Citizen University is working to fortify the habits and skills of powerful, responsible citizenship in communities across the country. Our vision is a nation of vibrant, self-governing communities where each person understands their civic power, commits to taking responsibility, and is meaningfully contributing to a healthy, shared civic life. We DO this by equipping and supporting civic catalysts around the country to practice and spread habits of citizenship in ways that feel relational, relevant, and sustainable.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
81¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$128K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

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FY2019 · 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
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
4 of 7
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $198K a year · 12% of revenue · last 7 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 4 of the last 7 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 7 filings
Spent on programs
81%
of spending
Looks good: 81% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$128K
to officers and key staff · 13% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 13% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
6 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 5.6 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
9
named funders · $1.2M
Looks good: 9 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$6K
0.8% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 1% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
2
of 3 voting members
Looks good: 2 of 3 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$1.1M
Spent
$1.0M
To programs
81%
Net assets
$723K
By yearFY2019–FY2025
Revenue
$1.1M
FY2019
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2019$1.1M
FY2020$717K
FY2021$1.5M
FY2022$2.8M
FY2023$2.3M
FY2024$785K
FY2025$2.0M
Expenses
$1.0M
FY2019
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2019$1.0M
FY2020$894K
FY2021$828K
FY2022$1.1M
FY2023$1.7M
FY2024$2.1M
FY2025$2.2M
Net assets
$723K
FY2019
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2019$723K
FY2020$546K
FY2021$1.2M
FY2022$3.2M
FY2023$3.8M
FY2024$2.4M
FY2025$2.2M

From the FY2019 Form 990 (year ending June 2019) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2019 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jul 2014.

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

Where the money goes

81 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 81% · $822K Management & general 16% · $159K Fundraising 4% · $37K

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

4 people listed on the 990; $128K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2018); the FY2019 filing did not itemize Part VII
$65,958Pt VII · Sec A
$62,500Pt VII · Sec A
Co-Founder
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Eric Liu’s $162K as Chief Executive Officer is at the 54th percentile of top reported officer pay among 731 $1–10M 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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Eric Liu$162,231$139,471$128,320$128,320$120,000$60,000
Chris Hayashida-Knight$117,669$107,322$62,650———
Kayla Demonte$83,820$115,075$109,142$109,142$98,166$91,250

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 2Yes
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Trains educators to guide young people in civic and ethical formation, fostering engaged citizens.

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3 programs · $519K · in their own filed words · FY2018
01

Civic Saturdays

Civic Saturday is an event that gathers friends and strangers together to nurture a spirit of shared purpose. At these events, we connect around the values and practices of being an active citizen, reckon with and reflect on our nation's creed, and build relationships that create new civic traditions that are joyful and communal.

$239Kprogram expense
02

Youth Collaboratory

The Youth Collaboratory is a year-long program designed to empower and connect a rising generation of civic leaders and doers. 24 highly-motivated students from around the country join Citizen University and travel to cities around the nation 3 times during the year, meeting leading civic innovators, sharpening their literacy in citizen…

$198Kprogram expense
03

Civic Seminary

The Civic Seminary is our training program held in Seattle where we teach leaders from around the country to build Civic Saturday events in their own communities. Our Seminarians have spread Civic Saturday gatherings to every corner of the US, bringing a deeper sense of civic spirit to their communities.

$82Kprogram 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
See all 9 funders →
Grants paid · 6 grants · $153K · 2018–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$37,948
Unitemized GrantFY2023$15,376
Unitemized GrantFY2022$9,187
Unitemized GrantFY2021$5,880
Unitemized GrantFY2020$6,171
Unitemized GrantFY2018$78,049

