International Consortium of Investigative Journalists Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
Points to look into
- It reported loans to or from officers, directors or other insiders.
These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.
What it says it does
INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUM OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS, INC.'S (ICIJ) MISSION IS TO SHOW PEOPLE HOW THE WORLD REALLY WORKS THROUGH STORIES THAT ROCK THE WORLD; FORCING POSITIVE CHANGE.
- Income
- $8.9 million
- Spending
- $6.3 million
- Spent on programs
- 82%
- Reserves
- 14.7 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 75%
- Employees
- 25
- Volunteers
- 0
- Highest pay
- $315,891, executive director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 88% of charities in its peer group (international, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 14.7 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 5% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 29% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 41% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1582% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 9 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 90 out of 100. Higher than 49% of charities in its peer group (international, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 256 of 6 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
0 of 10Reports at least one of: diversion of assets, excess benefits, loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, 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 (2)
- $3.4 million spent. EDITORIAL: WITH NEARLY 300 MEMBERS IN 100 COUNTRIES, OUR NETWORK BRINGS UNIQUE TALENTS, EXPERIENCES AND PERSPECTIVES TO THE WORK. OUR 2025 INVESTIGATIONS EXPOSED CHINA'S CAMPAIGN OF TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION, REVEALED HOW CRYPTOCURRENCY ATMS HAVE ENABLED FRAUD AND DOCUMENTED HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN SYRIA. OUR JOURNALISTS EARNED NUMEROUS NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AWARDS INCLUDING THE MARIA MOORS CABOT PRIZE, THE LIVINGSTON AWARD FOR INTERNATIONAL REPORTING AND THE LORENZO NATALI PRIZE FOR INTERNATIONAL BEST PRACTICES IN JOURNALISM.
- $1.8 million spent. TECHNOLOGY: OUR AMBITIOUS INVESTIGATIONS RELY ON DATASHARE, THE OPEN-SOURCE PLATFORM WE BUILT. TODAY, IT IS USED NOT JUST BY ICIJ BUT BY ACADEMICS, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, NGOS AND NEWSROOMS WORLDWIDE. IN 2025, WE MADE DATASHARE FASTER, MORE RELIABLE AND EASIER TO USE. WE UPGRADED ITS UNDERLYING INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT THE LATEST SEARCH TECHNOLOGIES AND BUNDLED REQUIRED COMPONENTS INTO THE INSTALLER SO JOURNALISTS NO LONGER NEED TO CONFIGURE ADDITIONAL SOFTWARE TO GET STARTED. RESEARCH AND DATA: ICIJ MAINTAINS A SECURE RESEARCH HUB OF 40 MILLION DOCUMENTS FOR USE BY OUR PARTNERS. WE ALSO PROVIDE PUBLIC ACCESS TO ABOUT ONE MILLION RECORDS IN OUR OFFSHORE LEAKS AND INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL DEVICES DATABASES. IN 2025 ALONE, MORE THAN 3.8 MILLION UNIQUE USERS VIEWED 14.4 MILLION PAGES IN OUR OFFSHORE LEAKS DATABASE.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, 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 October 13, 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 2025.
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 2017.
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 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.