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First Liberty Institute

First Liberty

Organization summary

Type of Nonprofit

Designated as a Organizations for any of the following purposes: religious, educational, charitable, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition (as long as it doesn't provide athletic facilities or equipment), or the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.

Category: Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy / Voter Education, Registration (NTEE)

Donations to this organization are tax deductible.

Details

According to its June 2023 tax filing, this nonprofit:

Reported conflict of interest transactions
Organizations must report loans, grants or business transactions with interested parties, which may include key employees and officers, their family members and any businesses in which they hold a controlling interest. These transactions must be reported on Schedule L.

Summary charts: organization finances over time

Revenue
$24.3M (2023)

Expenses
$23.9M (2023)

Total Assets
$24.7M (2023)

Total Liabilities
$3.2M (2023)

Source: Form 990 tax filings from 2010 to 2023

Tax Filings by Year

Form 990 is an information return that most organizations claiming federal tax-exempt status must file yearly with the IRS. Nonprofit Explorer has IRS digitized Form 990 data for filings processed in 2012 and later. If this organization filed an amended return, it may not be reflected below. Duplicate download links may indicate a resubmission or amendment to this organization's original return. Form 990 data is from the IRS.

Fiscal Year Ending June
2023

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$24,336,900
Expenses
$23,902,426
Net Income
$434,474
Net Assets
$21,493,209
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $23,962,072
98.5%
Program Services $18,693
0.1%
Investment Income $364,422
1.5%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets -$8,287
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $1,519,051
6.4%
Professional Fundraising Fees $179,243
0.7%
Other Salaries and Wages $9,056,204
37.9%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $24,695,679
Total Liabilities $3,202,470
Net Assets $21,493,209
Other
Reported conflict of interest transactions
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Kelly Shackelford (President/Ceo) $551,267 $0 $30,832
David Holmes (Coo/Cfo/Evp) $426,796 $0 $30,611
Jeff Mateer (Clo/Evp) $357,060 $0 $29,928
Mike Berry (Vp External Affairs/Sr. Counsel) $286,886 $0 $29,502
Hiram S Sasser (Exec. Gen. Counsel) $276,269 $0 $27,286
Rebecca Dummermuth (Counsel) $239,257 $0 $13,409
David Hacker (Vp Litigation/Sr Counsel) $238,440 $0 $24,324
Jordan Pratt (Sr. Counsel) $193,905 $0 $18,712
Tim Dunn (Vice Chair Exec Comm, Board) $0 $0 $0
Mark Cover (Chair Exec Comm, Board) $0 $0 $0
Al Angell (Exec Comm, Board) $0 $0 $0
James Robertson (Exec Comm, Board) $0 $0 $0
David Tauber (Board) $0 $0 $0
Deborah Muse Carlson (Board) $0 $0 $0
Dale Brown (Exec Comm, Board, Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Jerry Brown (Board) $0 $0 $0
Paco Jordan (Board) $0 $0 $0
Jody Thornton (Board) $0 $0 $0
David Moore (Board) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2022

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$25,974,312
Expenses
$19,847,586
Net Income
$6,126,726
Net Assets
$21,058,735
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $25,904,532
99.7%
Program Services $45,002
0.2%
Investment Income $33,508
0.1%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets -$8,730
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $1,281,307
6.5%
Professional Fundraising Fees $172,582
0.9%
Other Salaries and Wages $8,047,787
40.5%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $21,241,603
Total Liabilities $182,868
Net Assets $21,058,735
Other
Reported conflict of interest transactions
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Kelly Shackelford (President/Ceo) $504,624 $0 $20,931
David Holmes (Coo/Cfo/Evp) $382,384 $0 $14,792
Jeff Mateer (Clo/Evp) $303,012 $0 $18,647
Hiram S Sasser (Exec. Gen. Counsel) $263,388 $0 $21,158
Mike Berry (Vp External Affairs/Sr. Counsel) $257,649 $0 $16,533
Rebecca Dummermuth (Counsel) $207,794 $0 $7,568
David Hacker (Vp Litigation/Sr Counsel) $187,113 $0 $12,651
Justin Butterfield (Sr. Counsel) $174,765 $0 $9,390
Tim Dunn (Vice Chair Exec Comm, Board) $0 $0 $0
Mark Cover (Chair Exec Comm, Board) $0 $0 $0
Al Angell (Exec Comm, Board) $0 $0 $0
James Robertson (Exec Comm, Board) $0 $0 $0
David Tauber (Board) $0 $0 $0
Deborah Muse Carlson (Board) $0 $0 $0
Dale Brown (Exec Comm, Board, Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Jerry Brown (Board) $0 $0 $0
Paco Jordan (Board) $0 $0 $0
Jody Thornton (Board) $0 $0 $0
David Moore (Board) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2021

