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Open California

EIN 46-0763322 · Sacramento, CA

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

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthGood74 out of 100GovernanceGood85 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

Open Californias Mission is to inform, enlighten and educate Californians about public policy and state governance, and to provide a platform for engagement with public officials, advocates and political interests.

Income
$463,441
Spending
$517,576
Spent on programs
70%
Reserves
3.9 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 77%
Employees
10

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

Good: 74 out of 100. Higher than 43% of charities in its peer group (education, $250k to $1m).

  • Reserves

    20 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 3.9 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 2% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    4 of 15

    Spending exceeded income by 12% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 24% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    70% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 22 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 76% of charities in its peer group (education, $250k to $1m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    14 of 14 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

    0 of 5

    Reports that it does not keep minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

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

  • Independent check of accounts

    6 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. $361,188 spent. PRODUCED FIVE PUBLIC POLICY CONFERENCES ADDRESSING CRIMINAL JUSTICE POLICY, JOURNALISM, BALLOT INITIATIVES, HEALTH CARE AND THE RESULTS OF THE 2024 ELECTION. OVER 1000 PEOPLE ATTENDED THE CONFERENCES IN PERSON OR VIA ZOOM. VIDEO AND PODCASTS OF EACH EVENT WERE MADE AVAILABLE AT CAPITOLWEEKLY.NET AND OTHER SITES. MAINTAINED AND PRODUCED MATERIALS FOR CAPITOLWEEKLY. NET, AN ONLINE PUBLICATION WHICH COVERS ELECTIONS, PROPOSED CHANGES TO STATE LAW, DECISIONS ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGULATIONS, POLITICS AND PERSONALITIES, AND POLICIES RELATED TO EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE, PUBLIC SAFETY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND MORE. CAPITOLWEEKLY. NET HAD NEARLY 650,000 PAGEVIEWS IN 2024.PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED THE ROUNDUP NEWSLETTER, WHICH IS DISTRIBUTED VIA EMAIL FIVE DAYS PER WEEK TO APPROXIMATELY 5,200 SUBSCRIBERS. THE ROUNDUP COLLECTS AND SUMMARIZES NEWS STORIES RELATED TO CALIFORNIA PUBLIC POLICY.PRODUCED VIDEO ORAL HISTORIES OF LEONA EGELAND RICE, ROBERT HERTZBERG, DON NOVEY, RICHARD POLANCO & GARRY SOUTH. THESE FILMS ARE AVAILABLE FOR FREE PUBLIC VIEWING AT THE CAPITOL WEEKLY WEBSITE.PRODUCED MORE THAN 50 EPISODES OF THE CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST, WHICH WERE PLAYED OVER 22,500 TIMES. PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED 10,000 COPIES OF A SPECIAL PRINT ISSUE OF CAPITOL WEEKLY. PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED 1500 COPIES OF THE 2024 TOP 100 BOOK, WHICH PROFILES CALIFORNIANS WHO HELP DETERMINE PUBLIC POLICY BUT ARE NOT IN ELECTED OFFICE.

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 September 7, 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 September 30, 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 September 10, 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 September 7, 2026.

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

    Recognized by the IRS since August 2015.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 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 7, 2026.

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