By the numbers

The FY2019 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$1.1M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.1M
Other incomeLn 4–11$11K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$559
Money outPt IX
$1.0M
Ln 25
Programscol B$822K
Managementcol C$159K
Fundraisingcol D$37K
Owns and owesPt X
$723K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$476K
Total assetsLn 16$729K
LiabilitiesLn 26$6K
PeoplePt VI, VII
4
listed · VII A
PaidVII A2
Voting boardVI 1a3
IndependentVI 1b2
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.1M
Government grantsLn 1e$0
Noncash giftsLn 1g$0
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$0
Fees for servicesLn 2g$559
Investment incomeLn 3$175
Other incomeLn 4–11$11K
Total revenueLn 12$1.1M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$476K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$476K
Total assetsLn 16$729K
LiabilitiesLn 26$6K
Net assetsLn 32$723K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 513
VolunteersI 620
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
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 FY19End FY19
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$636K$476K
Total assetsLn 16$639K$729K
LiabilitiesLn 26$18K$6K
Net assetsLn 32$621K$723K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$78K$78K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$128K$84K$24K$21K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$175K$157K$10K$9K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$0
Other employee benefitsLn 9$38K$19K$17K$2K
Payroll taxesLn 10$30K$27K$3K
Accounting feesLn 11c$27K$27K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$114K$113K$2K
Office expensesLn 13$32K$21K$11K
Information technologyLn 14$39K$29K$10K
OccupancyLn 16$43K$43K
TravelLn 17$50K$50K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$255K$246K$6K$2K
InsuranceLn 23$9K$9K
All other expensesLn 24e$0
Total functional expensesLn 25$1.0M$822K$159K$37K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $2.0M$2.2M−$207K$2.2M 990 PDF
FY2024 $785K$2.1M−$1.4M$2.4M 990 PDF
FY2023 $2.3M$1.7M$615K$3.8M 990 PDF
FY2022 $2.8M$1.1M$1.7M$3.2M 990 PDF
FY2021 $1.5M$828K$677K$1.2M 990 PDF
FY2020 $717K$894K−$177K$546K 990 PDF
FY2019 Viewing $1.1M$1.0M$102K$723K 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 O · Explanations
See the full FY2019 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,120,372 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $1,152,398$1,108,941
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $0$559
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $33$175
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $4,904$10,697
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $1,157,335$1,120,372
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $0$78,049
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $350,765$371,441
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $381,731$568,864
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $732,496$1,018,354
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $424,839$102,018
Part VI · Governance 2 of 3 board members independent, 1 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body3
VI-1b Independent voting members2
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsYes
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 $1,120,372 across 11 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $11,256 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1a Federated campaigns$0
VIII-1b Membership dues$0
VIII-1c Fundraising events$0
VIII-1d Related organizations$0
VIII-1e Government grants$0
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$1,108,941
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$0
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$1,108,941
VIII-3 Investment incomeRelated to mission $175 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$175
VIII-5 RoyaltiesRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$0
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $11,431 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$1,120,372
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,018,354 across 16 lines filed
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $78,049$78,049
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $83,546 · Management $23,652 · Fundraising $21,260$128,458
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $156,653 · Management $9,727 · Fundraising $8,711$175,091
IX-8 Pension plan contributions$0
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $18,843 · Management $17,286 · Fundraising $2,155$38,284
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $27,005 · Fundraising $2,603$29,608
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $27,280$27,280
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $112,743 · Management $1,558$114,301
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $20,798 · Management $11,494$32,292
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $28,559 · Management $10,073$38,632
IX-16 OccupancyManagement $43,261$43,261
IX-17 TravelPrograms $49,910$49,910
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $246,089 · Management $6,366 · Fundraising $2,157$254,612
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $8,576$8,576
IX-24e All other expenses$0
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $822,195 · Management $159,273 · Fundraising $36,886$1,018,354
Part X · Balance sheet $728,865 assets, 8 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $635,826$475,815
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$250,000
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $3,050$3,050
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $638,876$728,865
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $17,929$5,900
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $17,929$5,900
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $620,947$722,965
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $638,876$728,865
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $722,965 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$1,120,372
XI-2 Total expenses$1,018,354
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$102,018
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$620,947
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$0
XI-6 Donated services and use of facilities$0
XI-7 Investment expenses$0
XI-8 Prior period adjustments$0
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$722,965

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2019 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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