Scoring Methodology
Tallyview Transparency Scores summarize a nonprofit's financial health, governance, transparency, and compliance into a single 0-100 score. Scores are computed from publicly available IRS Form 990 data accessed through ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer API.
Data Source
All data comes from IRS Form 990 filings made available through the ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Due to IRS processing timelines, the most recent available data is typically 12-24 months old. Tallyview surfaces the "data vintage" (filing year) on every score to help users assess currency.
Scores are cached for 24 hours and recomputed on the next lookup. Organizations connected to Tallyview may receive enhanced scores that incorporate real-time data from their accounting systems.
Score Dimensions
Financial Health
30%- Program expense ratio (>75% ideal)
- Management overhead ratio (<15% ideal)
- Operating margin (positive but not excessive)
Governance
25%- Board size (5-15 members ideal)
- Board independence ratio (>67% ideal)
- Conflict of interest policy
- Whistleblower policy
Transparency
25%- Form 990 filing on record
- Independent audit completed
- Financial data publicly available
- Compensation disclosure
Compliance
20%- Form 990 filed
- Filing within 2 years of current year
- Governance policies in place
Score Ranges
80-100
Strong transparency
60-79
Moderate transparency
0-59
Needs improvement
Limitations
- Scores are based on publicly available data only and may not reflect the full picture of an organization.
- IRS data can be 12-24 months behind. Check the data vintage for each score.
- Governance data (board composition, policies) is not always available in 990 filings.
- Scores should not be used as the sole basis for funding or regulatory decisions.