Catalyst California

“Board secretary/treasurer steve english and bod president molly munger are married.”

“The form 990 is reviewed by members of the finance committee prior to making it available to the full board for review upon request.”

“The disclosure of conflicts is called for at each board meeting. Directors who have a personal interest in a matter such that it is a conflict of interest under the organization's conflicts of interest policy, disclose such interest and do not vote on the matter.”

“The organization purchased salary surveys and the cfo and the treasurer used them to analyze the compensation being awarded for directors of organizations of similar size and purposes. The co-directors who are not compensated proposed compensation for compensated co-directors. This recommendation is presented to the audit committee which after deliberating makes its compensation determination. The audit commitee deliberated on those recommendations and then made its compensation determinations for the salaries of the co-directors.”

“The compensation for other employees is first based on a 3% cost of living increase which is incorporated into the budget, but the organization's co-directors have been given the authority to grant additional increases as they see fit. During 2013, the organiation granted additional compensation increases for some employees to bring their salaries up to comparable market rates.”

“Conflict of interest policy and financial statements are available upon written request.”

“OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 4: Strategic Communications: Advancement Projects strategic communications program adds capacity to state and local groups working to confront and dismantle structural racism. To create a more just democracy, Advancement Project combines carefully crafted legal, policy and communications strategies in support of grassroots movements. Since our inception, we have employed strategic communications to promote local reform efforts and to influence the national discourse on issues of structural exclusion. Through public opinion research, crafting winning narratives and messages, spokesperson identification and development, rapid response and pitching grassroots leaders to national media, we have positioned ourselves as a public relations firm for the racial justice movement. Our work includes the development of strategic communications plans, which incorporate both paid and earned media. We communicate with our audience through traditional and social media. The goal of our communications program is to empower local leaders and move the dial on the most pressing racial justice and civil rights issues of our times. We routinely develop echo chambers to capture hearts and minds, creating demand for change in policy and the law. We support our organizations work in voting rights, rights restoration for persons with prior felony convictions, immigrant justice, ensuring a fundamental right to vote in state and federal law, changing perceptions around youth of color, policing and ending the schoolhouse-to-jailhouse track. OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 5: The goals of Advancement Projects Right to Vote campaign are to: strengthen legal protection for voters; implement national standards for voting; and to rebuild the voting rights movement, utilizing the lofty goal of an affirmative right to vote; creating a stimulus of constant vigilance on voting rights. Last year, AP worked with Florida New Majority to promote a state right to vote policy; educate the public on these issues; and designed and implemented a grassroots recruitment and organizing structure that was instrumental to significantly expand Florida New Majoritys long term capacity on the ground. Bolstering this effort, we also commissioned focus groups, and initiated polling that will help to formulate public education campaigns as we move forward. We have begun similar efforts in Ohio, with the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, and are exploring other states, such as Arizona, Montana, and Wisconsin. OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 6: Advancement Projects Ending-the-Schoolhouse-to-Jailhouse Track Project focused on ending harsh discipline and the criminalization of children of color; greatly improved education outcomes in 2014, and continues to do so in several school districts (Colorado, New York, Mississippi, and Florida). Additionally, we support the national movement to end the school-to-prison pipeline by working alongside national stakeholders; as well as on the ground with local partners by offering communications, legal, policy, and organizing support to grassroots groups in states across the country; which includes bringing the issues that affect young LGBTQ people of color into the school-to-prison pipeline discussion. OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 7: The Equity in Public Funds program transforms the relationship between City Hall and high-need communities, by empowering communities to engage in the budget and funding fights that matter to them and become high-impact advocates for their needs over the long haul. Through an array of tools and training, community advocates now are able to understand how to make strategic use of public finance data and information. Check out the toolkits developed to help advocates understand how to impact the L.A. City budget, L.A. County budget, and the L.A. Unified School District Budget. OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 8: The Educational Equity program expands educational opportunities and ensures appropriate school facilities for low income and d”

“The organization received $1,200,000 from the ford foundation to establish an operating reserve. The terms of grant require that the funds are managed according to the guidelines and policies determined by the organization's board of directors and should incorporate the following principles: (1) a policy outlining the governance and use of the reserve fund, including specifying the nature of the intended uses specifying criteria justifying usage or borrowing of the reserve funds as well as procedures for board of directors review and approval of borrowing from the reserve fund, shall be developed and adopted, and this policy shall be submitted to the ford foundation (2) the policy described in '(1)' shall provide that any borrowings from the reserve are subject to approval by the organization's board of dirctors (3) the organization shall monitor compliance with the reserve fund policy through regular audited financial statements (4) the reserve fund shall be physically segregated from all other assets and is to be reflected separately on the statement of financial position and shown as permanently restricted net assets (5) the policy for the reserve fund shall specify the organization's investment strategy and should be reviewed periodically and modified based on economic and market conditions at the time. The investment strategy should require that the funds be conservatively invested so as not to lose opportunities for growing the reserve, but not in any way that puts the funds at risk or prevents liquidity and (6) the reserve fund's managers are required to exercise ordinary business care and prudence with respect to the reserve fund under the facts and circumstances prevailing at the time of making an investment, in providing for the long- and short-term financial needs of the organization to carry out its exempt purposes.”