Communication First
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
TO PROTECT THE RIGHTS AND ADVANCE THE INTERESTS OF THE ESTIMATED 5 MILLION CHILDREN AND ADULTS IN THE UNITED STATES WHO CANNOT RELY ON SPEECH ALONE TO BE HEARD AND UNDERSTOOD, THROUGH PUBLIC EDUCATION, SYSTEMIC REFORM OF POLICY AND PRACTICE, AND LEGAL ADVOCACY.
- Income
- $1.9 million
- Spending
- $458,457
- Spent on programs
- 85%
- Reserves
- 49 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 94%
- Employees
- 9
- Volunteers
- 22
- Highest pay
- $99,500, executive director & legal 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 91% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 49.0 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 1% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 76% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 160% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1585% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 1 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: 95 out of 100. Higher than 69% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2511 of 11 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
0 of 5Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.
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, 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 (1)
- $389,724 spent. COMMUNICATIONFIRST IS THE ONLY NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION LED BY AND DEDICATED TO PROTECTING THE HUMAN AND CIVIL RIGHTS AND ADVANCING THE INTERESTS OF THE ESTIMATED 5 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES WHO CANNOT RELY ON SPEECH ALONE TO BE HEARD AND UNDERSTOOD DUE TO DISABILITY OR OTHER CONDITION, REGARDLESS OF CAUSE OR AGE OF ONSET. COMMUNICATIONFIRST IS A CROSS-DISABILITY, CROSS-GENERATIONAL, MULTI-RACIAL, AND MULTICULTURAL DISABILITY-LED CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATION. WE PROMOTE SYSTEMIC CHANGE THROUGH PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND EDUCATION, POLICY AND PRACTICE REFORM, AND LEGAL ADVOCACY. MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY ARE REGULARLY DENIED THE TOOLS AND SUPPORT WE NEED TO EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE; WRONGFULLY ASSESSED AND STIGMATIZED FOR LIFE; DEPRIVED OF AN INCLUSIVE, EQUALLY EFFECTIVE EDUCATION; SEGREGATED AND INSTITUTIONALIZED; ISOLATED AND EXCLUDED FROM EVERYDAY LIFE, INCLUDING THE EVER-MORE-IMPORTANT DIGITAL WORLD; SUBJECTED TO INFERIOR HEALTH CARE; ABUSED AND VICTIMIZED; AND FAR WORSE. RESEARCH AND LIVED EXPERIENCE SUGGEST THAT BLACK, BROWN, MULTILINGUAL, AND OTHER MULTIPLY MARGINALIZED INDIVIDUALS ARE BOTH MORE LIKELY TO NEED AUGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION (AAC) AT SOME POINT IN LIFE AND TO EXPERIENCE HARSH AND COMPOUNDING FORMS OF SOCIETAL OPPRESSION AND DISCRIMINATION AS A RESULT. THE UNWARRANTED ASSUMPTIONS, STEREOTYPES, AND DISCRIMINATION OUR CONSTITUENTS EXPERIENCE OFTEN STEM FROM OUTDATED AND HARD-WIRED POLICIES AND PRACTICES OF FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES. IT IS THE NORM FOR US TO BE OSTRACIZED AND PERCEIVED AND TREATED AS LESS THAN: AS HAVING LESS INTELLECT, LESS TO SAY, AND NO NEED OR RIGHT TO DO SO ALL, IRONICALLY, BECAUSE OTHERS CANNOT UNDERSTAND US. COMMUNICATIONFIRST IS TRANSFORMING THE NATIONAL CONVERSATION ABOUT THE RIGHTS AND EXPERIENCES OF PEOPLE WHO NEED AND USE AAC TOOLS AND SUPPORTS. WE ARE ENSURING CONVERSATIONS AT THE FEDERAL AND STATE LEVEL AROUND POLICY ISSUES THAT IMPACT US GUARDIANSHIP, ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE, RESTRAINT AND SECLUSION, EDUCATION, ACCESS TO JUSTICE, INSTITUTIONALIZATION, EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION, AND MORE INCLUDE OUR VOICES AND ADDRESS OUR INTERESTS. WE ARE AMBITIOUS AND UNRELENTING DISABLED ADVOCATES WHO BELIEVE IN RADICAL INCLUSION AND ACCEPTANCE. WE ARE GHTING TO CHANGE HEARTS AND MINDS, AND TO BUILD A WORLD THAT CENTERS JUSTICE, COMMUNITY, DIGNITY, AND HUMANITY. AND WE ARE JUST GETTING STARTED. IN 2025, IN THE AREA OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND AWARENESS, COMMUNICATIONFIRST CONTINUED TO USE THE POWER OF DIGITAL STORYTELLING TO BEGIN TO SHATTER THE