Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Feb 2019.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
80 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
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; $4.0M paid to officers and key staff.
Meredith Whittaker’s $744K as Director / Pres of Signal Messenger is at the 91st percentile of top reported officer pay among 572 $10–100M community development 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
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Chen | — | — | — | $775,305 | $602,422 |
| Meredith Whittaker | $743,531 | $735,234 | $191,229 | — | — |
| Scott Nonnenberg | — | — | — | $742,448 | $552,394 |
| Jim O'Leary | $715,212 | $659,908 | $666,909 | $597,882 | — |
| Ehren Kret | $709,890 | $671,220 | $665,909 | $599,944 | — |
| Riya Abraham | — | — | — | $690,355 | $491,061 |
| Moxie Marlinspike | — | — | $80,567 | $620,736 | $585,812 |
| Aruna Harder | $589,160 | $521,088 | $444,606 | $394,688 | $290,717 |
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 15aNo
- Loans to or from officersSch L · Pt II1 listed
Programs and updates
Develops privacy technology to protect free expression and enable secure global communication.
Questions for Signal Technology Foundation
Your first name shows with your question. Signal Technology Foundation answers here, for everyone.
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Following its formation in early 2018, signal foundation's primary activity was the continuous improvement to signal messenger in order to ensure global access to a secure, end-to-end encrypted voice and text communications platform. Through signal messenger, users can securely call and text one another.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2023 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY23 | End FY23 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $12.8M | $20.2M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $17.8M | $10.9M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $198K | $100K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $37.3M | $37.4M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $33.1M | $34.1M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $4.2M | $3.3M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $1.3M | $785K | $544K | |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $14.0M | $12.2M | $1.8M | |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $744K | $648K | $96K | |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $728K | $615K | $113K | |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $708K | $602K | $106K | |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $225K | $225K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $113K | $113K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $2.3M | $1.4M | $920K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $250K | $250K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $56K | $56K | ||
| Information technologyLn 14 | $806K | $806K | ||
| OccupancyLn 16 | $45K | $45K | ||
| TravelLn 17 | $454K | $454K | ||
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $2K | $2K | $318 | |
| InterestLn 20 | $853K | $853K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $1.3M | $1.3M | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $11.9M | $11.6M | $325K | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $25 | $25 | ||
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $35.8M | $28.6M | $7.2M | $0 |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest | $29.4M | $38.0M | −$8.6M | −$4.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 Viewing | $35.8M | $35.8M | −$58K | $3.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $26.1M | $30.5M | −$4.4M | $4.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $12.8M | $33.1M | −$20.4M | $13.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $14.9M | $21.3M | −$6.4M | $33.3M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $35,750,994 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 3 of 5 board members independent, 2 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $35,750,994 across 7 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $35,808,494 across 18 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $37,433,223 assets, 17 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $3,331,641 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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