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Mississippi Votes

Tax-deductible

Jackson, MS501(c)(3)Civil Rights & Advocacy EIN 82-1014316Revenue $2.9M in FY2024

On file with the IRSmsvotes.org510 George St Ste 100, 39202-3027 · Jackson, MSTax-exempt since Jan 2018Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

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Mississippi Votes conducts voter engagement activities such as first time voter seminars, voter registration, and get-out-the-vote drives in a nonpartisan, unbiased manner without reference to any particular candidate or political party. IT is an organization of intergenerational synergy centered on young people invested in mississippi's progression. The mission is accomplished through established programming and outreach strategies that empower young people, encourage civic engagement, and educate communities on voting rights through place-based grassroots organizing. In this covid era, the goal is to safely and organically reach voters, and to encourage every eligible voter in Mississippi to vote and be informed at the ballot box.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
80¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$235K 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

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
4 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $159K a year · 7% of revenue · last 5 filings
Fine: a surplus in 4 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
80%
of spending
Looks good: 80% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$235K
to officers and key staff · 5% of spending
Top officer’s pay lower than 53% of similar orgs
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 5% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
4 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 4.2 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
11
named funders · $2.1M
Looks good: 11 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$571K
25% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 25% 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
$2.9M
-36% vs prior year
Spent
$5.1M
To programs
80%
Net assets
$1.7M
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$2.9M
FY2024▼ -36%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$598K
FY2021$1.3M
FY2022$2.3M
FY2022$1.5M
FY2023$4.6M
FY2024$2.9M
Expenses
$5.1M
FY2024▲ +56%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$587K
FY2021$887K
FY2022$1.2M
FY2022$810K
FY2023$3.3M
FY2024$5.1M
Net assets
$1.7M
FY2024▼ -55%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$222K
FY2021$661K
FY2022$1.8M
FY2022$2.5M
FY2023$3.9M
FY2024$1.7M

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 Jan 2018.

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

Where the money goes

80 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 80% · $4.1M Management & general 20% · $1.0M

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

6 people listed on the 990; $235K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Arekia Bennett-Scott
Executive Director
$134,822Pt VII · Sec A
Jessica Townsend
Operations Manager
$100,588Pt VII · Sec A
Alex Lawson
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Ryder Taff
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Arekia Bennett-Scott’s $135K as Executive Director is at the 47th percentile of top reported officer pay among 797 $1–10M civil rights & advocacy 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 · 6 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2022FY2021FY2020
Arekia Bennett-Scott$134,822——$74,577——
Arekia Bennett—$118,454$89,185—$57,300$51,548
Jessica Townsend$100,588$84,608$57,262$16,904——
Velvet Johnson-End Date 11172023—$87,377————
Velvet Johnson——$67,262$49,673$40,589—
Grace Gillespie————$17,454—

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 Mississippi Votes executive salaries →

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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

Engages communities in voter registration, education, and get-out-the-vote efforts.

Questions for Mississippi Votes

Tap to ask. Mississippi Votes sees how many people are interested.

Your first name shows with your question. Mississippi Votes answers here, for everyone.

Provided by the organization

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1 program · $4.1M · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

Voter services include voter suffrage curriculum, voter education, and assistance with election protection on election day, continuation of voter registration campaign, UP2US that started in prior year. Due to covid, there was a substantial shift of focus to digital and mail engagement with voters and potential voters.

$4.1Mprogram 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
Neo Philanthropy INCFY2024$515K
Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation IncorporatedFY2024$400K
Ford FoundationFY2024$315K
Alliance for Youth OrganizingFY2024$301K
The Chicago Community TrustFY2024$250K
Voter Registration Project Education FundFY2024$100K
Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation INCFY2024$50K
National Philanthropic TrustFY2024$50K
Total grants receivedfrom 11 funders$2.1M
See all 11 funders →
Grants paid · 2 grants · $111K · 2020–2022
Foundation for the Mid South INCMS · FY2022$100,000
Mississippi Safe Schools CoalitionFY2020$11,200

By the numbers

The FY2024 990, line by line.

