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Top Rated

Comic Relief

CharityWatch rating issued
February 2025

Top-Rated Charity
A-
CharityWatch Rating
Our independent rating based
on a number of factors.
 
77%
Program Percentage
Amount spent on programs
relative to overhead.
 
$14
Cost to Raise $100
Amount spent to raise
$100 of contributions.

Contact Information

Comic Relief
120 Broadway Street
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10271

Other Names

America Gives Back--(formerly known as)
Charity Projects Entertainment Fund--(formerly known as)
Comic Relief US
Flying Start Fund
Hand in Hand Hurricane Relief Fund
Red Nose Day

Tax Status

501(c)3

Stated Mission

To break the cycle of intergenerational poverty by harnessing the power of entertainment to drive positive change by raising awareness of complex social and economic issues facing children and caregivers living in poverty and mobilizing the public to act.

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Data based on Fiscal Year Ended 12/31/2023

Program Percentage: 77%

The percentage of Comic Relief's cash budget it spends on programs relative to overhead (fundraising, management, and general expenses).

$39,000,000

Calculated Total Expenses

(rounded)

 

Cost to Raise $100: $14

How many dollars Comic Relief spends on fundraising to raise each $100 of contributions.

$46,000,000

Calculated Total Contributions

(rounded)

Government Funding

0% to 24%

Percentage of cash revenue
coming from government sources

 

Financial Documents

Entity Document Type Tax ID
Comic Relief Audited Financial Statements 01-0885377
Comic Relief IRS Form 990 01-0885377
Entity: Comic Relief
Document Type: Audited Financial Statements
Tax ID: 01-0885377
Entity: Comic Relief
Document Type: IRS Form 990
Tax ID: 01-0885377

Governance & Transparency

CharityWatch evaluates certain criteria related to a charity's Governance and Transparency. Donors may want to consider a charity's willingness to be open and transparent with CharityWatch to be a good litmus test for determining its commitment to public accountability.
This charity is Top-Rated
What does it mean to be Top-Rated?
 
Comic Relief
meets governance benchmarks.
 
Comic Relief
meets transparency benchmarks.
Transparency
Provides Financial Information
Audit Accessibility
Governance: Policies
Reports regularly & consistently monitoring & enforcing compliance with a written Conflict of Interest Policy
Reports required, annual disclosure by officers, directors, and key staff of interests that could give rise to conflicts
Reports having a written Whistleblower Policy
Reports having a written Document Retention and Destruction Policy
Governance: Financials
Reports providing copy of tax form to all board members prior to filing it with IRS
Reports that financial statements were audited by an independent accountant
Governance: Board of Directors
Reports at least 5 voting board members
51% or more of voting board members reported as independent
Reports documenting minutes of board and board committee meetings
Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy

  Name Title Compensation
1 Alison Moore Chief Executive Officer $455,333
2 Mary Corigliano SVP Brand & Marketing $272,657
3 Lisa Gadson-Clark SVP HR & Operations $253,389
1
Name: Alison Moore
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Compensation: $455,333
2
Name: Mary Corigliano
Title: SVP Brand & Marketing
Compensation: $272,657
3
Name: Lisa Gadson-Clark
Title: SVP HR & Operations
Compensation: $253,389

CharityWatch Analysts perform an in-depth analysis of charities' audited financial statements and IRS tax filings, and often review other documents such as state filings, annual reports, and fundraising contracts during their evaluations. Below are select notes that CharityWatch believes may be of interest to donors.

According to the Comic Relief (CR US) audit of December 31, 2023 (Note 8, Contributions of Nonfinancial Assets), CR US received nonfinancial assets in 2023 on which it placed a total value of $20,647. 

In addition, per audit Note 8: "CR US received contributed nonfinancial assets from NBC and CBS to carry out a national fundraising and awareness raising campaign including television and digital integrations, features and promotions. The amount recognized as revenue in the financial statements relates to contributions received during programming."

[Note: CharityWatch generally excludes the value of in-kind (non-cash) donations of goods and services from its calculations of Program % and Cost to Raise $100. More information on how grades are calculated and the treatment of in-kind donations can be found on the Our Process page.]

According to the Comic Relief (CR US) audit of December 31, 2023 (Note 6, Concentration of Risk):

"...For the year ended December 31, 2023, approximately 80% of support and revenue was received from two partners...

...A partnership agreement which represented 71% of support and revenue for both the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, expired during 2023 and will not be renewed."

According to the Comic Relief (CR US) audit of December 31, 2023 (Note 7, Related Party Transactions):

"CR US incurred legal expenses with a firm, wherein a board member is a partner. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the total expenses incurred were $62,642 and $54,430, respectively. During 2023, a board member contributed $153,192 to the organization in support of the Gala event. The organization also paid a board member $65,000 and $40,000 during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, for expenses associated with supporting the organization."

According to the Comic Relief (CR US) audit of December 31, 2023 (Note 10, Special Events):

"CR US held their first annual Gala event in December 2023. Gross proceeds from the event of $597,687 are included in the statements of activities for the year ended December 31, 2023. The costs of direct benefits to donors include food and beverages of $267,675, entertainment and production of $108,288 and other direct costs of $20,625 which are included in the total Special Event expenses included on the statement of functional expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023."

According to the Comic Relief (CR US) audit of December 31, 2023 (Note 11, Government Grants and Loans Payable):

"On March 22, 2021, CR US received loan proceeds in the amount of $586,807 under the Paycheck Protection Program (Second Draw PPP Loan). The Second Draw PPP Loan, established as part of the amended CARES Act, provides for loans to qualifying businesses for amounts up to 2.5 times of the average monthly payroll expenses of the qualifying business. The loan and accrued interest are forgivable after eight or 24 weeks as long as the borrower uses the loan proceeds for eligible purposes, as described in the CARES Act. The amount of loan forgiveness will be reduced if the borrower terminates employees or reduces salaries during the covered period. On April 19, 2022, the Second Draw PPP Loan and accrued interest were forgiven in full and recognized as government grants revenue within the accompanying statement of activities for the year ended December 31, 2022. 

The CARES Act provides an employee retention credit, a refundable tax credit against employment taxes of up to $5,000 per employee for eligible employers. The tax credit is equal to 50% of qualified wages paid to employees during a quarter, capped at $10,000 of qualified wages through December 31, 2020. Additional relief provisions were passed by the United States Government, which extended and expanded the wage caps on these credits through December 31, 2021. Based on these additional provisions, the tax credit was increased to 70% of qualified wages paid to employees per quarter. CRUS submitted an application for tax credits related to wages incurred during the third and fourth quarters of 2020 and second and third quarters of 2021. Management asserts that their application sufficiently met the criteria to receive the credit from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and, therefore, the full amount of the credit and interest totaling $529,197 has been reported as government grants in the accompanying statement of activities for the year ended December 31, 2022."


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