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Top Rated

Committee to Protect Journalists

CharityWatch report issued
February 2021

Top-Rated Charity
B+
CharityWatch Grade
Our independent grade based
on a number of factors.
 
73%
Program Percentage
Amount spent on programs
relative to overhead.
 
$18
Cost to Raise $100
Amount spent to raise
$100 of contributions.
Ratings & Metrics

Contact Information

Committee to Protect Journalists
PO Box 2675
New York, NY 10108

Other Names

CPJ

Tax Status

501(c)3

Website

www.cpj.org

Stated Mission

To promote press freedom worldwide and defend the right of journalists to report the news without fear of reprisal.

View similar charities

Ratings & Metrics

Learn more about Ratings & Metrics
Data based on Fiscal Year Ended 12/31/2019

Program Percentage: 73%

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

$9,300,000

Calculated Total Expenses

(rounded)

 

Cost to Raise $100: $18

How many dollars Committee to Protect Journalists spends on fundraising to raise each $100 of contributions.

$10,000,000

Calculated Total Contributions

(rounded)

Government Funding

0% to 24%

Percentage of cash revenue
coming from government sources

 

Financial Documents

Entity Document Type Tax ID
Committee to Protect Journalists IRS Form 990 13-3081500
Committee to Protect Journalists Audited Financial Statements 13-3081500
Entity: Committee to Protect Journalists
Document Type: IRS Form 990
Tax ID: 13-3081500
Entity: Committee to Protect Journalists
Document Type: Audited Financial Statements
Tax ID: 13-3081500

Governance & Transparency

Learn more about 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?
 
Committee to Protect Journalists
meets governance benchmarks.
 
Committee to Protect Journalists
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 No Sharing  

Top Salaries

Learn more about Top Salaries
  Name Title Compensation
1 Joel Simon Executive Director $291,553
2 Robert Mahoney Deputy Executive Director $222,624
3 John D. Weis Director of Development $216,139
1
Name: Joel Simon
Title: Executive Director
Compensation: $291,553
2
Name: Robert Mahoney
Title: Deputy Executive Director
Compensation: $222,624
3
Name: John D. Weis
Title: Director of Development
Compensation: $216,139

Analysts' Notes

Learn more about Analysts' Notes
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 Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) audit of December 31, 2019 (Note 14, Subsequent Events):

"Subsequent to year end, the World Health Organization declared a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. This could adversely affect CPJ's donors and vendors as a result of quarantines, facility closures, and travel and logistics restrictions in connection with the outbreak. More broadly, the outbreak could affect workforces, economies and financial markets globally, potentially leading to an economic downturn. This could adversely affect and harm CPJ's business and results of operations. Management continues to monitor the outbreak, however, as of the date of these financial statements, the potential impact of such on CPJ's business cannot be quantified."

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) audit of December 31, 2019 (Note 7, Conditional Contribution):

"CPJ received $400,000 to invest as a term endowment. Investment earnings may be spent on a current basis to support CPJ's programs. As of December 31, 2018, the donor had the unilateral right to reassign the full principal amount of $400,000 to any other qualified charitable institution within a five-year term, which ended March 26, 2019 and was extended until April 1, 2024. Accordingly, these funds have been recognized as a conditional contribution as of December 31, 2019 and 2018. Subsequent to year-end the donor informed CPJ of the donor's consent to convert the term endowment into a donor restricted contribution conditional upon CPJ raising funding of $7,000,000 towards its capital campaign before June 2020."

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) audit of December 31, 2019 (Note 12, In-Kind Contributions), CPJ received donated in-kind professional legal services in 2019 on which it placed a total value of $979,253.

[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.]

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