PLATINUM2023

The Florida Center for Government Accountability Inc

Florida Center for Government Accountability

aka FLCGA   |   Sarasota, FL   |  http://www.flcga.org
GuideStar Charity Check

The Florida Center for Government Accountability Inc

EIN: 86-2135203


Mission

The mission of the non-partisan FLCGA is to allow citizens to hold their government accountable and enhance civic engagement in the democratic process using state open government laws. To this end, we have two programs: our Investigative Journalism program focuses on issues of government accountability and transparency and our public access program insures access to government information through targeted public record requests and litigation.

Notes from the nonprofit

FLCGA is a relatively new organization, incorporated in February 2021, and is unique in that we provide assistance on open government issues and publish independent investigative journalism.

Ruling year info

2021

President

Linda Penniman

Vice President

Don Lindley

Main address

PO Box 2723

Sarasota, FL 34230 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

86-2135203

Subject area info

Investigative journalism

Open data

Web-based media

Civic participation

Public integrity

Population served info

Adults

Academics

Activists

IRS subsection

501(c)(3) Public Charity

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Tax forms

Show Forms 990

Communication

What we aim to solve

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Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Public Access Program

FLCGA provides assistance to citizens and journalists making public record requests with the goal of ensuring that those seeking access to government information are able to obtain public records in a timely and cost-effective manner consistent with state open government laws. In addition, FLCGA engages government agencies throughout Florida on open-government issues, filing lawsuits to enforce compliance with state open government laws.

Population(s) Served
Activists

The FLCGA Journalism Program produces impact investigative journalism in multiple media - print, broadcast and podcasts - published on its website under a Creative Commons licensee. The Program
partners with other media outlets, platforms and non-profits and encourages collaboration and content sharing.

Population(s) Served
Adults

FLCGA fosters interest in the fields of public service, government accountability and investigative journalism by providing intern and fellowship opportunities to students interested in journalism through its Florida Student NewsWatch program. Participants assist FLCGA with public records requests, research, investigations. Professional journalists act as mentors, providing guidance as NewsWatch students on story development, reporting, editing and publication. In 2021, 14 of 15 students affiliated with the NewsWatch had at least one story published.

Population(s) Served

FLCGA is creating a publicly accessible "vault" to store public record documents obtained through its journalism and litigation efforts. Non-affiliated journalists and citizen watchdogs will be encouraged to deposit public record documents in the FLCGA's vault.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Academics
Adults
Academics
Adults
Academics
Activists

Where we work

Awards

State FOI Hall of Fame/Barbara Petersen 2021

NFOIC

Affiliations & memberships

National Freedom of Information Coalition 2021

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of policies formally established

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Input - describing resources we use

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

FLCGA has established policies for its Journalism and Public Access programs

Number of donations made by board members

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Other - describing something else

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

This represents 100% of FLCGA board members.

Number of overall donors

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Other - describing something else

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

The majority of donations received in 2022 were for general support. Two donations were restricted for support of our journalism program.

Average online donation

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Other - describing something else

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of groups brought together in a coalition/alliance/partnership

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Journalism Program

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Collaborations formed with other non-profits and news outlets

Number of civil litigation matters handled

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Public Access Program

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Includes both lawsuits and amicus briefs.

Number of press articles published

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Journalism Program

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Journalism Program
Goal #1: Create a strong pipeline of independent and impactful news stories to be published on the FLCGA website and by other media outlets across Florida.
Goal #2: Develop an interactive and robust FLCGA news site providing access to its investigative reports and links to important articles published by other media outlets to a large and dedicated audience.
Public Access Program
Goal #1: Increase program capacity and the ability to collaborate with journalists and members of the public by ensuring timely access to critical and relevant information.
Goal #2: Increase and improve program staff efficiency with additional resources.
Student NewsWatch
Goal: Merge Florida Student NewsWatch with the Florida Center for Government Accountability, creating a mutually-beneficial student journalism program that is bolstered by FLCGA’s work and resources, assisting FLCGA with its mission and tasks.
Public Records Vault
Goal: Create a free and publicly accessible Public Records Vault to hold public records obtained by, or on behalf of, FLCGA as well as public records donated by others.

