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National Right to Life Committee

CharityWatch report issued
May 2023

C
CharityWatch Grade
Our independent grade based
on a number of factors.
 
52%
Program Percentage
Amount spent on programs
relative to overhead.
 
$32
Cost to Raise $100
Amount spent to raise
$100 of contributions.

Contact Information

National Right to Life Committee
1446 Duke St
Alexandria, VA 22314-3403

Other Names

None

Tax Status

501(c)4

Website

www.nrlc.org

Stated Mission

Devoted to disseminating information and support for pro-life issues.

View similar charities
Data based on Fiscal Year Ended 04/30/2022

Program Percentage: 52%

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

$3,800,000

Calculated Total Expenses

(rounded)

 

Cost to Raise $100: $32

How many dollars National Right to Life Committee spends on fundraising to raise each $100 of contributions.

$3,300,000

Calculated Total Contributions

(rounded)

Joint Costs

National Right to Life Committee's rating was adjusted for Joint Costs. If you are a donor who considers direct mail, telemarketing, and other Joint Cost solicitations to be true charitable programs, the below efficiency ratios, which were not adjusted for joint costs, may better reflect your goals.

Program % Cost to Raise $100
54% $31
Accounting rules allow charities to report some telemarketing, direct mail, and other solicitation costs as Program expenses. CharityWatch believes that most donors do not consider a charity's solicitation activities to be the Programs they are intending to support with their donations. We therefore adjust such expenses out of a charity's reported Program expense and add it to Fundraising expense prior to calculating its rating.

Government Funding

0% to 24%

Percentage of cash revenue
coming from government sources

 

Financial Documents

Entity Document Type Tax ID
National Right to Life Committee Audited Financial Statements 52-0986195
National Right to Life Committee and its Interrelated Entities Audited Consolidated Financial Statements multiple
National Right to Life Committee IRS Form 990 52-0986195
Entity: National Right to Life Committee
Document Type: Audited Financial Statements
Tax ID: 52-0986195
Entity: National Right to Life Committee and its Interrelated Entities
Document Type: Audited Consolidated Financial Statements
Tax ID: multiple
Entity: National Right to Life Committee
Document Type: IRS Form 990
Tax ID: 52-0986195

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.
National Right to Life Committee
does not meet governance benchmarks.
 
National Right to Life Committee
does not meet 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 David N. O'Steen Executive Director $135,189
2 Darla St. Martin Co-Executive Director $124,374
3 Amarie Natividad CFO $114,074
1
Name: David N. O'Steen
Title: Executive Director
Compensation: $135,189
2
Name: Darla St. Martin
Title: Co-Executive Director
Compensation: $124,374
3
Name: Amarie Natividad
Title: CFO
Compensation: $114,074

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.

CharityWatch's rating of National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) is for the 501(c)(4) tax-exempt, social welfare organization (tax ID #52-0986195).

CharityWatch issues a separate rating for NRLC's related 501(c)(3) public charity, National Right to Life Committee Educational Trust Fund.

The other NRLC interrelated organizations, which include the National Right to Life Political Action Committee, the National Right to Life Conventions, Inc., the National Right to Life Educational Foundation, Inc., and the National Right to Life Victory Fund, are not rated by CharityWatch, either due to their small size or their status as a political action committee (PAC). The related party transactions between the National Right to Life Committee and its interrelated organizations are included in Note 5 of the NRLC audited financial statements, which is cited in a separate Analysts' Note, below.


CharityWatch separates the ratings for 501(c)(3) & 501(c)(4) organizations, even if their financial activities are included together in a consolidated audit, due to their differing treatments under the IRS tax code. For more information on this topic, please see our sections on Types of Non-Profits, Tax Status, and Treatment of Related Organizations, which can be found on the Our Process page. For more information about things to consider when donating to organizations that have related public charity and social welfare entities, read "Sorting Out Nonprofit Pairs" in the "Articles & Alerts" section, below.

According to the National Right to Life Committee audit of April 30, 2022 (Note 12, Management's Plans to Improve the Committee's Financial Condition):

"Over the previous three fiscal years, National Right to Life has undertaken a complete revamp of its membership and prospect fundraising programs, which has resulted in an increase in income and better cash flow, as well as an increase in new donors.

"The Management Fundraising Plan for FY 2021-2022 called for three planned mailings specifically to long-lapsed donors to reactivate them and bring them back onto the current donor file, as well as three direct mail campaigns to prospective donors and two phoning campaigns to prospective donors. As anticipated, these efforts resulted in the reactivation of 2,146 long-lapsed donors and the acquisition of 3,687 new donors, all of which allowed the organization to keep pace with its current list attrition rate.

