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Root Change

EIN 26-4385733 · Washington, DC

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthFair51 out of 100GovernanceGood85 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

ROOT CHANGE'S MISSION IS TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER TO QUESTION ASSUMPTIONS, THINK DEEPLY, TEST IDEAS, AND LEAD THE WAY TO A WORLD BUILT ON SOCIAL JUSTICE PRINCIPLES.

Income
$2.1 million
Spending
$1.9 million
Spent on programs
79%
Reserves
0.4 months of spending
Largest source of income
fees for its services, 99%
Employees
0
Volunteers
6
Highest pay
$170,343, executive director

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Fair: 51 out of 100. Higher than 21% of charities in its peer group (employment, $1m to $10m).

  • Reserves

    4 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 0.4 months of spending.

  • Debt

    2 of 20

    It owes 89% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 6% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 13% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    79% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 36% of charities in its peer group (employment, $1m to $10m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    5 of 6 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    0 of 15

    Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, 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 (1)
  1. $1.5 million spent. BUILDING ON THE MOMENTUM OF 2023, ROOT CHANGE DEEPENED AND EXPANDED ITS EFFORTS IN 2024 TO PROMOTE EQUITY BOTH IN THE U.S. AND INTERNATIONALLY. DOMESTICALLY, WE CONTINUED OUR WORK AIMED AT BRIDGING COMMUNITY DIVIDES AND ADDRESSING POLITICAL POLARIZATION, FOCUSING ON BUILDING CONNECTIONS ACROSS DIFFERENCES AND FOSTERING UNITY WITHIN LOCAL COMMUNITIES. THESE U.S.-BASED INITIATIVES AIMED TO STRENGTHEN SOCIAL COHESION AND ENHANCE DEMOCRATIC RESILIENCE AT A TIME WHEN POLARIZATION IS INCREASINGLY PREVALENT.INTERNATIONALLY, ROOT CHANGE CONTINUED ITS WORK THROUGH USAID GLOBAL PROGRAMS CENTERED ON EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND COMMUNITY-BASED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. THESE PROGRAMS AIMED TO EMPOWER MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES AND FOSTER SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT BY INTEGRATING PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH AND RAPID EXPERIMENTATION. OUR WORK IN REGIONS LIKE GUATEMALA, KENYA, MALAWI, AND CAMBODIA FOCUSED ON ENHANCING LOCAL CAPACITY, AMPLIFYING YOUTH-LED MOVEMENTS, AND PROMOTING INCLUSIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH.THROUGH STRENGTHENED COLLABORATIONS WITH CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS, INTERNATIONAL NGOS, ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS, AND DONOR AGENCIES, ROOT CHANGE ADDRESSED PRESSING CHALLENGES SUCH AS POLITICAL POLARIZATION, COMMUNITY RESILIENCE, AND SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY. OUR EFFORTS PLACED SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON EMPOWERING MARGINALIZED GROUPS, FORTIFYING DEMOCRATIC PRACTICES, AND BUILDING CAPACITY ACROSS DIVERSE REGIONS GLOBALLY, INCLUDING THE U.S.COLLABORATION WITH THE CARTER CENTER: IN 2024, WE DEEPENED OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CARTER CENTER TO SUPPORT THEIR DOMESTIC CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND DEMOCRACY PROGRAMS. ROOT CHANGE'S LEARNING-FOCUSED APPROACH, EMPHASIZING PARTICIPANT-CENTERED LEARNING, PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN FOSTERING LOCAL ENGAGEMENT AND EXPANDING DEMOCRACY RESILIENCE NETWORKS IN SIX STATES. BY INTEGRATING METHODOLOGIES LIKE ACTION RESEARCH, PARTICIPATORY EVALUATION, AND LEAN EXPERIMENTATION, WE CO-DESIGNED DYNAMIC LEARNING SESSIONS THAT ENABLED COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO SHARE, TEST, AND APPLY LOCALLY-CENTERED KNOWLEDGE.A KEY ASPECT OF OUR COLLABORATION WAS THE INTEGRATION OF ROOT CHANGE'S SOCIAL LAB APPROACH, DESIGNED TO BRIDGE DIVIDES AND FOSTER DEPOLARIZATION. THIS MODEL BROUGHT TOGETHER DIVERSE STAKEHOLDERS INTO A SHARED SPACE TO IDENTIFY COMMON GROUND AND COLLABORATIVELY DEVELOP SOLUTIONS AIMED AT REDUCING POLARIZATION AND FOSTERING UNITY. THE SOCIAL LABS FOCUSED ON BRIDGING DIFFERENCES BY ENCOURAGING PARTICIPANTS TO ENGAGE