Journalism Program
• Expand roster of journalists
• Expand collaborative relationships with print and broadcast media
• Create a diverse team of opinion writers.
• Identify and develop a unique news site using existing online templates
• Provide FLCGA’s social media staff with the necessary training and tools
• Secure additional funding
Public Access Program
• Continue to assess open government issues of statewide concern
• Recruit additional cooperating attorneys with open government experience
• Obtain enhanced software tools for research
• Recruit a data analyst
• Seek a sponsored law school intern
• Secure additional funding
Student NewsWatch
• Establish procedures for semester-long commitments with three to four university level students per semester
• Identify target universities with which to establish relationships
• Assist and support student groups in developing, editing and publishing news stories
• Expand Student NewsWatch to make more mentor and student positions available and manageable
• Secure long-term funding
Public Records Vault
• Recruit and hire a Vault Manager
• Identify the appropriate platform for housing the Vault
• Obtain all essential licenses and software for converting the records into usable formats
• Develop a strategy for obtaining and depositing public records
• Identify inherent security and liability issues
• Create a policy for accessing and depositing Vault records
• Secure funding

FLCGA has a highly motivated and experienced team working on program development and sustainability and a board of directors devoted to supporting and ensuring the success of FLCGA's future through its fundraising efforts.

FLCGA staff can call on the members of its diverse advisory board for guidance and assistance in all program areas.

FLCGA's executive director has 25+ years of experience in non-profit management and grant writing.

Journalism Program has
• Recruited three additional freelance reporters
• Formalized collaborative relationships with two public radio stations and is collaborating with a third
• Collaborated with print and online media outlets on reporting stories based on tips received by FLCGA
• Developed an enhanced news site live as of February 21, 2022

Public Access Program has
• Identified an additional area of concern regarding fees charged for copies of public records and is prepared to litigate the issue
• Continued to make public records requests
• Continued to assist citizens in obtaining public records
• Collaborated on a major news story

Student NewsWatch has
• Recruited two additional mentors
• Retained high school intern to assist in developing critical databases
• Identified two college students for fellowships

Public Records Vault has
• Identified a possible vault manager for recruitment

Financials

The Florida Center for Government Accountability Inc

Assets info

BMF Data: IRS Business Master File

Financial data

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

The Florida Center for Government Accountability Inc

Revenue & expenses

Fiscal Year: 2021

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Revenue
Contributions, Grants, Gifts $102,076
Program Services $0
Membership Dues $0
Special Events $0
Other Revenue $15,000
Total Revenue $102,076
Expenses
Program Services $66,451
Administration $10,515
Fundraising $2,731
Payments to Affiliates $0
Other Expenses $0
Total Expenses $79,697

The Florida Center for Government Accountability Inc

Balance sheet

Fiscal Year: 2021

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Assets
Total Assets $23,380
Liabilities
Total Liabilities $0
Fund balance (EOY)
Net Assets $23,380

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

Documents
Letter of Determination is not available for this organization

President

Linda Penniman

Linda Penniman was elected to the Naples City Council in 2014 and served 6 years, two as Vice Mayor. While on the City Council she served as the Vice Chair of the Metropolitan Planning Organization for 2 years and Chair of the Collier County Coastal Advisory Committee. Penniman currently serves on the boards of the CalusaWaterkeeper, Naples Art, Neighborhood Clinic, Advisory Committee of WGCU and is Chairing SMARTGROWTHNOW, a group dedicated to fighting runaway growth. Linda and her husband Nick were in the newspaper business their entire working life, he as Publisher of the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Vice President

Don Lindley

Don is a retired career journalist who was executive editor of several daily newspapers and related websites in Florida and Colorado. He served on the board of Florida’s First Amendment Foundation for 12 years, chaired it for four years and was among the founders of the state’s Sunshine Sunday observance. He also served on the boards of Colorado’s Freedom of Information Coalition and the National FOIC. He’s a graduate of Yale University and Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.

There are no officers, directors or key employees recorded for this organization

There are no highest paid employees recorded for this organization.

The Florida Center for Government Accountability Inc

Board of directors
as of 02/13/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board of directors data
Download the most recent year of board of directors data for this organization
Board co-chair

Linda Penniman


Board co-chair

Don Lindley

Retired Editor

Term: 2021 - 2023

Diane Roberts

Florida State University

Brad Ray

National Casa/GAL

Gilbert King

Author

Doug Wiles

Herbie Wiles Insurance

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 2/17/2022

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Gender identity
Female

The organization's co-leader identifies as:

Gender identity
Male

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 10/28/2021

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Policies and processes
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.