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PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY INITIATIVE INC

BUFFALO, NY · EIN 200972582 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE W052 · Public & Societal Benefit · Medium ($1M-$10M)
revenue
$1.4M
expenses
$727K
net assets
$1.8M
employees
5
volunteers
1,500
program ratio
91%
mission · from form 990

THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY INITIATIVE CONDUCTS RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES THAT BRING TRANSPARENCY TO INFLUENCE PUBLIC SECTOR AND PRIVATE SECTOR INSTITUTIONS AND THEIR KEY RELATIONSHIP.

profile · synthesized from sources

Public Accountability Initiative conducts research and educational activities focused on corporate and government accountability, aiming to expose the influence of powerful public and private institutions on public policy. The organization investigates sectors such as finance, fossil fuels, and corporate power at regional and state levels, publishing reports, datasets, and infographics. It also trains journalists, activists, and researchers in investigative methodologies using tools like LittleSis.org.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024

What they reported doing

  1. #1 primary $0
    RESEARCH: PAI'S RESEARCH PROGRAM INVESTIGATES ISSUES OF CORPORATE AND GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTANILITY AND BRINGS TRANSPARENCY TO THE ROLE OF POWERFUL PUBLIC SECTOR AND PRIVATE SECTOR INSTITUTIONS IN SHAPING PUBLIC POLICY. PAI RELEASES RESEARCH IN THE FORM OF REPORTS, ARTICLES, INFOGRAPHICS, AND DATASETS. PAI'S RESEARCH HAS GARNERED SIGNIFICANT MEDIA COVERAGE, PROMPTED ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES AND PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS,AND INFORMED GROUNDBREAKING CAMPAIGNS. PAI'S PRIMARY FOCUS AREAS INCLUDE THE FINANCE INDUSTRY AND THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY, AND CORPORATE POWER ON THE REGIONAL AND STATE LEVEL. IN 2022-2023, OUR RESEARCH TOUCHED ON ISSUES INCLUDING INVESTOR-OWNED UTILITIES, FOSSIL FUEL FINANCE, WALL STREET SPECULATION, THE REVOLVING DOOR BETWEEN BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT, CORPORATE SUBSIDIES, AND MONEY IN POLITICS. OUR RESEARCH EARNS MAJOR MEDIA COVERAGE AND HELPS DRIVE COMPAIGN STRATEGY AND WINS.
  2. #2 $0
    TRAINING: PAI TRAINS JOURNALISTS, ASTIVISTS, AND RESEACHERS IN HOW TO CONDUCT POWER RESEARCH USING LITTLESIS.ORG AND OTHER TOOLS AND METHODOLOGIES. THE GOAL OF THIS WORK IS TO CULTIVATE MORE MOVEMENT CAPACITY TO RESEARCH AND CHALLENGE INFLUTIAL NETWORKS IN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR. WE CONDUCT TRAININGS IN PERSON AND ONLINE VIA WEBINAR, AND OFFER THEM INDEPENDENTLY AND IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OTHER PUBLIC INTERESTED ORGANIZATIONS. IN 2022-2023, WE CONDCUTED A NUMBER OF TRAININGS ON LITTLESIS TECH TOOLS INCLUDING HOW TO EDIT THE RESEARCH DATABASE, HOW TO RESEARCH PUBLICLY-HELD CORPORATIONS, RESEARCH TECHNIQUES FOR PRIVATE COMPANIES AND NON-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, AND HOW TO RESEARCH POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS.
named programs · 2 · from sources

What they call their work

Research Program
Investigates corporate and government accountability, focusing on finance and fossil fuel industries, corporate subsidies, money in politics, and institutional power structures. Publishes findings as reports, articles, infographics, and datasets.
Training Program
Trains journalists, activists, and researchers in power-mapping methodologies using LittleSis.org and other tools. Topics include researching corporations, nonprofits, political contributions, and municipal budgets.
activities · 2 groups

What they do

  • Economic and Financial Research 1 activity
    • Conducts research on corporate and government accountability
      Produces research on topics including investor-owned utilities, fossil fuel finance, Wall Street speculation, corporate subsidies, money in politics, and the revolving door between business and government. Disseminates findings through reports, articles, infographics, and datasets.
  • Uncategorized 1 activity
    • Provides training on power research methodologies
      Offers in-person and webinar-based training for journalists, activists, and researchers on using LittleSis.org and related methods to investigate municipal budgets, publicly-held corporations, foundations, nonprofits, real estate companies, landlords, and political contributions at local, state, and federal levels.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$1.38M
Contributions & grants$1.19M86%
Program service revenue$147K11%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue$51K
expenses
Total expenses$727K
Program expenses91%
Admin / overhead7%
Fundraising2%
Salaries & benefits$503K
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$1.81M
Cash$1.24M
Investments$0
Liabilities$11K
Net assets$1.80M
Liquid reserves20.5 mo
6 years on record · 2019–2024 · YoY revenue +53.1%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 1
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
GIN ARMSTRONG Executive Dir. 40 $87K
board members · 4
  • ANTHONY ARMSTRONG — Treasurer
  • ELLEN DAVID FRIEDMAN — BOARD MEMBER
  • MAYA RAGSDALE — BOARD CHAIR
  • ZAC CHAPMAN — BOARD MEMBER
relationships · 1

Who they work with

  • LittleSis.org Partner — Collaborates on training and research tools for investigating powerful networks.
strategies · 2

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.