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$18,813,950
Expenses
$14,742,679
Net Income
$4,071,271
Net Assets
$14,932,009
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $18,765,951
99.7%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $47,999
0.3%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $1,281,094
8.7%
Professional Fundraising Fees $149,272
1.0%
Other Salaries and Wages $6,174,191
41.9%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $15,201,181
Total Liabilities $269,172
Net Assets $14,932,009
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Kelly Shackelford (President/Ceo) $494,922 $0 $21,560
David Holmes (Coo/Cfo/Evp) $376,968 $0 $21,687
Hiram S Sasser (Exec. Gen. Counsel) $261,512 $0 $19,813
Mike Berry (Gen. Counsel) $258,091 $0 $19,734
Andrew Graham (Senior Fellow) $203,074 $0 $7,317
Justin Butterfield (Sr. Counsel) $200,714 $0 $12,317
Roger Byron (Sr. Counsel) $157,349 $0 $13,796
Jeremy Dys (Sr. Counsel) $148,790 $0 $18,268
Tim Dunn (Vice Chair Exec Comm, Board) $0 $0 $0
Mark Cover (Chair Exec Comm, Board) $0 $0 $0
Al Angell (Exec Comm, Board) $0 $0 $0
James Robertson (Exec Comm, Board) $0 $0 $0
David Tauber (Board) $0 $0 $0
Deborah Muse Carlson (Board) $0 $0 $0
Dale Brown (Exec Comm, Board, Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Jerry Brown (Board) $0 $0 $0
Paco Jordan (Board) $0 $0 $0
Jody Thornton (Board) $0 $0 $0
Ken Blackwell (Board) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2020

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$14,810,344
Expenses
$11,622,940
Net Income
$3,187,404
Net Assets
$10,683,872
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $14,475,924
97.7%
Program Services $25,716
0.2%
Investment Income $120,977
0.8%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $187,727
1.3%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $1,380,636
11.9%
Professional Fundraising Fees $141,533
1.2%
Other Salaries and Wages $4,184,967
36.0%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $11,084,882
Total Liabilities $401,010
Net Assets $10,683,872
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Kelly Shackelford (President/Ceo) $576,219 $0 $24,563
David Holmes (Coo/Cfo/Evp) $387,296 $0 $18,296
Hiram S Sasser (Exec. Gen. Counsel) $293,222 $0 $21,018
Mike Berry (Gen. Counsel) $206,694 $0 $20,202
Andrew Graham (Senior Fellow) $165,527 $0 $8,664
Roger Byron (Sr. Counsel) $153,168 $0 $14,174
Tim Dunn (Vice Chair Exec Comm, Board) $0 $0 $0
Mark Cover (Chair Exec Comm, Board) $0 $0 $0
Al Angell (Exec Comm, Board) $0 $0 $0
James Robertson (Exec Comm, Board) $0 $0 $0
David Tauber (Board) $0 $0 $0
Deborah Muse Carlson (Board) $0 $0 $0
Dale Brown (Exec Comm, Board, Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Jerry Brown (Board) $0 $0 $0
Paco Jordan (Board) $0 $0 $0
Jody Thornton (Board) $0 $0 $0
Ken Blackwell (Board) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2019

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$11,932,389
Expenses
$11,467,145
Net Income
$465,244
Net Assets
$7,496,468
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $11,814,181
99.0%
Program Services $20,000
0.2%
Investment Income $98,208
0.8%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $1,107,056
9.7%
Professional Fundraising Fees $148,729
1.3%
Other Salaries and Wages $4,053,853
35.4%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $7,814,861
Total Liabilities $318,393
Net Assets $7,496,468

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2018

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$11,410,038
Expenses
$9,964,182
Net Income
$1,445,856
Net Assets
$7,031,224
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $11,174,801
97.9%
Program Services $202,752
1.8%
Investment Income $32,485
0.3%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $981,750
9.9%
Professional Fundraising Fees $71,336
0.7%
Other Salaries and Wages $4,014,927
40.3%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $7,255,961
Total Liabilities $224,737
Net Assets $7,031,224

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2017

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$10,099,518
Expenses
$8,483,098
Net Income
$1,616,420
Net Assets
$5,585,368
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $10,019,006
99.2%
Program Services $67,000
0.7%
Investment Income $13,512
0.1%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $903,062
10.6%
Professional Fundraising Fees $54,038
0.6%
Other Salaries and Wages $3,121,880
36.8%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $5,585,548
Total Liabilities $180
Net Assets $5,585,368

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2016

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$8,392,977
Expenses
$8,739,237
Net Income
-$346,260
Net Assets
$3,968,947
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $8,133,823
96.9%
Program Services $248,062
3.0%
Investment Income $11,092
0.1%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $564,093
6.5%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $3,340,279
38.2%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $4,128,143
Total Liabilities $159,196
Net Assets $3,968,947

