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DO SOMETHING INC
NEW YORK, NY · EIN 133720473 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE O20Z · Youth Development · Medium ($1M-$10M) · dosomething.org
revenue
$3.1M
expenses
$6.7M
net assets
$4.7M
employees
54
volunteers
12
program ratio
68%
mission · from form 990

DOSOMETHING FUELS YOUNG PEOPLE TO CHANGE THE WORLD.

profile · synthesized from sources

Do Something Inc is a youth development organization that empowers young people aged 13–25 to lead social change through campaigns, leadership programs, and community action. It provides tools and resources to help youth take action on issues like climate sustainability, mental health, and equity. The organization operates nationally across the United States, with a focus on civic engagement and skill-building.

named programs · 8 · from sources

What they call their work

Certified Bestie
Program helping youth grow mental health literacy to support friends and peers.
Changemaker Decoder
Interactive tool helping young people identify causes they care about and actions they can take to create change.
Changemakers’s Guide to Generative AI
Educational guide teaching youth how to use generative AI tools to advance their social impact projects.
DoSomething’s crowd-sourced Allyship Guide
Resource created by over 21,000 members sharing tips for being better allies to LGBTQIA+ peers.
Road to 10 Credit Hours
Service-learning program helping students earn and track community service hours toward graduation or civic recognition.
Storybooths
Civic storytelling and service-learning curriculum accredited for New York State Seal of Civic Readiness.
Wavemakers Ambassador
Youth leadership program training and supporting young people in Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, and Phoenix to lead environmental sustainability and community cleanup initiatives.
Your Volunteer Roadmap
Guided resource helping youth transition from wanting to help to taking concrete volunteer action in their communities.
activities · 10 groups

What they do

  • Youth Leadership Development Programs 3 activities
    • National youth engagement in social issue campaigns
      Engages over 8 million young people across all U.S. area codes in campaigns, programs, volunteer initiatives, trainings, events, and leadership opportunities focused on social issues including equity and justice, safety and wellbeing, and civic participation.
    • Youth advocacy campaigns on equity, safety, and wellbeing
      Supports young people in taking advocacy actions on key social issues, including 30,000 actions related to safety and wellbeing and 55,000 actions related to equity and justice.
    • Youth leadership training and capacity building
      Provides leadership training, mentorship, coaching, and cohort-based programs to equip young people with skills in community organizing, advocacy, and social change leadership; includes foundational programming used to develop an accredited service-learning curriculum for New York State's Seal of Civic Readiness.
  • Student-Led Civic Engagement Support 1 activity
    • Civic engagement and voter participation programs
      Hosts youth-focused civic engagement events including voter registration drives and election night recaps, and supports students in fulfilling service requirements through structured programs like "Your Road to 10 Credit Hours."
  • Holiday and Seasonal Essentials Distribution 1 activity
    • Clothing donation and distribution initiatives led by youth
      Supports youth-led initiatives that clothe over 30 million people in need, including direct donations such as 200 pieces of clothing contributed through member actions.
  • Motor Vehicle Safety Education 1 activity
    • Distracted driving prevention program with scholarship incentives
      Runs a program that encourages young drivers and passengers to take a pledge against distracted driving, offering $500 scholarships for completing a 7-day phone-free driving streak and $1,500 scholarships for a 30-day streak.
  • Local High School Scholarship Programs 1 activity
    • Funding and scholarships for youth-led community impact
      Provides grants and scholarships to support rising young leaders in their community impact work, including scholarship awards for participation in specific campaigns such as PSA creation or distraction-free driving streaks.
  • Organized Member Social Events 1 activity
    • In-person and virtual networking opportunities for youth
      Creates in-person and online events and gatherings that enable young people to connect, network, and collaborate around shared social goals.
  • Youth and Community Research Initiatives 1 activity
    • Research on youth engagement and social change
      Conducts research through the DoSomething Discovery Lab to inform programming relevant to young changemakers and uses insights from over 31 years of experience to guide youth engagement strategies.
  • LGBTQ+ Cultural Competency & Community Education 1 activity
    • Resource and tool provision for youth changemakers
      Provides resources, tools, and online platforms to help young people learn about social issues and advance their community impact, including allyship tips collected from over 21,000 members to support LGBTQIA+ peers.
  • Nonprofit Capacity Building Services 1 activity
    • Youth engagement consultancy for organizations
      Operates DoSomething Strategic, an in-house consultancy that advises foundations, corporations, nonprofits, and other organizations on how to effectively engage Gen Z and Gen Alpha using data and insights from decades of youth programming experience.
  • Beach and Waterway Cleanup Initiatives 1 activity
    • Youth-led environmental action campaigns
      Engages young people in environmental changemaking through initiatives such as recycling, community clean-ups, protection of local waterways, and public service announcements about trash disposal and waterway protection; supported members in taking 28,000 climate and sustainability actions and diverting over 1 ton of toxic chemicals from landfills.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$3.08M
Contributions & grants$2.24M73%
Program service revenue$402K13%
Investment income$429K14%
Other revenue$6K
expenses
Total expenses$6.65M
Program expenses68%
Admin / overhead21%
Fundraising11%
Salaries & benefits$4.15M
Grants paid out$30K
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$6.25M
Cash$863K
Investments$3.70M
Liabilities$1.57M
Net assets$4.68M
Liquid reserves8.2 mo
5 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue +32.2%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 9
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
DENORA GETACHEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 40 $293K
MICHAEL NICHOLSON CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, THRU. OCT 2024 40 $206K
KEELY YEDNOCK VP, PROGRAMMING & IMPACT 40 $204K
MAX STEINMAN VP, COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING 40 $202K
DAVID CRUSOE VP, PRODUCT & ENGINEERING 40 $197K
CRYSTAL SMITH VP, PEOPLE & CULTURE 40 $166K
KATIE PRYBYLSKI VP, DEVELOPMENT 40 $163K
SAHIL GUPTA DATA ENGINEER 40 $145K
ASHLEY MCPHERSON DIRECTOR, PROGRAMS 40 $143K
board members · 12
  • ALICE LIN FABIANO — BOARD MEMBER
  • ANDREW CHERN — BOARD MEMBER
  • GRACE KO CHAU — BOARD MEMBER
  • ICEMA GIBBS — BOARD MEMBER
  • JASON MATHIAS — BOARD MEMBER
  • JENNIFER STRYBEL — BOARD MEMBER
  • JOHN FAUCHER — CHAIR
  • MATT DIAMOND — SECRETARY
  • MATTHEW MUGO FIELDS — TREASURER
  • ROSELINDE TORRES — BOARD MEMBER
  • SAMEER AJMANI — BOARD MEMBER
  • STEVE BUFFONE — BOARD MEMBER
relationships · 15

