Skip to content
Nonprofiteer
← CENTER FOR MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY INC

Form 990 for tax year 2025

Filed by CENTER FOR MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY INC.

Totals

Total revenue
$1,063,259
Total expenses
$1,033,822
Contributions and grants received
$963,456
Grants paid
$0
Program service revenue
$0
Investment income
$99,803
Other revenue
$0
Total assets, end of year
$2,590,489
Total liabilities, end of year
$50,769
Net assets or fund balances, end of year
$2,539,720
Program services expenses (Part IX)
$751,501
Management and general expenses
$140,908
Fundraising expenses
$141,413
Program service expenses (Part III)
$751,501

Program services were 72.7% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

Line items

Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.

Revenue

Part VIII, the statement of revenue.

  • 1a · Federated campaigns

    $12,231

  • 1f · All other contributions, gifts and grants

    $951,225

  • 3 · Investment income

    total $99,803 · excluded $99,803

Functional expenses

Part IX, the statement of functional expenses.

  • 5 · Compensation of officers, directors and key employees

    total $452,468 · program services $254,098 · management and general $94,541 · fundraising $103,829

  • 7 · Other salaries and wages

    total $287,192 · program services $287,192

  • 8 · Pension plan contributions

    total $1,853 · program services $1,379 · management and general $226 · fundraising $248

  • 9 · Other employee benefits

    total $34,445 · program services $34,445

  • 10 · Payroll taxes

    total $49,936 · program services $37,329 · management and general $6,042 · fundraising $6,565

  • 11c · Fees: accounting

    total $17,035 · management and general $17,035

  • 11g · Fees: other

    total $95,186 · program services $56,880 · management and general $16,141 · fundraising $22,165

  • 13 · Office expenses

    total $27,732 · program services $22,066 · management and general $2,471 · fundraising $3,195

  • 14 · Information technology

    total $19,951 · program services $19,951

  • 16 · Occupancy

    total $4,420 · program services $3,940 · management and general $480

  • 17 · Travel

    total $14,835 · program services $14,835

  • 22 · Depreciation, depletion and amortization

    total $6,967 · program services $5,183 · management and general $851 · fundraising $933

  • 23 · Insurance

    total $3,066 · management and general $3,066

  • 24a · Other expenses: RESEARCH AND REFERENCE

    total $14,182 · program services $14,182

  • 24e · All other expenses

    total $4,554 · program services $21 · management and general $55 · fundraising $4,478

Balance sheet

Part X, book values.

  • 1 · Cash, non-interest-bearing

    beginning of year $365,643 · end of year $126,931

  • 2 · Savings and temporary cash investments

    beginning of year $2,014,009 · end of year $2,113,802

  • 3 · Pledges and grants receivable

    beginning of year $168,846 · end of year $344,532

  • 9 · Prepaid expenses and deferred charges

    beginning of year $6,309 · end of year $5,224

  • 10a · Land, buildings and equipment: cost or other basis

    $19,987

  • 10b · Land, buildings and equipment: accumulated depreciation

    $19,987

  • 10c · Land, buildings and equipment, net

    beginning of year $6,967 · end of year $0

  • 17 · Accounts payable and accrued expenses

    beginning of year $51,491 · end of year $50,769

  • 27 · Net assets without donor restrictions

    beginning of year $2,335,533 · end of year $2,199,720

  • 28 · Net assets with donor restrictions

    beginning of year $174,750 · end of year $340,000

Mission and programs · 2025

Mission

CENTER FOR MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY, INC. (CMD) IS AN INDEPENDENT, NON-PARTISAN ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO INVESTIGATING AND PUBLICIZING THE HIDDEN INFLUENCE OF POWERFUL SPECIAL INTERESTS ON AMERICA'S MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY, AND ITS IMPACT ON PUBLIC OPINION, PUBLIC POLICY, LAW, AND ELECTIONS.

Activities or mission (Part I)

EDUCATING THE PUBLIC ON THE IMPACT OF SPECIAL INTERESTS AND DISINFORMATION ON PUBLIC POLICY, ELECTIONS, COURTS, AND THE MEDIA.