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2015

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$8,241,792
Expenses
$8,062,474
Net Income
$179,318
Net Assets
$4,315,208
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $8,217,460
99.7%
Program Services $20,440
0.2%
Investment Income $3,892
0.0%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $659,291
8.2%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $2,834,420
35.2%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $4,402,441
Total Liabilities $87,233
Net Assets $4,315,208

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2014

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$8,407,540
Expenses
$6,585,911
Net Income
$1,821,629
Net Assets
$4,135,890
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $8,401,463
99.9%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $6,077
0.1%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $573,724
8.7%
Professional Fundraising Fees $690,180
10.5%
Other Salaries and Wages $2,065,144
31.4%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $4,222,163
Total Liabilities $86,273
Net Assets $4,135,890

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2013

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$5,033,074
Expenses
$5,383,518
Net Income
-$350,444
Net Assets
$2,314,261
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $4,996,489
99.3%
Program Services $29,995
0.6%
Investment Income $6,542
0.1%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $892,052
16.6%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $1,051,564
19.5%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $3,060,065
Total Liabilities $745,804
Net Assets $2,314,261

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2012

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$3,631,494
Expenses
$3,271,749
Net Income
$359,745
Net Assets
$2,664,706
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $3,409,981
93.9%
Program Services $215,000
5.9%
Investment Income $6,481
0.2%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $32
0.0%
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $527,395
16.1%
Professional Fundraising Fees $103,325
3.2%
Other Salaries and Wages $1,039,673
31.8%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $2,664,706
Total Liabilities $0
Net Assets $2,664,706

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2011

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$725,516
Expenses
$1,367,569
Net Income
-$642,053
Net Assets
$2,304,957
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $717,233
98.9%
Program Services $6,684
0.9%
Investment Income $1,599
0.2%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $290,750
21.3%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $564,093
41.2%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $2,304,957
Total Liabilities $0
Net Assets $2,304,957

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2010

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$2,926,048
Expenses
$2,712,822
Net Income
$213,226
Net Assets
$2,947,010
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $2,860,435
97.8%
Program Services $58,000
2.0%
Investment Income $6,490
0.2%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $1,123
0.0%
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $431,500
15.9%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $0
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $2,952,649
Total Liabilities $5,639
Net Assets $2,947,010

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2009

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2008

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2007

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2006

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2005

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2004

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2003

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2002

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2001

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

About This Data

Nonprofit Explorer includes summary data for nonprofit tax returns and full Form 990 documents, in both PDF and digital formats.

The summary data contains information processed by the IRS during the 2012-2019 calendar years; this generally consists of filings for the 2011-2018 fiscal years, but may include older records. This data release includes only a subset of what can be found in the full Form 990s.

In addition to the raw summary data, we link to PDFs and digital copies of full Form 990 documents wherever possible. This consists of separate releases by the IRS of Form 990 documents processed by the agency, which we update regularly.

We also link to copies of audits nonprofit organizations that spent $750,000 or more in Federal grant money in a single fiscal year since 2016. These audits are copied from the Federal Audit Clearinghouse.

Which Organizations Are Here?

Every organization that has been recognized as tax exempt by the IRS has to file Form 990 every year, unless they make less than $200,000 in revenue and have less than $500,000 in assets, in which case they have to file form 990-EZ. Organizations making less than $50,000 don’t have to file either form but do have to let the IRS they’re still in business via a Form 990N "e-Postcard."

Nonprofit Explorer has organizations claiming tax exemption in each of the 27 subsections of the 501(c) section of the tax code, and which have filed a Form 990, Form 990EZ or Form 990PF. Taxable trusts and private foundations that are required to file a form 990PF are also included. Small organizations filing a Form 990N "e-Postcard" are not included in this data.

Types of Nonprofits

There are 27 nonprofit designations based on the numbered subsections of section 501(c) of the tax code. See the list »

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For those interested in acquiring the original data from the source, here’s where our data comes from:

  • Raw filing data. Includes EINs and summary financials as structured data.
  • Exempt Organization profiles. Includes organization names, addresses, etc. You can merge this with the raw filing data using EIN numbers.
  • Form 990 documents. Prior to 2017, these documents were obtained and processed by Public.Resource.org and ProPublica. Bulk PDF downloads since 2017 are available from the IRS.
  • Form 990 documents as XML files. Includes complete filing data (financial details, names of officers, tax schedules, etc.) in machine-readable format. Only available for electronically filed documents. Electronic data released prior to October 2021 is also available through Amazon Web Services.
  • Audits. PDFs of single or program-specific audits for nonprofit organizations that spent $750,000 or more in Federal grant money in a single fiscal year. Available for fiscal year 2015 and later.

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