Code for America Labs
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
CODE FOR AMERICA (CFA) WORKS SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND GOVERNMENT TO BUILD DIGITAL TOOLS AND SERVICES, CHANGE POLICIES, AND IMPROVE PROGRAMS. CFA BELIEVES GOVERNMENT CAN WORK FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, IN THE DIGITAL AGE AND THAT GOVERNMENT AT ALL LEVELS CAN AND SHOULD WORK WELL FOR ALL PEOPLE.
- Income
- $29.9 million
- Spending
- $38.4 million
- Spent on programs
- 78%
- Reserves
- 3.4 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 72%
- Employees
- 195
- Volunteers
- 11
- Highest pay
- $385,574, chief executive officer
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: 60 out of 100. Higher than 23% of charities in its peer group (public benefit, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 3.4 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 1% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 29% of income.
Income trend
5 of 15Income fell 21% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1578% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 5 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
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 44% of charities in its peer group (public benefit, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 256 of 7 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
10 of 10Gave 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, 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 (4)
- $19.1 million spent. SAFETY NETWE'RE MODERNIZING THE DIGITAL DELIVERY OF BENEFITS FOR EQUITABLE OUTCOMES WITH THE GOAL OF DELIVERYING $30 BILLION IN BENEFITS TO 13 MILLION PEOPLE ACROSS 15 STATES. IN 2024 WE:-BEGAN HANDOFF FOR OUR FIRST COHORT OF THE SAFETY NET INNOVATION LAB WHILE SCALING DELIVERY IN OUR SECOND COHORT. WE KICKED OFF OUR THIRD COHORT WITH A PARTNERSHIP IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA TO DESIGN THE FRONT END OF A BRAND NEW BILINGUAL INTEGRATED BENEFITS APPLICATION THAT DETERMINES ELIGIBILITY FOR SNAP, TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF), LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (LIHEAP), CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE, AND MEDICAL ASSISTANCE. WE ALSO SCALED TWO MULTI-STATE INITIATIVES. TO DATE, WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH 14 STATES, WASHINGTON D.C., AND THE CHEROKEE NATION. BUILDING ON THE SUCCESS OF OUR AUTOMATED MEDICAID RENEWAL PARTNERSHIP WITH THE STATE OF MINNESOTA, WE SECURED PARTNERSHIPS WITH PENNSYLVANIA AND COLORADO TO DELIVER STRATEGIC, IMPACT FOCUSED RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE MEDICAID RENEWAL SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES. RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED IN PENNSYLVANIA MORE THAN TRIPLED THEIR AUTOMATED RENEWAL RATE, WHILE RECOMMENDATIONS IN COLORADO INCREASED THEIR AUTOMATED RENEWAL RATE BY 19%. ONE RECOMMENDATION ALONE HAS SAVED THE STATE NEARLY 200 HOURS OF MONTHLY WORKER TIME.-SUPPORTED FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENT AS IT BEGAN TO DELIVER THE FIRST NEW PERMANENT SOCIAL SAFETY NET PROGRAM IN NEARLY 50 YEARS: SUMMER EBT, A MONTHLY GROCERY BENEFIT PROVIDED TO FAMILIES DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS WHEN CHILDREN ARE NOT RECEIVING MEALS AT SCHOOL. IN 2024, WE PROVIDED DIRECT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO FIVE JURISDICTIONS: ARKANSAS, NEW YORK, VERMONT, WISCONSIN, AND THE CHEROKEE NATION IN OKLAHOMA. WE HELPED STATES DEDUPLICATE DATA, DEVELOP OUTREACH STRATEGIES, IMPROVE FEEDBACK SYSTEMS, AND MAP CLIENT JOURNEYS.
- $6.0 million spent. TAX BENEFITSOUR TAX BENEFITS PORTFOLIO SEEKS TO FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE HOW AMERICANS WITH LOW OR NO INCOMES ACCESS THE TAX CREDITS AND FLEXIBLE CASH OWED TO THEM. OUR GOAL IS TO CLOSE THE $14 BILLION TAX BENEFITS UPTAKE GAP AND SIMPLIFY THE TAX FILING PROCESS. IN 2024, WE:-SIMPLIFIED THE TAX FILING PROCESS AND HELPED PEOPLE ACHIEVE THE FINANCIAL STABILITY THEY DESERVE BY CONTINUING TO PROVIDE GETYOURREFUND. GETYOURREFUND IS A FREE, TRUSTWORTHY TAX FILING SERVICE DEVELOPED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE IRS AND VITA VOLUNTEER TAX PREPARATION PARTNERS AS A DIGITAL PLATFORM FOR VITA-ASSISTED FILING.-DEVELOPED AN INTEGRATED STATE FILING STRATEGY TO COMPLEMENT FEDERAL DIRECT FILE, IN RESPONSE TO THE IRS'S DIRECT FILE ANNOUNCEMENT. WE SUCCESSFULLY PARTNERED WITH STATE TAX DEPARTMENTS TO IMPLEMENT SIMPLE, USER-FRIENDLY, FREE TAX FILING FOR DIRECT FILE USERS IN ARIZONA, IDAHO, MARYLAND, NORTH CAROLINA, AND NEW JERSEY.-ADVOCATED FOR POLICIES THAT SIMPLIFY THE TAX PROCESS. SHAPED THE NATIONAL CONVERSATION ABOUT SIMPLIFYING TAX FILING, PUBLISHING RESEARCH AND RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON OUR EXPERIENCE RUNNING GETYOURREFUND, GETCTC, AND FILEYOURSTATETAXES.-COLLABORATED WITH PARTNERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, PROVIDING INFORMATION, OUTREACH RESOURCES, AND SUPPORT TO HELP THEM SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT GETYOURREFUND AND DIRECT FILE. WE PRIMARILY TARGETED SNAP, CASH, WIC AND MEDICAID AGENCIES, IN ADDITION TO DEPARTMENTS OF REVENUE. AS A RESULT OF OUR COLLABORATION, 67+ AGENCIES ACROSS 20 STATES TOOK OVER 160 OUTREACH ACTIONS AND SENT OVER 4.5M MESSAGES TO CLIENTS.
