Skip to the page content
Your donations
Passes our checks

Essential Information Inc

EIN 52-1299631 · Washington, DC

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

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthFair59 out of 100GovernanceGood84 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

Essential Information educates the public on topics neglected by the media and policy-makers.

Income
$899,391
Spending
$910,669
Spent on programs
95%
Reserves
1.3 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 85%
Employees
4
Volunteers
4
Highest pay
$107,026, staff attorney

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: 59 out of 100.

  • Reserves

    10 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 1.3 months of spending.

  • Debt

    16 of 20

    It owes 16% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    8 of 15

    Spending exceeded income by 1% of income.

  • Income trend

    10 of 15

    Income fell 6% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    95% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 2 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: 84 out of 100.

  • Independent board

    18 of 25

    4 of 4 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

    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 (3)
  1. $60,610 spent. HUMAN RIGHTS: The project has involved work overseas in areas of severe repression involving the collection and distribution of human rights information, encouraging peaceful political solutions to violent conflicts, and facilitating local community work on issues of poverty, security and justice. The Human Rights and Justice Project posts information on a free,web-based clearinghouse, updated throughout the day, on political, social and economic developments overseas that may be of interest to academics, journalists, activists and the general public. Materials circulated include scholarly official and NGO studies, foreign press reports and translations of pertinent foreign-language materials. Major topics include political change, health, the environment, popular movements, and economic trends.
  2. $729,572 spent. INVENTIVE INITIATIVES: Essential Information has started more than a dozen projects in recent years. The Organization's primary criteria is: Does it promote innovation in the public interest? With quiet determination and sophistication, project leaders identify the fulcrums of power that invariably lie in the shadows, envision new pathways of change that entrenched organizations, overlook and develops new strategies that, over time, profoundly alter the terms of the debate for a given issue. Essential Information projects are designed to be flexible and evolutionary as circumstances warrant. The ascent is on experimentation to develop effective new models of citizen action. In addition, this project has funded dozens of articles on critical issues -- ranging from worker exposure to deadly toxics to illegal U.S. efforts to supply the repressive Guatemalan military -- that have been overlooked or neglected by the mass media.
  3. $72,060 spent. UnKoch My Campus (UKMC), a nonprofit project dedicated to fighting the undue donor influence that seeks to manipulate higher education to serve corporate interests. UKMC investigates improper relationships between wealthy donors, corporations, and educational institutions. Believing that transparency is the key to accountability, UKMC obtains and publicizes donor agreements in order to expose ways in which gifts from the Koch Foundation undermine academic freedom and faculty governance at academic institutions across the country.

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 August 1983.

    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.