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The Difference Principle INC

Tax-deductible

Milwaukee, WI501(c)(3)Education EIN 46-2088738Revenue $3.4M in FY2024

On file with the IRSdifferenceprinciple.org205 W Highland Ave Ste 509, 53203-1114 · Milwaukee, WITax-exempt since Feb 2014Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

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Organized to act as the parent corporation for its subsidiary 501(c)(3) organization, providing administrative support services.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
5¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 3 volunteers and 20 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2024 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
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
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
5 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $342K a year · 13% of revenue · last 5 filings
Looks good: a surplus in 5 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
5%
of spending
Concern: 5% of spending went to programs; under 50%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$1.0M
to officers and key staff · 34% of spending
Top officer’s pay higher than 89% of similar orgs
Concern: pay to officers and key staff is 34% of spending; over 30%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
4 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 3.5 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $15K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$3.1M
66% of total assets
Worth a look: liabilities are 66% of assets; over 65%.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
3
of 5 voting members
Looks good: 3 of 5 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$3.4M
+23% vs prior year
Spent
$2.9M
To programs
5%
Net assets
$1.6M
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$3.4M
FY2024▲ +23%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$2.2M
FY2021$2.1M
FY2022$2.4M
FY2023$2.8M
FY2024$3.4M
Expenses
$2.9M
FY2024▲ +11%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$1.5M
FY2021$1.9M
FY2022$2.2M
FY2023$2.6M
FY2024$2.9M
Net assets
$1.6M
FY2024▲ +34%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$767K
FY2021$812K
FY2022$1.1M
FY2023$1.2M
FY2024$1.6M

From the FY2024 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: FY2024. IRS ruling in Feb 2014.

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

Where the money goes

5 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 5% · $152K Management & general 95% · $2.8M

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; $1.0M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Nicholas Sayner
Executive Director
$233,646Pt VII · Sec A
Edward Gordon
Chief Operating Officer
$233,646Pt VII · Sec A
Julie Murdock
Chief Human Resource Offic
$165,208Pt VII · Sec A
Nicole Leicht
Program Administrator
$141,078Pt VII · Sec A
Sarah Wang
Program Administrator
$120,250Pt VII · Sec A
Justin Terrell
Director of Public Policy
$108,283Pt VII · Sec A
Michael Kahler
Program Administrator
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Linda Anick
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Nicholas Sayner’s $234K as Executive Director is at the 89th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3395 $1–10M education 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

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Nicholas Sayner$233,646$192,318$173,746$141,725$140,424
Edward Gordon$233,646$192,365$173,746$140,925$139,639
Julie Murdock$165,208$129,266$119,627$111,050$100,168
Nicole Leicht$141,078$130,038$126,419——
Sarah Wang$120,250$105,187———
Julie Wiech—$104,263$112,917——
Erin King————$111,706
Justin Terrell$108,283$100,595———

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

Provides administrative support services for its subsidiary nonprofit.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $152K · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

The difference principle provides administrative services to nonprofit organizations, including human resources, accounting and consulting.

$152Kprogram 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 · FY2024
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundFY2024$15K
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$15K
Grants paid · 3 grants · $200K · 2020–2023
Minnesota Justice Research CenterMN · FY2023$50,000
Justice Point INCFY2020$100,000
Sirona Recovery INCWI · FY2020$50,000

By the numbers

The FY2024 990, line by line.

Download 990
from philanthropy.org
1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$3.4M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$3.3M
Investment incomeLn 3$36K
Other incomeLn 4–11$24K
Money outPt IX
$2.9M
Ln 25
Programscol B$152K
Managementcol C$2.8M
Owns and owesPt X
$1.6M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$862K
Total assetsLn 16$4.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$3.1M
PeoplePt VI, VII
12
listed · VII A
PaidVII A6
Voting boardVI 1a5
IndependentVI 1b3
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$250
Fees for servicesLn 2g$3.3M
Investment incomeLn 3$36K
Other incomeLn 4–11$24K
Total revenueLn 12$3.4M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$38K
SavingsLn 2$823K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$862K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$2.7M
Other assetsLn 15$157K
Total assetsLn 16$4.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$3.1M
Net assetsLn 32$1.6M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 520
VolunteersI 63
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 FY24End FY24
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$38K$862K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0$2.7M
Total assetsLn 16$2.1M$4.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$885K$3.1M
Net assetsLn 32$1.2M$1.6M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$693K$35K$658K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$1.4M$71K$1.3M
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$80K$4K$76K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$213K$11K$202K
Payroll taxesLn 10$149K$7K$141K
Accounting feesLn 11c$3K$2K$781
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$31K$2K$29K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$15$15
Office expensesLn 13$46K$3K$42K
Information technologyLn 14$33K$2K$31K
OccupancyLn 16$77K$352$77K
TravelLn 17$43K$2K$40K
InterestLn 20$13K$13K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$38K$2K$36K
InsuranceLn 23$14K$717$14K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$99K$10K$89K
Total functional expensesLn 25$2.9M$152K$2.8M$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest Viewing $3.4M$2.9M$432K$1.6M 990 PDF
FY2023 $2.8M$2.6M$105K$1.2M 990 PDF
FY2022 $2.4M$2.2M$261K$1.1M 990 PDF
FY2021 $2.1M$1.9M$204K$812K 990 PDF
FY2020 $2.2M$1.5M$706K$767K 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 FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $3,379,892 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $411$250
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $2,754,080$3,319,577
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $0$36,134
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $247$23,931
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $2,754,738$3,379,892
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $50,000$0
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $2,293,128$2,551,538
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $306,224$396,776
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $2,649,352$2,948,314
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $105,386$431,578
Part VI · Governance 3 of 5 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body5
VI-1b Independent voting members3
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 $3,379,892 across 7 lines filed
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$250
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$250
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $3,319,577$3,319,577
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $36,134$36,134
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossRelated to mission $2,823$2,823
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Excluded from tax $21,108$21,108
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $3,322,400 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $57,242$3,379,892
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,948,314 across 16 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $34,647 · Management $658,292$692,939
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $70,895 · Management $1,346,979$1,417,874
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $3,977 · Management $75,575$79,552
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $10,625 · Management $201,878$212,503
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $7,434 · Management $141,236$148,670
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $1,854 · Management $781$2,635
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $1,543 · Management $29,319$30,862
IX-12 Advertising and promotionManagement $15$15
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $3,300 · Management $42,236$45,536
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $2,011 · Management $30,619$32,630
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $352 · Management $76,932$77,284
IX-17 TravelPrograms $2,490 · Management $40,091$42,581
IX-20 InterestManagement $13,461$13,461
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $1,897 · Management $36,039$37,936
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $717 · Management $13,623$14,340
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $10,055 · Management $89,441$99,496
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $151,797 · Management $2,796,517 · Fundraising $0$2,948,314
Part X · Balance sheet $4,646,512 assets, 14 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $38,153$38,394
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investments$823,263
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $1,501,701$896,611
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $811$2,465
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $0$2,708,695
X-14 Intangible assets$19,754
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $522,410$157,330
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $2,063,075$4,646,512
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $349,991$309,750
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $534,616$174,357
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $884,607$3,070,107
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $1,178,468$1,576,405
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $1,178,468$1,576,405
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $2,063,075$4,646,512
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,576,405 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$3,379,892
XI-2 Total expenses$2,948,314
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$431,578
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$1,178,468
XI-8 Prior period adjustments−$33,641
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$1,576,405

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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