COMMON CAUSE

2024 · Form 990 · revenue $19.6M · expenses $10.0M · assets $20.2M

EIN

52-6078441

Address

805 15TH ST NW STE 800, WASHINGTON, DC 20005-2207

Website

WWW.COMMONCAUSE.ORG

NTEE code

-

Exempt type

501(c)(4): social welfare (corporation)

Ruling date

April 1968 (when the IRS recognized its exemption)

IRS status

Exempt (unconditional) (IRS Business Master File) IRS data ↗

Tax-deductible donations

No

Cross-check

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Mission

WITH OFFICES IN WASHINGTON D.C. AND 25 STATES AND 1.5 MILLION SUPPORTERS AND ACTIVISTS, COMMON CAUSE WORKS TO ADVANCE DEMOCRACY REFORMS AT FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LEVELS, THROUGH DRAFTING MODEL LEGISLATION, LOBBYING, PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, AND JOINT EFFORTS WITH DIVERSE PARTNERS ACROSS THE REFORM COMMUNITY.

Each tax year counts once: when a return was amended, only the latest return for that period is used below (superseded returns stay listed, greyed, under Finances).

People paid by the organization

39 people paid across every filing: current people first, then by total pay from this organization. Organizations counts every nonprofit each person appears on.

Officers and directors, no compensation reported

66 people listed on the returns with $0 (or no amount) in every compensation column: current people first. Hours are as filed on the latest return each person appears on.

People by year

Highest-paid independent contractors

State business registration

• COMMON CAUSE (DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CORPORATION) FL, Foreign nonprofit corporation (FORNP), Active, formed 1975-05-13

The same business name in the same state, from the state’s official registry data.

Trademarks

2 US trademarks, 2 live.

• COMMON CAUSE 2 marks, DC EXACT high confidence: identical full name and state

The newest marks of the trademark owners above, matched to this record by name (and state).

Federal lobbying

Lobbying Disclosure Act reports naming a client or registrant with this organization's name and state. Spent: what lobbying for it cost (firm income plus its own reported expenses). Earned: income it reported as a lobbying firm.

Issues: Budget/Appropriations, Government Issues, Communications/Broadcasting/Radio/TV, Civil Rights/Civil Liberties

Firms hired: COMMON CAUSE, NVG, LLC

Who the money went to

Grants this organization reported paying: Schedule I Part II of the Form 990, or the grants-paid list on the 990-PF. Open a year for every recipient. Recipients link to their own page when the grant names an EIN we have (990-PF grants list no EIN, so those link only on an exact, unique name and state). Grants to individuals are counted; their names are not shown.

Negative amounts are returned or refunded grants; they are listed last and left out of the totals of grants paid.

Who gave

Contributor names are not public for this form type.

Public charities filing Form 990 or 990-EZ report large donors on Schedule B, but the IRS withholds their names and addresses from public copies. Private foundations (990-PF) are different: their contributors are public.

Finances

Newest first. Each filing: its name on one row, its figures on the row beneath. Greyed filings are superseded by a later return for the same period and are left out everywhere else on this page.

Connected to

Organizations that list some of the same people on their returns (officers, directors, key employees on this organization’s latest return), and related organizations it lists on Schedule R.

• COMMON CAUSE EDUCATION FUND Washington, DC · 36 people in common (Alan Wiersba, Archon Fung, Braxton Brewington) · related organization (Schedule R)
• LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE ON CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INC Washington, DC · 2 people in common (Vanessa Gonzalez, Virginia Kase Solomon)
• DEMOCRACY INITIATIVE EDUCATION FUND Washington, DC · 2 people in common (Virginia Kase Solomon, Wendy Fields)
• DEMOCRACY INITIATIVE Washington, DC · 2 people in common (Virginia Kase Solomon, Wendy Fields)
• LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE EDUCATION FUND INC Washington, DC · 1 person in common (Vanessa Gonzalez)
• LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS EDUCATION FUND Cedar Rapids, IA · 1 person in common (Virginia Kase Solomon)
• LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF THE UNITED STATES Washington, DC · 1 person in common (Virginia Kase Solomon)
• OPPORTUNITY INSTITUTE Berkeley, CA · 1 person in common (Lenny Mendonca)

Funders of this organization

124 grantors reported grants to this organization, $9,678,132 in all, tax years 2010 to 2025; the 25 largest shown (all 124). Exact: the grantor wrote this organization's EIN. Fuzzy: the grantor wrote only a name (foundations' 990-PF has no EIN field), matched to the same or a near-identical name in the same state; the name as filed is shown. From the latest return for each grantor and year, so amended returns aren't counted twice. CSV

Similar organizations

Ranked without any AI: same NTEE code first, then the same NTEE group; then revenue within 2x, 5x or 10x; then the same state; then similar name and mission text. Same state only

Who funds organizations like this

Not reported: none of these organizations has foundation or DAF-sponsor grants in the filings we have.

The full list · all similar organizations

Where the money went

Every expense line on each return, biggest first: Form 990 Part IX (with its program, management and fundraising columns), 990-EZ Part I, or 990-PF Part I. Event marks lines the organization itself describes as events. “Events” in each summary adds those lines, conferences and meetings, and the direct costs of fundraising events. Unusual is not the same as improper. Many of these patterns have ordinary explanations. Check the filing.