- $1.7 million spent. CLEAR MY RECORDWE WORK TO FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORM THE PROCESS OF CLEARING RECORDS BY ADVANCING AUTOMATIC RECORD CLEARANCE TO ELIMINATE BARRIERS FOR PEOPLE TRYING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THEIR LIVES. IN 2024, WE:-SUPPORTED POLICY CAMPAIGNS IN 8 STATES BY INTEGRATING TECHNICAL BEST PRACTICES FOR IMPLEMENTATION INTO LEGISLATION AND DESIGNING POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT GOVERNMENT'S EXISTING TECHNOLOGY AND DATA AVAILABILITY. WITH THESE SOLUTIONS, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES ARE MORE ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENT POLICY ONCE PASSED.-BUILT 4 PROOFS OF CONCEPT, TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS THAT SOLVE FOR COMMON IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES WE'VE SEEN ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND SHARED THESE SOLUTIONS WITH MULTIPLE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO IMPROVE IMPLEMENTATION AND POLICY PASSAGE SUCCESS.-CONTINUED TO PARTNER WITH THE STATE OF UTAH TO CLEAR CONVICTIONS OF ELIGIBLE PEOPLE. THIS WORK INCLUDED HELPING THE STATE IDENTIFY RECORDS RETROACTIVELY ELIGIBLE, WITH 350K RECORDS CLEARED, AS WELL AS BUILDING THE CAPACITY OF THE STATE TO IDENTIFY RECORDS THAT WILL BE ELIGIBLE ON AN ONGOING BASIS AS THEY MEET ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.-SUPPORTED 6 STATES IN ACTIVE IMPLEMENTATION WITH CONTINUED TECHNICAL ADVISING SUPPORT TO ENABLE MORE EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT IMPLEMENTATION PROCESSES. IN ADDITION, USING PROCESSES WE HELPED CO-CREATE, MICHIGAN AND CALIFORNIA CONTINUED SUCCESSFULLY CLEARING RECORDS AUTOMATICALLY; TO DATE, THE PROCESSES IN THESE STATES HAVE ALLOWED MILLIONS OF PEOPLE TO HAVE THEIR ELIGIBLE RECORDS CLEARED.-CREATED THE ADVOCATE'S GUIDE TO AUTOMATIC RECORD CLEARANCE, A RESOURCE TO INCREASE THE OVERALL CAPACITY OF THE AUTOMATIC RECORD CLEARANCE MOVEMENT. THIS GUIDE HELPS ADVOCATES DRAFT EFFECTIVE LEGISLATION THAT TAKES GOVERNMENT IMPLEMENTATION INTO ACCOUNT. BY INCORPORATING KEY STRATEGIES WITHIN THE GUIDE INTO POLICIES, WE CAN BETTER ENSURE THESE POLICIES CAN DELIVER IMPACT OVER THE LONG TERM.
- $3.0 million spent. ADVANCING ECONOMIC MOBILITY WITH LOCAL INITIATIVEWE ARE HELPING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND ALLIED ORGANIZATIONS ACHIEVE BETTER OUTCOMES FOR RESIDENTS AND IMPROVE LOCAL CAPABILITY TO USE DIGITAL SERVICES. IN 2024, WE:-CONTINUED OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH SHELBY COUNTY AND THE CITY OF MEMPHIS TO DEMONSTRATE HOW TO STRENGTHEN COMMUNITIES BY EMPOWERING THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN MOST DISCONNECTED.IN 2024 WE FORMALIZED OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH STAKEHOLDERS ACROSS MEMPHIS, INCLUDING WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH RISEKIT TO DESIGN A DIGITAL PLATFORM TO CONNECT OPPORTUNITY YOUTH TO CBOS, EMPLOYERS, AND GOVERNMENT RESOURCES IN MEMPHIS TO ADVANCE EDUCATIONAL AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY.
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
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 November 6, 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 2024.
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 June 2010.
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 November 4, 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.