"For FY 2022-2023, the budget approved by the board of directors includes building on these recent successes. The Development Department's program for FY 2022-2023 includes:

  • Continue with a regular donor outreach schedule during the fiscal year that calls for at least eight mailings and two phoning campaigns to existing members...
  • New segments of the long-lapsed donor file have been scored on their likelihood and capacity to give and those with the highest scores will be targeted...
  • Three direct mail campaigns to prospective donors and two phoning campaigns to prospective donors...
  • Continuation of two newsletter mailings to larger capacity donors geared toward long-term giving...
  • Identify, using data appending services with our planned giving consultants, additional existing donors with the capacity for larger gifts and building relationships to increase their giving while working to identify new donors capable of making larger gifts.
  • Continue to encourage and increase sustained (monthly) giving among new and existing members...
  • Exploring new avenues for online fundraising to increase the number of donations received from online sources...
  • Increase major gift giving capacity, including identifying and targeting past major donors for new approaches and outreach."

According to the National Right to Life Committee audit of April 30, 2022 (Note 5, Related Party Transactions):

"The Committee established the National Right to Life Political Action Committee (PAC) as a separate segregated fund. The administrative expenses of the PAC that are paid by the Committee total $267,745 and $205,492 for the years ended April 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and are included in the accompanying [audited] financial statements of the Committee.

"The Committee contributes cash and pays certain administrative costs of the National Right to Life Conventions, Inc. (Conventions). The amounts of the contributions are reported on the accompanying [audited] financial statements as an expense. The Committee paid for $10,544 and $9,700 in administrative costs for the years ended April 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. There was no Convention held during the year ended April 30, 2021.

"The Committee provides various administrative services and lobbying to the National Right to Life Educational Trust Fund (the Trust) and is reimbursed by the Trust for the cost of the services. For the years ended April 30, 2022 and 2021, the cost of the administrative services provided was $404,950 and $494,586, respectively. In addition, the Committee and the Trust maintain combined operating bank accounts that are tracked separately. Total amounts due to the Trust from the Committee as of April 30, 2022 and 2021 is $2,215,773 and $2,494,803, respectively. These amounts are reported on the accompanying [audited] statements of financial position. Amounts due to the Trust are non-interest bearing...

"The Committee contributes cash and pays certain administrative expenses of the National Right to Life Victory Fund (Victory Fund). The amounts of contributions are reported on the accompanying [audited] financial statements as an expense. For the years ended April 30, 2022 and 2021, the Committee contributed $100,083 and $199,601, respectively, all of which was in the form of administrative assistance. In addition, the Committee contributed $1,400,000 in cash to the Victory Fund during the year ended April 30, 2021."

According to the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) tax filing for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2022, NRLC reports for Business Transactions Involving Interested Persons a transaction in the amount of $52,298 involving David N. O'Steen, Jr. The relationship is reported as: "Related to the Executive Director." The transaction is described as: "Salary and benefits" (IRS Form 990, Schedule L, Parts IV & V).

[The Executive Director is David N. O'Steen; his reported total compensation for calendar year 2021 is $135,189 (IRS Form 990, Part VII, Section A).]

According to the National Right to Life Committee and Its Interrelated Entities consolidated audit of April 30, 2022 (Note 15, Significant Uncertainties and Risks):

"The COVID-19 pandemic, whose effects first became known in January 2020, is having a broad and negative impact on commerce and financial markets around the world. Certain sectors of U.S. and global markets have experienced significant declines from uncertainty caused by the pandemic. The Organization is closely monitoring its investment portfolio and its liquidity and is actively working to minimize the impact of these declines. The extent of the impact of the pandemic on the Organization's operational and financial performance will depend on certain developments, including the duration and spread of the outbreak and its impacts on the Organization's donors, employees and vendors, all of which, at present [September 27, 2022], cannot be determined. Accordingly, the extent to which the pandemic may impact the Organization's financial position, changes in net assets, and cash flow is uncertain, and the accompanying [audited] consolidated financial statements include no adjustments related to the effects of this pandemic.

"The Organization invests in various investment securities. Investment securities are exposed to various risks such as interest rate, market, and credit risks. Due to the level of risk associated with certain investment securities, it is at least reasonably possible that changes in the values of investment securities will occur in the near term and that such changes could materially affect the amounts reported on the [audited] consolidated statements of financial position."