Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jan 2014.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
90 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
9 people listed on the 990; $58K paid to officers and key staff.
Marilyn Wagner’s $30K as President is at the 25th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1043 $100K–1M public & societal benefit 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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marilyn Wagner | $30,000 | $57,500 | $25,000 | — |
| William Wagner | $10,555 | — | $35,967 | $35,900 |
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.
See Salt and Light Global executive salaries →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 15aNo
Programs and updates
Cultivates future leaders in liberty, good governance, and service to others.
Questions for Salt and Light Global
Your first name shows with your question. Salt and Light Global answers here, for everyone.
Broadened research, acted as an educational and cultural resource, cultivated future leaders, and served the common interests of those who value the unalienable rights of life, liberty and good governance, including freedom of religious conscience and freedom of expression.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2024 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY24 | End FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $440K | $526K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $440K | $526K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $7K | $8K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $433K | $518K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $58K | $58K | ||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $71K | $58K | $13K | |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $10K | $9K | $1K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $4K | $4K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $2K | $2K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $4K | $2K | $2K | |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $2K | $2K | ||
| TravelLn 17 | $8K | $8K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $2K | $2K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $63K | $63K | ||
| All other expensesLn 24e | $727 | $406 | $124 | $197 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $224K | $201K | $23K | $197 |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS May 12, 2026 | $223K | $209K | $13K | $531K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 ViewingFiled with the IRS Jan 17, 2025 | $308K | $224K | $85K | $518K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Dec 7, 2023 | $183K | $433K | 990 PDF | ||
| FY2022 | Not on file | ||||
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Dec 14, 2021 | $455K | $120K | $334K | $451K | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $308,472 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 9 of 9 board members independent, 4 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $308,472 across 6 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $223,658 across 11 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $525,794 assets, 9 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $517,784 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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