2015-04-10T09:30:15-07:00 2014-12-31 Byeman & Cleary CPAs 412 W Broadway Suite 206 Glendale CA 912041297 990 2014-01-01 571210185 PROCONORG LISTED AS PROCON ORG IN IRS RECORDS PROC 3102600315 233 WILSHIRE BLVD SUITE 200 SANTA MONICA CA 90401 DENNIS LAUTZENHIESER Secretary 2015-04-10 true DANIEL R MOORE P00293381 8182473223 X 2014 2016-02-25 16:41:14Z JAY RAKOW JD 233 WILSHIRE BLVD SUITE 200 SANTA MONICA CA 90401 693395 false false X WWW.PROCON.ORG X 2004 CA PROMOTING CRITICAL THINKING BY PRESENTING THE PROS AND CONS OF CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES ON THE WEB. 8 7 10 4 0 590535 690362 400 3033 0 0 590935 693395 0 0 508251 551848 56670 5400 17118 111783 124753 676704 682001 -85769 11394 77650 66534 39777 17267 37873 49267 PROMOTING CRITICAL THINKING, EDUCATION, AND INFORMED CITIZENSHIP BY PRESENTING ISSUES IN A STRAIGHTFORWARD, NONPARTISAN PRIMARILY PRO-CON FORMAT. false false 619153 3033 ProCon.org researches information from various websites and other sources to provide information on various topics of interest to the general public. ProCon.org has built and controls 50 websites dealing with various topics of social interest, which are collectively referred to as the ProCon.org website. The ProCon.org website had over 20,000,000 unique visitors, over 39,000,000 page views, and over 870,000,000 web site hits in 2014. It has been used by more than 5,758 schools in all 50 states and 73 foreign countries. Procon.org was referenced in 101 published books in 2014. ProCon.org was referenced by the mainstream media over 470 times in 2014 (CNN, BBC, NPR, Forbes, NY Times, LA Times, Washington Post, PBS, Fox News, etc.). In 2014 ProCon.org was used by 9 Federal and State agencies. The ProCon.org website was also used by 21 international governments since inception in 2004. 619153 true true false false false false false false false false true false false false false false true false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false true 8 0 true 10 true false false false false false false false false 0 false false false false false false false false false false X 8 7 true false false false false false false true true false false true true true true true true true true false CA X X DENNIS LAUTZENHEISER 3102600315 233 WILSHIRE BLVD SUITE 200 SANTA MONICA CA 90401 STEVE MARKOFF Chairman 8.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 JADWIGA MARKOFF MD PHD Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 JOHN KURTZ JD Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 STANLEY F SHIMOHARA CPA Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 BRUCE MCNALL Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 JAY RAKOW JD CEO 40.00 0.00 X X 43096 0 1200 MICHAEL G KLEIN Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 PHILIP SMAGARAM LLB Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 DENNIS LAUTZENHIESER Secretary 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 KAMBIZ AKHAVAN President 55.00 0.00 X 115672 0 3361 ROBERT FRCEK CFO 2.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 158768 4561 1 false false false 0 690362 690362 LICENSE FEES 3033 3033 3033 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 693395 3033 0 0 0 0 163328 153603 8092 1633 0 314088 296146 14801 3141 6049 5689 300 60 27672 26011 1384 277 40711 38268 2036 407 22536 21309 1227 495 495 11650 11650 0 5400 5400 0 0 27184 19220 2275 5689 3747 3598 112 37 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 878 843 26 9 6728 6661 67 COMPUTER AND WEB SITE 24124 24124 PARKING FEES 13354 12953 401 WORKERS COMP INSURANCE 3708 3560 111 37 TELEPHONE 3534 3393 106 35 6815 3775 2647 393 682001 619153 45730 17118 41155 48467 0 24702 7205 0 0 0 0 0 8353 8300 4391 1829 3440 2562 0 0 0 0 0 77650 66534 39777 17267 39777 17267 X 27873 49267 10000 37873 49267 77650 66534 11394 X false true X true false X 602398 1284185 77362 590535 690362 3244842 0 0 602398 1284185 77362 590535 690362 3244842 2555403 689439 91 91 0 0 3244933 0.21250 0.20970 X Current Year Facts and Circumstances: ProCon.org had almost over 21% of its support from the general public in 2014. Procon.org maintains a program for the solicitation of funds from the general public. The ProCon.org website has a section for users to make donations. ProCon.org had 238 unique donors and sponsors in 2014 an increase of 37% over 2013. PROCON.ORG HAS BUILT AND CONTROLS over 50 WEBSITES DEALING WITH VARIOUS TOPICS OF SOCIAL INTEREST, WHICH ARE COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO AS THE PROCON.ORG WEBSITE.ProCon.org provides its website as a free public information service. It had over 20,000,000 unique visitors during 2014 and that is a 20% increase over 2013. The website has been cited by various public officials and news services as an unbiased source of information on a wide variety of topics. The website has been cited by educators as a source of information and was used by 5,758 schools in all 50 states. In 2014 ProCon.org was used by 9 Federal and State agencies. The ProCon.org website was also used by 21 international governments since inception in 2004. The use by schools and governmental units provides a valuable public service without using any taxpayer dollars. Highlights for ProCon.org for the year are:Oct. 8, 2014 For the first time, ProCon.org decided to bring its unique brand of voter education to local elections, starting with Santa Monica, California. The Local Elections website from ProCon.org gathers opinions from candidates for the Santa Monica City Council, School Board, and College Board on many important community issues. Visitors were able to read about each candidate, click on an issue to read candidate position statements, and take the candidate matching quiz to see which candidate best matched their views. 