State Democracy Project FY2021 filing

Claim this org

(tell your story, add context, and more) Claim it free, then get the verified mark for $300 a year.

How does your 990 look to donors? Take the 10-Question Audit

The purpose of the organization has been expanded to "educating the general public and policy makers regarding the need to iteratively improve american Democracy by encouraging increased citizen participation in elections and policy-making, as well as more responsive government institutions at the local, State and federal levels."

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
84¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$165K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2021 · 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
3 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $864K a year · 6% of revenue · last 5 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
84%
of spending
Looks good: 84% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$165K
to officers and key staff · 25% of spending
Worth a look: pay to officers and key staff is 25% of spending; over 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
14 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 14.0 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $12K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$15K
2% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 2% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
4
of 4 voting members
Looks good: 4 of 4 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$486K
-70% vs prior year
Spent
$673K
To programs
84%
Net assets
$787K
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$486K
FY2021▼ -70%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$1.6M
FY2021$486K
FY2022$1.9M
FY2023$19.7M
FY2024$50.1M
Expenses
$673K
FY2021▼ -8%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$733K
FY2021$673K
FY2022$2.5M
FY2023$17.0M
FY2024$48.6M
Net assets
$787K
FY2021▼ -19%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$974K
FY2021$787K
FY2022$263K
FY2023$3.0M
FY2024$4.4M

From the FY2021 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

990 PDF Claim
You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Mar 1997.

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

Where the money goes

84 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 84% · $566K Management & general 13% · $87K Fundraising 3% · $20K

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

5 people listed on the 990; $165K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director and President
$165,000Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer & Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Yong Jung Cho’s $170K as Ed of Sdp's Bprc Project is at the 13th percentile of top reported officer pay among 232 $10–100M 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 · 7 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Yong Jung Cho$170,000————
Rajan Narang——$70,469$165,000—
Miles Rapoport as of April$133,654————
Raaheela Ahmed as of March$112,891————
Beth Schulman$85,000$59,094$31,875——
Young Jung Cho—$28,619———
Rajan Narang Executive Director————$13,797

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 State Democracy Project 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 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Educates the public and policymakers on improving democracy through citizen participation and responsive government.

Questions for State Democracy Project

Tap to ask. State Democracy Project sees how many people are interested.

Your first name shows with your question. State Democracy Project answers here, for everyone.

2 programs · $566K · in their own filed words · FY2021
01

State Reform Program

SDP is a collaborative effort to advance and advocate for a more robust democracy, including several national organizations with local affiliates or partners. In 2021 the national organizations collaborating in this effort included the center for popular democracy, planned parenthood, the naacp, state voices, and the working families…

$540Kprogram expense
02

Communications, strategy, policy research, and outreach programs- these efforts supported state citizen engagement and advocacy in efforts to reform the rules governing democratic participation.

$26Kprogram 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 · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$12K
Grants paid · 59 grants · $66.4M · 2020–2024
Working Families Organization INCNY · FY2024$29,888,301
Pro-Democracy CampaignMA · FY2024$9,931,750
Working Families Organization INCNY · FY2024$1,519,019
Be a Hero Education FundNY · FY2024$1,364,769
New Georgia Project IncorporatedGA · FY2024$1,000,000
Wisdom INCWI · FY2024$380,000
Individual RecipientFY2024$366,685
Carolina Federation FundNC · FY2024$300,000
Center for Community ChangeDC · FY2024$200,000
Grassroots ArkansasFY2024$137,984
People's Action InstituteIL · FY2024$125,000
Voces De La Frontera INCWI · FY2024$100,000
Un-Pac ActionCA · FY2024$98,000
See all 59 grants →

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$486K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$486K
Other incomeLn 4–11$400
Money outPt IX
$673K
Ln 25
Programscol B$566K
Managementcol C$87K
Fundraisingcol D$20K
Owns and owesPt X
$787K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$786K
Total assetsLn 16$803K
LiabilitiesLn 26$15K
PeoplePt VI, VII
5
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a4
IndependentVI 1b4
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$486K
Other incomeLn 4–11$400
Total revenueLn 12$486K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$786K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$786K
Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesLn 9$3K
Other assetsLn 15$14K
Total assetsLn 16$803K
LiabilitiesLn 26$15K
Net assetsLn 32$787K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 50
VolunteersI 64
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 FY21End FY21
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$960K$786K
Total assetsLn 16$978K$803K
LiabilitiesLn 26$4K$15K
Net assetsLn 32$974K$787K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$280K$280K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$167K$143K$15K$8K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$36K$36K$17
Other employee benefitsLn 9$6K$6K$413
Payroll taxesLn 10$54K$48K$4K$2K
Legal feesLn 11b$2K$2K
Accounting feesLn 11c$63K$63K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$49K$39K$1K$9K
Office expensesLn 13$3K$3K$324$109
Information technologyLn 14$4K$4K$290$165
TravelLn 17$939$857$52$30
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$85$85
InsuranceLn 23$4K$4K$303$173
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$3K$3K$213$122
Total functional expensesLn 25$673K$566K$87K$20K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 LatestFiled with the IRS Nov 14, 2025 $50.1M$48.6M$1.5M$4.4M 990 PDF
FY2023Filed with the IRS Nov 8, 2024 $19.7M$17.0M$2.7M$3.0M 990 PDF
FY2022Filed with the IRS Nov 9, 2023 $1.9M$2.5M−$525K$263K 990 PDF
FY2021 ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 10, 2022 $486K$673K−$187K$787K 990 PDF
FY2020Filed with the IRS Sep 27, 2021 $1.6M$733K$862K$974K 990 PDF

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 FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $486,044 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $1,594,699$485,644
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $0$0
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $0$0
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $715$400
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $1,595,414$486,044
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $360,000$279,911
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $26,232$262,697
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $347,074$130,427
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $733,306$673,035
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $862,108−$186,991
Part VI · Governance 4 of 4 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body4
VI-1b Independent voting members4
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 $486,044 across 3 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $400 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$485,644
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$485,644
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $400$486,044
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $673,035 across 14 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $279,911$279,911
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $143,465 · Management $14,943 · Fundraising $8,242$166,650
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $35,515 · Management $17$35,532
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $5,958 · Management $413$6,371
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $48,188 · Management $3,790 · Fundraising $2,166$54,144
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $2,299$2,299
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $63,456$63,456
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $39,317 · Management $1,265 · Fundraising $8,570$49,152
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $2,555 · Management $324 · Fundraising $109$2,988
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $3,684 · Management $290 · Fundraising $165$4,139
IX-17 TravelPrograms $857 · Management $52 · Fundraising $30$939
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $85$85
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $3,848 · Management $303 · Fundraising $173$4,324
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $2,710 · Management $213 · Fundraising $122$3,045
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $566,093 · Management $87,365 · Fundraising $19,577$673,035
Part X · Balance sheet $802,575 assets, 9 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $959,962$785,717
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $2,883$2,883
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $14,999$13,975
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $977,844$802,575
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $3,528$15,250
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $3,528$15,250
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $974,316$787,325
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $974,316$787,325
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $977,844$802,575
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $787,325 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$486,044
XI-2 Total expenses$673,035
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$186,991
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$974,316
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$787,325

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit

Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the pay comparisons above.