | $109,336 | $104,922 | $100,779 | $104,791 | — | — |
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 freight rail to improve quality of life and build a stronger economy.
Questions for Gorail
Your first name shows with your question. Gorail answers here, for everyone.
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Gorail educates community leaders and the public about the benefits of moving freight by rail and asks them to make clear to members of congress that rail policy decisions made in washington, D.C. Have real impacts in local communities.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2023 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY23 | End FY23 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $187K | $273K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $6K | $3K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $427K | $449K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $215K | $183K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $212K | $266K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $580K | $388K | $36K | $156K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $573K | $512K | $53K | $8K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $16K | $14K | $1K | $87 |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $61K | $47K | $14K | |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $81K | $58K | $13K | $10K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $31K | $31K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $4K | $4K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $22K | $15K | $1K | $6K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $74K | $58K | $6K | $10K |
| TravelLn 17 | $77K | $65K | $1K | $10K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $203K | $203K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $5K | $4K | $415 | $736 |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $8K | $5K | $383 | $2K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $139K | $134K | $4K | $545 |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $907 | $126 | $781 | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $1.9M | $1.3M | $168K | $407K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $2.3M | $2.2M | $21K | $384K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $2.1M | $2.0M | $98K | $363K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 Viewing | $1.9M | $1.9M | $53K | $266K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $1.9M | $1.7M | $196K | $212K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $1.8M | $1.8M | $37K | $16K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $1.5M | $1.7M | −$179K | −$22K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,929,094 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 7 of 8 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,929,094 across 4 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,875,652 across 15 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $448,952 assets, 11 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $265,504 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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