5,025 people visited the Local Elections website to help them decide which candidates to support. The margins of victory in the three races covered by ProCon.org were 586 votes (City Council), 264 votes (School Board), and 633 (College Board). The Local Elections website was created as part of a collaboration with the Santa Monica Daily Press.Sep. 26, 2014 ProCon.org participated in a panel at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 44th annual legislative conference. Kamy Akhavan represented ProCon.org on the 6-person panel to discuss "Teacher Tenure: Education or Politics?" The panel was hosted by the American Federation of Teachers.Sep. 15, 2014 Jay Rakow succeeds Steve Markoff to become new CEO of ProCon.org. Mr. Rakow previously served as President of The Lincy Foundation, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Paramount Pictures, Senior Executive Vice President of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., and Distinguished Practitioner-in-Residence at Cornell University Law School.July 28, 2014 ProCon.org presented its 6th annual critical thinking seminar to high school students attending the Junior Statesmen of Americas "2014 Gene Burd Institute on L.A. Media and Politics at UCLA. Also, for the 6th year in a row, the ProCon.org seminar was selected by the students as their favorite presentation of the week-long workshop.July 12, 2014 Happy 10th anniversary, ProCon.org! Our little operation that started on July 12, 2004 with six topics and big aspirations has become Americas leading provider of free pro and con research on controversial issues with 50 topics and more in development. Thank you to the more than 70 million people who have visited ProCon.org over the last 10 years and helped us promote critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship. See our 10th anniversary page for more.June 17, 2014 Phil Magaram and Michael Klein are officially voted onto the ProCon.org Board of Directors. Their impressive backgrounds and extensive experience add to the strength of our organization. Welcome aboard.June 2, 2014 ProCon.org was nominated for the 2014 Los Angeles Business Journal Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Awards in two categories, Nonprofit Organization of the Year (Small) and Nonprofit Team of the Year. Thank you for the kind recognition.May 8, 2014 Educators in over 5,000 schools have used ProCon.org. Our free resources have been used by teachers, librarians, and administrators in all 50 states and 66 countries (the latest was Egypt). The breakdown is 1,229 elementary and middle schools (24.6%), 2,547 high schools (50.9%), and 1,226 colleges and universities (24.5%). THANK YOU to the educators, our partners in promoting critical thinking, who helped us reach this milestone. Procon.org continues to expand its outreach to schools. Procon.org functions as a public charity by proving a valuable service to the public, including schools, without the use of any government funding. RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 4391 1829 2562 2562 902780 89463 119922 209385 693395 693395 891386 89463 119922 209385 682001 682001 Part XI, Line 2d: Other revenue amounts included in F/S but not included on form 990 CONTRIBUTED ADVERTISING $119922 Part XII, Line 2d: Other expenses and losses per audited F/S CONTRIBUTED ADVERTISING $119922 Form 990, Part VI, Line 2: Description of Business or Family Relationship of Officers, Directors, Et STEVE MARKOFF AND JADWIGA S.Z.-MARKOFF ARE MARRIED.DENNIS LAUTZENHEISER IS EMPLOYEE OF A COMPANY OWNED BY STEVE MARKOFF.ROBERT FRCEK IS EMPLOYEE OF A COMPANY OWNED BY STEVE MARKOFF. Form 990, Part VI, Line 11b: Form 990 Review Process A COPY OF THE FORM 990 WAS PROVIDED TO ALL OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS FOR REVIEW AND COMMENT, COMMENTS ARE DISCUSSED AMONG BOARD MEMBERS AND REVISIONS ARE COMMUNICATED TO THE ACCOUNTANT PREPARING THE FORM 990. THEN THE FORM IS FINALIZED AND FILED. Form 990, Part VI, Line 12c: Explanation of Monitoring and Enforcement of Conflicts A WRITTEN AND SIGNED CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT IS OBTAINED FROM EACH BOARD MEMBER ANNUALLY. Form 990, Part VI, Line 15a: Compensation Review & Approval Process - CEO, Top Management COMPENSATION OF THE PRESIDENT IS DETERMINED BY THE COMPENSATION COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS BASED ON A REVIEW OF COMPARABLE SALARIES AND ON PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS. Form 990, Part VI, Line 15b: Compensation Review and Approval Process for Officers and Key Employees COMPENSATION OF EMPLOYEES IS DETERMINED BY THE INDEPENDENT CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS BASED ON A REVIEW OF COMPARABLE SALARIES AND ON PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS. Form 990, Part VI, Line 19: Other Organization Documents Publicly Available THE GOVERNING DOCUMENTS AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ARE POSTED ON PROCON.ORG WEBSITE.