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Civic Leadership Project Inc

EIN 81-2866927 · Washington, DC

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

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthGood74 out of 100GovernanceGood71 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

The mission of the Civic Leadership Project is to improve the capacity of communities, and especially their nonprofit organizations, to address the major social and economic challenges we face.

Income
$1.2 million
Spending
$1.2 million
Spent on programs
95%
Reserves
5.9 months of spending
Largest source of income
fees for its services, 100%
Employees
24
Volunteers
30
Highest pay
$83,200, president, secretary and chair

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 51% of charities in its peer group (community improvement, $1m to $10m).

  • Reserves

    20 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 5.9 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 7% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    4 of 15

    Spending exceeded income by 6% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 0% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    95% 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: 71 out of 100. Higher than 23% of charities in its peer group (community improvement, $1m to $10m).

  • Independent board

    18 of 25

    2 of 3 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

    0 of 7

    Reports no 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 (4)
  1. $603,426 spent. DC Tutoring & Mentoring Initiative: The goal of DCTMI is to create a public campaign to get a volunteer tutor or mentor for the 2 out of 3 DC students reading below grade level (60,000+ students) or with other academic or non-academic needs -- but also to do something even bigger: Show that a community can work together around a shared civic and moral vision. We recruit and place volunteers with 50 partner tutoring and mentoring organizations and schools. The foundation for our work has been through volunteer canvassing at farmers markets and other public events and spaces. We also do outreach to religious congregations and employers, and use social media, virtual and in-person volunteer fairs and other approaches. We measure our results both in terms of short-term recruitment and long-term change in our civic culture. In 2024, more than 6,000 people signed up to volunteer or asked us to provide them with 2 or 3 concrete choices where they could volunteer based on when and where they were available.
  2. $122,756 spent. The Community Platform is a web-based and mobile-friendly application hosted by our nonprofit or university partner organizations. The goal is to provide locally-customable sites that permit nonprofits, funders, students and community members to map and understand where services are being delivered in relationship to community needs, share information and resources, and encourage people and businesses to become more involved as volunteers and donors. We continued to support four Community Platform sites in 2024.
  3. $404,783 spent. Form 990 Online is a web-based system that permits nonprofit organizations and their preparers to create their IRS Form 990s online and either electronically file their return with the IRS or print them and mail them in. In 2024, the system was used by nearly 44,500 organizations and is completely free for 52% of them -- those organizations that reported less than $100,000 in revenue. In addition, we support state charity registrations in collaboration with the states of Hawaii, New York, and Michigan.
  4. $35,884 spent. We continued development of our CivLead app, our Fitbit for Civic Change. The goal is to create a civic culture that promotes both community service (1-2 hours/week) and self-care (an hour a day is our target). By doing that, we believe we can expand the civic capacity of communities to tackle our major challenges, whether its helping low-income students or something else.

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 October 2017.

    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.