Download 990
from philanthropy.org
1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$2.9M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$2.9M
Investment incomeLn 3$2K
Other incomeLn 4–11$500
Money outPt IX
$5.1M
Ln 25
Programscol B$4.1M
Managementcol C$1.0M
Owns and owesPt X
$1.7M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$1.8M
Total assetsLn 16$2.3M
LiabilitiesLn 26$571K
PeoplePt VI, VII
6
listed · VII A
PaidVII A2
Voting boardVI 1a4
IndependentVI 1b4
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$2.9M
Investment incomeLn 3$2K
Other incomeLn 4–11$500
Total revenueLn 12$2.9M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$1.1M
SavingsLn 2$738K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$1.8M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$73K
Other assetsLn 15$431K
Total assetsLn 16$2.3M
LiabilitiesLn 26$571K
Net assetsLn 32$1.7M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 56
VolunteersI 60
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$3.9M$1.8M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$67K$73K
Total assetsLn 16$4.3M$2.3M
LiabilitiesLn 26$407K$571K
Net assetsLn 32$3.9M$1.7M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$13K$13K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$247K$148K$99K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$1.1M$669K$446K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$99K$59K$40K
Payroll taxesLn 10$104K$62K$41K
Legal feesLn 11b$2K$2K
Accounting feesLn 11c$27K$27K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$360K$358K$2K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$2.0M$2.0M
Office expensesLn 13$112K$112K
Information technologyLn 14$4K$4K
OccupancyLn 16$248K$115K$133K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$20K$20K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$20K$20K
InsuranceLn 23$16K$16K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$751K$672K$79K
All other expensesLn 24e$696$696
Total functional expensesLn 25$5.1M$4.1M$1.0M$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest Viewing $2.9M$5.1M−$2.1M$1.7M 990 PDF
FY2023 $4.6M$3.3M$1.4M$3.9M 990 PDF
FY2022 $2.3M$1.2M$1.1M$1.8M 990 PDF
FY2021 $1.3M$887K$454K$661K 990 PDF
FY2020 $598K$587K$11K$222K 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 FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $2,947,630 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $4,636,452$2,945,572
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $0$0
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $0$1,558
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $879$500
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $4,637,331$2,947,630
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $1,305$13,250
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $1,052,559$1,565,512
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $2,219,529$3,511,569
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $3,273,393$5,090,331
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $1,363,938−$2,142,701
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 $2,947,630 across 5 lines filed
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$2,945,572
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$2,945,572
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $1,558$1,558
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $500$500
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $500 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $1,558$2,947,630
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $5,090,331 across 17 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $13,250$13,250
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $148,310 · Management $98,874$247,184
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $669,446 · Management $446,298$1,115,744
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $59,310 · Management $39,540$98,850
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $62,240 · Management $41,494$103,734
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $1,794$1,794
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $27,114$27,114
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $357,687 · Management $2,156$359,843
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $1,951,084$1,951,084
IX-13 Office expensesManagement $111,582$111,582
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $3,500$3,500
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $115,314 · Management $133,014$248,328
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $19,924$19,924
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationManagement $20,452$20,452
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $16,296$16,296
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $672,256 · Management $78,700$750,956
IX-24e All other expensesManagement $696$696
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $4,072,321 · Management $1,018,010 · Fundraising $0$5,090,331
Part X · Balance sheet $2,298,266 assets, 12 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $3,452,584$1,050,754
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $470,859$738,407
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $4,800$4,800
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $67,172$73,081
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $281,543$431,224
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $4,276,958$2,298,266
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $124,817$36,776
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $282,391$534,441
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $407,208$571,217
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $3,869,750$1,727,049
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $3,869,750$1,727,049
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $4,276,958$2,298,266
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,727,049 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$2,947,630
XI-2 Total expenses$5,090,331
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$2,142,701
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$3,869,750
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$1,727,049

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

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