DOMINANT SOCIETAL NARRATIVE ABOUT PEOPLE WITH SPEECH-RELATED DISABILITIES. IN TERMS OF VIDEO CONTENT, WE RELEASED "ALL OUR VOICES: HIGHLIGHTING THE DIVERSITY OF AAC." WE ALSO CONTINUED TO DEVELOP AND BEGAN TO DEPLOY THE #VISIBLEAAC IMAGE REPOSITORY TO SHOW THE DIVERSITY OF AAC USERS. WE PUBLISHED INTERVIEWS WE CONDUCTED WITH AAC USERS ABOUT THEIR WORK AND EXPERIENCES IN HIGHER EDUCATION. IN 2025, WE ALSO CONTINUED TO PLATFORM SUCCESSES OF MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY, INCLUDING THAT OF OUR BOARD MEMBER TOBY LATHAM, WHO PUSHED THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA TO ADOPT THE FIRST LAW IN THE COUNTRY REQUIRING SCHOOL STAFF TO BE TRAINED TO SUPPORT EACH INDIVIDUAL STUDENT'S FORM OF AAC PRIOR TO THE START OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. IN 2025, IN THE AREA OF POLICY AND PRACTICE REFORM, COMMUNICATIONFIRST CONTINUED TO PROMOTE THE USE OF PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH WITH PEOPLE WHO NEED AND USE AAC. WE CONTINUED OUR COLLABORATION WITH THE REHABILITATION ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTER (RERC) ON AAC TO PROMOTE THE SUCCESS OF THE CO-ORGANIZED FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND FUTURE OF AAC RESEARCH SUMMIT IN MAY 2024 (WHERE THE MAJORITY OF THE PRESENTERS WERE AAC USERS) BY WORKING TO PUBLISH THE PRESENTATIONS IN A SPECIAL ISSUE OF AUGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION, WITH TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOWNLOADS INTERNATIONALLY. SINCE THE SUMMIT, COMMUNICATIONFIRST HAS CONTINUED TO FACILITATE RESEARCHER CONNECTIONS WITH AAC USERS. TO DATE, OVER 170 AAC USERS AND FAMILY MEMBERS HAVE SIGNED UP TO BE CONTACTED ABOUT PROSPECTIVE STUDIES, AND COMMUNICATIONFIRST HAS CIRCULATED 21 OF 28 VETTED RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES SUBMITTED FOR CONSIDERATION. AS PART OF OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE FEDERALLY FUNDED LINK CENTER, COMMUNICATIONFIRST HAS CONTINUED TO DEVELOP RESOURCES TO IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES AND SUPPORTS FOR PEOPLE WITH SPEECH-RELATED DISABILITIES AND CO-OCCURRING MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS. IN 2025, WE DEVELOPED RESOURCES REGARDING COMPLEX TRAUMA EXPERIENCED BY PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN DENIED ACCESS TO AAC. IN 2025, WE WERE AWARDED A THREE-YEAR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS GRANT FROM THE WITH FOUNDATION TO DEVELOP CURRICULUM FOR DISABILITY SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS WHO SUPPORT PEOPLE WHO CANNOT RELY ON SPEECH ALONE TO BE HEARD AND UNDERSTOOD. THIS WORK IS CURRENTLY UNDERWAY. AS PART OF OUR TECHNOLOGY FOR EQUITABLE COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE CONSUMER TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION, WE ORGANIZED A FREE WEBINAR IN OCTOBER 2025 ON THE BASICS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AS IT MAY IMPACT MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY. SUBSEQUENTLY, WE HELD SEVERAL FOCUS GROUPS WITH DIVERSE AAC USERS AND USED THE RESULTS TO CONTRIBUTE TO A NATIONAL WHITE PAPER IDENTIFYING THE "GOOD, BAD, AND UGLY" THAT PEOPLE WITH A VARIETY OF DISABILITIES INCLUDING AAC USERS EXPERIENCE WITH THE ADVENT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. IN 2025, WE ALSO BEGAN A LONG-TERM CAMPAIGN TO CLASSIFY COMMUNICATION AS A FEDERALLY-RECOGNIZED "ACTIVITY OF DAILY LIVING," A STEP THAT WOULD RECOGNIZE THE ESSENTIAL ROLE OF COMMUNICATION IN THE DAILY LIVES OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND THE CONCOMITANT NEED FOR ACCESS TO AUGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION TOOLS AND SUPPORTS IF A PERSON IS UNABLE TO BE UNDERSTOOD USING THEIR SPEECH ALONE. IN RESPONSE TO PROPOSED FEDERAL ACTIONS, COMMUNICATIONFIRST IN 2025 JOINED WITH VARIOUS DISABILITY COALITIONS, INCLUDING THE CONSORTIUM FOR CONSTITUENTS WITH DISABILITIES, TO ADVOCATE IN SUPPORT OF ENSURING THAT CRITICAL SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WITH SIGNIFICANT DISABILI
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 March 2019.
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.