  • THE CENTER FOR MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY (CMD) IS A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED WATCHDOG THAT LEADS IN-DEPTH, AWARD-WINNING INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE CORRUPTION THAT UNDERMINES OUR DEMOCRACY, ENVIRONMENT, AND ECONOMIC PROSPERITY. THE CENTER PUBLISHES EXPOSEDBYCMD, PRWATCH AND SOURCEWATCH. SOURCEWATCH PROFILES THE ACTIVITIES OF FRONT GROUPS, PR SPINNERS, INDUSTRY-FRIENDLY EXPERTS, INDUSTRY-FUNDED ORGANIZATIONS, AND THINK TANKS TRYING TO INFLUENCE PUBLIC OPINION ON BEHALF OF CORPORATIONS OR THE GOVERNMENT IN AN ENCYCLOPEDIC FORMAT THAT INCLUDES COMPILATION OF OUR ORIGINAL REPORTING. EXPOSEDBYCMD AND PRWATCH PROFILE THESE SAME TOPICS IN THE FORMAT OF DAILY ORIGINAL REPORTING INCLUDING REFERENCES TO RESEARCH COMPILED IN SOURCEWATCH ENTRIES. TOPICS COVERED IN EXPOSEDBYCMD, PRWATCH, AND SOURCEWATCH INCLUDE ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH, ECONOMIC, AND PRIVACY ISSUES. TOPICS COVERED ON EXPOSEDBYCMD, SOURCEWATCH, AND PROJECT WEBSITES IN 2025 INCLUDED VOTING RIGHTS, HATE GROUPS, DISINFORMATION, ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH, ECONOMIC, LABOR, EDUCATION, AND OTHER DEMOCRACY ISSUES.

    Expenses $751,501

As filed on the 2025 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Listed in Part VII

  • Lisa Graves

    PRESIDENT

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Bo Yerxa

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Cosmo Harrigan

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Deborah Bey

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Ellen Braune

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Gordon Lafer

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Jan Miyasaki

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Nancy MacLean

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Arn Pearson

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $212,743
    From this org
    $189,050
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $23,693
    Hours/week
    40

    Schedule J breakdown matched by us

    Base
    $186,550
    Bonus
    $2,500
    Other
    $0
    Deferred
    $6,040
    Nontaxable benefits
    $17,653
    Filer's total
    $212,743

  • Eric Wittstein

    DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

    Total calculated
    $239,727
    From this org
    $233,687
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $6,040
    Hours/week
    40

    Schedule J breakdown matched by us

    Base
    $231,187
    Bonus
    $2,500
    Other
    $0
    Deferred
    $6,040
    Nontaxable benefits
    $0
    Filer's total
    $239,727

  • David Armiak

    RESEARCH DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $118,633
    From this org
    $115,250
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $3,383
    Hours/week
    40

  • Don Wiener

    WRITER AND RESEARCHER

    Total calculated
    $101,925
    From this org
    $101,925
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $0
    Hours/week
    40

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. A Schedule J breakdown is as filed: base pay, bonus, other, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits from this organization, with any from related organizations beside each, and the filer's own total. It is shown with the Part VII listing of the same name on the same return. The form gives no key between the two, so that pairing is ours, and is marked matched by us.

Schedule J

Answered yes

  • 3 · Form 990 of other organizations
  • 3 · Approval by the board or compensation committee

Answered no

  • 4a · Severance or change-of-control payment
  • 4b · Supplemental nonqualified retirement plan
  • 4c · Equity-based compensation arrangement
  • 5a · Pay contingent on this organization's revenues
  • 5b · Pay contingent on a related organization's revenues
  • 6a · Pay contingent on this organization's net earnings
  • 6b · Pay contingent on a related organization's net earnings
  • 7 · Other non-fixed payments
  • 8 · Paid under the initial-contract exception

Part I's answers as filed. A line not listed was left unanswered; on lines 1a and 3 that means the box was not checked.

Grants on this return

No itemized grants to organizations on this return.

Provenance

Return type
form_990
Tax year
2025
Filed
6 July 2026
IRS schema version
2025v4.2
Source object
202621879349300642

Check it against the return as filed: the GivingTuesday Data Lake hosts a public copy of the original XML.

The source document this was parsed from is served over the API, which is where bulk and document access live.