Who they work with

  • DoSomething Strategic Partner — In-house consultancy that advises brands and organizations on engaging Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
  • General Motors Partner — Collaborates with DoSomething.org to power the Offline Mode distracted driving prevention program.
  • LOVE Your Happy Place Partner — Collaborates on environmental stewardship initiatives, including community clean-ups and recycling efforts.
  • National Safety Council Government — Cited as source for statistic on distracted driving crashes
  • New York City Civic Coalition Partner — Collaborates with DO SOMETHING INC on civic engagement initiatives involving young people.
  • New York City Department of Education Government — Accredited a DoSomething-based civics curriculum through its Civics for All team
  • Niagara Bottling Partner — Partnership to support the Wavemakers Ambassador program and LOVE Your Happy Place campaign.
  • PBS Partner — Featured DoSomething members and leaders in a documentary on civic engagement
  • Union Square Academy for Health Sciences Partner — Collaborated with teacher David Edelman to adapt Storybooths programming into an accredited civics curriculum
  • corporations Partner — Partners with corporations that share the vision of fueling young people to change the world.
  • foundations Partner — Partners with foundations that share the vision of fueling young people to change the world.
  • government Government — Partners with government entities that share the vision of fueling young people to change the world.
  • nonprofits Partner — Partners with nonprofit organizations that share the vision of fueling young people to change the world.
  • social media platforms Partner — Engages youth in dialogue with social media platforms to drive change on digital safety issues.
  • tech companies Partner — Engages youth in dialogue with tech companies to drive change on digital safety issues.
strategies · 4

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Learn-Then-Act Developmental Model
    methodology: learn_then_act
    By guiding youth through a structured journey of learning about social issues, then building skills and taking action, the organization fosters sustained civic engagement because knowledge paired with agency builds confidence and long-term behavior change.
  • Passion-to-Action Engagement with Flexible Pathways
    methodology: passion_to_action
    By channeling youth passion into social change through flexible, accessible actions—from small personal habits to large-scale campaigns—the organization sustains engagement because low-barrier entry points and varied scope allow for individualized, scalable impact.
  • Peer-Powered Mobilization
    methodology: peer_mobilization
    By leveraging peer networks—through ambassadors, peer education, and peer-to-peer dialogue—the organization amplifies engagement and behavioral change because youth are more influenced by trusted peers than top-down messaging.
  • Youth-Led Changemaking
    methodology: youth_led_changemaking
    By positioning young people as primary agents of social change and supporting them to lead initiatives, the organization produces community and societal impact because youth leadership drives authentic engagement, ownership, and scalable behavioral change.