MIT Free Speech Alliance

Tax-deductible

Cambridge, MA501(c)(3)Since 2021Civil Rights & AdvocacyEIN 87-4018419

To promote free expression, academic freedom, viewpoint diversity, and open scientific inquiry in the MIT community

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
51¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 15 volunteers and 2 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · 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
2 of 4
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $57K a year · 20% of revenue · last 4 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 2 of the last 4 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 4 filings
Spent on programs
51%
of spending
Worth a look: 51% of spending went to programs; under 65%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$132K
to officers and key staff · 37% of spending
Top officer’s pay higher than 87% of similar orgs
Concern: pay to officers and key staff is 37% of spending; over 30%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
7 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 6.7 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
4
named funders · $44K
Looks good: 4 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$43K
16% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 16% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
7
of 7 voting members
Looks good: 7 of 7 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$236K
+16% vs prior year
Spent
$353K
To programs
51%
Net assets
$229K
By yearFY2022–FY2025
Revenue
$236K
FY2025▲ +16%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2022$343K
FY2023$373K
FY2024$204K
FY2025$236K
Expenses
$353K
FY2025▲ +21%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2022$34K
FY2023$248K
FY2024$292K
FY2025$353K
Net assets
$229K
FY2025▼ -34%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2022$309K
FY2023$434K
FY2024$346K
FY2025$229K

From the FY2025 Form 990 · see the original

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Feb 2022.

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

Where the money goes

51 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 51% · $181K Management & general 37% · $131K Fundraising 12% · $41K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

Who runs it and what they're paid

8 people listed on the 990; $132K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director
$131,881Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Peter Bonilla’s $132K as Executive Director is at the 87th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1031 $100K–1M 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 · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022
Peter Bonilla$131,881$126,881$117,342$16,667

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 MIT Free Speech Alliance 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

Promotes free expression, academic freedom, and viewpoint diversity within the MIT community.

Provided by the organization

This section is blank until MIT Free Speech Alliance claims this page.

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1 program service account for $181K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2025.
01

In 2025 the MIT Free Speech Alliance conducted another full year of public programming while maintaining a membership of more than 1,200. MFSA hosted two campus debates at MIT, in the spring and fall of 2025. Our Spring debate was on the issue of closing the gender gap in the STEM professions.

$181Kprogram expense

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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
Total grants receivedfrom 4 funders$44K
See all 4 funders →
Grants paid · 3 grants · $20K · 2024–2025
Alumni Free Speech AllianceDC · FY2025$10,000
MIT Open Discourse SocietyFY2024$5,000
MIT ConcourseFY2024$5,000

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$236K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$233K
Investment incomeLn 3$3K
Money outPt IX
$353K
Ln 25
Programscol B$181K
Managementcol C$131K
Fundraisingcol D$41K
Owns and owesPt X
$229K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$198K
Total assetsLn 16$272K
LiabilitiesLn 26$43K
PeoplePt VI, VII
8
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a7
IndependentVI 1b7
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$233K
Investment incomeLn 3$3K
Total revenueLn 12$236K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$198K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$198K
Total assetsLn 16$272K
LiabilitiesLn 26$43K
Net assetsLn 32$229K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 52
VolunteersI 615
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$314K$198K
Total assetsLn 16$376K$272K
LiabilitiesLn 26$30K$43K
Net assetsLn 32$346K$229K
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$132K$53K$53K$26K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$36K$14K$14K$7K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$3K$732$1K$457
Payroll taxesLn 10$14K$6K$6K$3K
Accounting feesLn 11c$31K$31K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$4K$4K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$20K$20K
Office expensesLn 13$9K$413$4K$4K
OccupancyLn 16$9K$9K
TravelLn 17$6K$6K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$68K$68K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$4K$4K
InsuranceLn 23$4K$4K
Total functional expensesLn 25$353K$181K$131K$41K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $236K$353K−$117K$229K 990 PDF
FY2024 $204K$292K−$88K$346K 990 PDF
FY2023 $373K$248K$125K$434K 990 PDF
FY2022 $343K$34K$309K$309K 990 PDF

Want to add your own materials alongside these filings? Claim this org

Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2025 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $236,015 across 5 lines filed
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$233,040
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$233,040
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $2,975$2,975
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $2,975$236,015
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $352,768 across 14 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $13,000$13,000
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $52,753 · Management $52,753 · Fundraising $26,375$131,881
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $14,280 · Management $14,280 · Fundraising $7,141$35,701
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $732 · Management $1,448 · Fundraising $457$2,637
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $5,627 · Management $5,628 · Fundraising $2,814$14,069
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $30,957$30,957
IX-11g Other fees for servicesManagement $4,483$4,483
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $20,097$20,097
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $413 · Management $4,369 · Fundraising $3,887$8,669
IX-16 OccupancyManagement $8,711$8,711
IX-17 TravelPrograms $5,975$5,975
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $68,388$68,388
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationManagement $4,032$4,032
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $4,168$4,168
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $181,265 · Management $130,829 · Fundraising $40,674$352,768
Part X · Balance sheet $272,166 assets, 11 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $314,254$198,211
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $50,000$57,000
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $4,493$13,865
X-14 Intangible assetsStart of year $7,122$3,090
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $375,869$272,166
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $29,916$42,966
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $29,916$42,966
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $260,953$172,200
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $85,000$57,000
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $345,953$229,200
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $375,869$272,166
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $229,200 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$236,015
XI-2 Total expenses$352,768
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$116,753
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$345,953
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$229,200

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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