IN OPEN DIALOGUE, IDENTIFY SHARED CONCERNS, AND CO-CREATE INTERVENTIONS THAT ADDRESSED THE ROOT CAUSES OF POLARIZATION. THROUGH THIS PROCESS, TEAMS FORMED AROUND KEY ISSUES, TESTING AND REFINING THEIR IDEAS USING LEAN EXPERIMENTATION IN THREE-MONTH CYCLES. THESE EXPERIMENTS, CONDUCTED WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS, ALLOWED FOR REAL-TIME LEARNING AND ADAPTATION OF STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE DEPOLARIZATION AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION.CALIFORNIA OFFICE OF COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AND STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: WE CONTINUED TO ASSIST THIS OFFICE WITH COLLECTIVE ACTION PLANNING, ORGANIZING COMMUNITY-BASED FOCUS GROUPS, PRODUCING ANALYTICAL DIGESTS, AND PROVIDING DIRECT ASSISTANCE TO REGIONAL PROGRAM MANAGERS WORKING ON COMMUNITY RESILIENCE INITIATIVES.IDEA INITIATIVE: ROOT CHANGE CONTINUED ITS WORK WITH USAID'S INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT AND EQUITABLE ASSISTANCE (IDEA) PROGRAM FOR A 5-YEAR GLOBAL INITIATIVE AIMED AT ENHANCING THE CAPACITY OF MARGINALIZED GROUPS. ROOT CHANGE LED EFFORTS IN CAPACITY STRENGTHENING, DEVELOPING INCLUSIVE METRICS, CONDUCTING NETWORK MAPPING, AND SUPPORTING LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS TO ADVANCE EQUITY AND INCLUSIVITY.YOUTHPOWER YOUTH EXCEL PROGRAM: WE CONTINUED OUR COLLABORATION WITH IREX TO IMPLEMENT THE YOUTH EXCEL PROGRAM, A GLOBAL INITIATIVE LED BY USAID. THIS PROGRAM EMPOWERS YOUNG PEOPLE AND YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS TO DRIVE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT BY USING IMPLEMENTATION RESEARCH TO STRENGTHEN DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS. AYL-CHEMONICS: IN 2024, ROOT CHANGE JOINED THE USAID ADVANCING YOUTH LEADERSHIP (AYL) PROGRAM. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CHEMONICS INTERNATIONAL AND LOCAL CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION, ROOT CHANGE LED SOCIAL LABS DESIGNED TO EMPOWER CAMBODIAN YOUTH BY GUIDING THEM THROUGH A HANDS-ON, TRANSFORMATIVE JOURNEY OF PERSONAL GROWTH AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS. THE PROGRAM WAS IMPLEMENTED IN FOUR HUBS ACROSS CAMBODIA, INCLUDING PHNOM PENH, SIEM REAP, TAKEO, AND RATANAKIRI. ECONOMIC RECOVERY CORPS (ERC): ROOT CHANGE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (IEDC) DESIGNED AND IMPLEMENTED AN IMMERSIVE TRAINING PROGRAM FOR THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY CORPS (ERC) FELLOWSHIP. THE ERC IS A NEW COLLABORATIVE INITIATIVE DESIGNED TO ADDRESS LONG-STANDING ECONOMIC DISPARITIES IN DISTRESSED AND HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS ACROSS THE U.S. OVER A 30-MONTH FELLOWSHIP, 65 FELLOWS WORK WITH LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES, AND GOVERNMENT OFFICES TO PROMOTE EQUITABLE ECONOMIC RESILIENCE AND TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE. ROOT CHANGE CO-DESIGNS TRAINING, SUPPORTS FELLOWS' ACTION RESEARCH PROJECTS, PROVIDES LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, AND CREATES A LEARNING FRAMEWORK AND CURRICULUM FOR FUTURE COHORTS.AS THE TRAINING AND LEARNING PARTNER FOR ERC, ROOT CHANGE FACILITATES CONNECTION AND EXCHANGE AMONG NATIONAL PARTNERS, HOSTS, AND FELLOWS IN URBAN, RURAL, AND TRIBAL AREAS. WE ALSO SUPPORT FELLOWS IN APPLYING ACTION RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES TO IDENTIFY LOCAL ASSETS, TEST SOLUTIONS TO COMMUNITY CHALLENGES, ENGAGE IN PARTICIPATORY PLANNING, AND GENERATE DATA FOR PROGRESS MONITORING. THIS COLLABORATIVE APPROACH IS DESIGNED TO ELEVATE NEW PRACTICES AND TRANSFORM THE FIELD OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WHILE BUILDING CAPACITY IN UNDER-RESOURCED COMMUNITIES TO DRIVE MORE EQUITABLE ECONOMIC OUTCOMES. THROUGH THESE EFFORTS, ROOT CHANGE IS DEVELOPING AN EQUITY-FOCUSED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CURRICULUM THAT WILL BE USED BY AGENCIES AND ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES FOR YEARS TO COME.COMMUNITY POWER LEARNING INITIATIVE: IN 2024 WE CONTINUED THE COMMUNITY POWER LEARNING INITIATIVE (CPLI) WITH FUNDING FROM

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since March 2011.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. 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.