American Transparency
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
TO EXPAND GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY BY INPUTTING AND ENTERING GOVERNMENT TRANSACTIONS ON THE INTERNET. "EVERY DIME, ONLINE, IN REAL TIME." TO CAPTURE AND POST ONLINE PUBLIC-SECTOR EXPENDITURES AT THE FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LEVELS ACROSS AMERICA.
- Income
- $2.7 million
- Spending
- $3.4 million
- Spent on programs
- 78%
- Reserves
- 5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 92%
- Employees
- 29
- Volunteers
- 7
- Highest pay
- $331,505, chairman
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 55 out of 100. Higher than 35% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 5.0 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 5% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 24% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 36% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1578% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 19 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 90 out of 100. Higher than 57% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 256 of 8 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
0 of 10Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (2)
- $1.6 million spent. DATA CAPTURE:AMERICAN TRANSPARENCY CAPTURES RAW SPENDING DATA REPORTED BY TENS OF THOUSANDS OF GOVERNMENT ENTITIES AND/OR OBTAINED IN RESPONSE TO FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUESTS. WE CLEAN, ORGANIZE, AND MAKE SEARCHABLE INFORMATION PRODUCED IN VARIOUS FORMATS, THEN UPLOAD IT TO OUR PROPRIETARY DATABASE, WHERE IT BECOMES SEARCHABLE AND TRACKABLE BY INTERNAL TEAMS AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC. THE DATA-CAPTURE FUNCTIONALITY, PAYMENT FOR STORAGE SPACE, AND UPKEEP OF THE DATA ARE ALL PURSUANT TO OUR MISSION: TO ADVOCATE FOR GOVERNMENT SPENDING TRANSPARENCY, MAKE ALL PUBLIC EXPENDITURES AVAILABLE ONLINE, AND EMPOWER TAXPAYERS TO HOLD PUBLIC OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE.
- $1.1 million spent. OVERSIGHT REPORTING:WE STAFF A TEAM OF DATA JOURNALISTS WHO USE BILLIONS OF SPENDING DATA POINTS TO REPORT INSTANCES OF WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE, AND TO ANALYZE LARGE-SCALE DATASETS THAT PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO THE RELATIVE EFFICACY OF SPENDING AND PUBLIC POLICY OUTCOMES. THESE EXPENSES INCLUDE COMPENSATION, MAINTENANCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND WEB PROPERTIES, MARKETING FUNCTIONS, INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS, AND FEES RELATED TO PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS. THE OVERSIGHT REPORTING CAPABILITY SERVES DUAL PURPOSES: DEMONSTRATING THE KINDS OF INSIGHTS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC THROUGH OUR PROPRIETARY DATABASE OF PUBLIC SPENDING, AND DRAWING ATTENTION TO THE ORGANIZATION'S CORE TRANSPARENCY MISSION THROUGH INTERESTING AND PROVOCATIVE CASE STUDIES OR EXAMPLES OF WASTEFUL SPENDING.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since August 2009.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.