Spark Freedom

Spark Freedom provided strategic planning, coaching, branding, and other communications consultant services to right-of-center non-profit groups. 1 It appears that the groups is no longer operational as of October 2021.

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3)
Issue Areas: Multi-Issue Advocacy
Website:

sparkfreedom.org

Location:

Nashville, Tennessee

President:

Sara Nicole Williams

President’s Salary:

$12,577 2

Location: Lancaster, TN View on map
Tax ID: 27-4827443
Most Recent Filing: 2017
Budget (2017): Assets: $67,845 Revenue: $192,997 Expenses: $162,981

Contents

    It was formerly an associate member of the State Policy Network, a coalition of free-market state-level policy organizations. 3

    Clients

    A partial list of Spark Freedom’s clients includes a number of non-profit organizations that are members of the State Policy Network, including the American Conservative Union Foundation, Beacon Center of Tennessee, Foundation for Government Accountability, Goldwater Institute, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Montana Policy Institute, Texas Public Policy Foundation, and other right-of-center state policy advocacy groups. 4

    Funding

    Spark Freedom was funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. Tax filings confirm donations from Donors Capital Fund ($171,050 in 2016), 5 State Policy Network (SPN) ($71,000 in 2014), 6 and the Charles Koch Institute ($10,000 in 2017). 7

    Financials

    Spark Freedom filed the short-form nonprofit tax return in 2017 claiming total revenue of $192,997. 8 Spark Freedom’s most recent IRS filing as of early October 2021 was an “E-postcard” in 2018 claiming less than $50,000 in gross receipts. 9

    People

    Nicole Williams was the president and CEO of Spark Freedom. Williams formerly worked for the State Policy Network, the Beacon Center of Tennessee, and Cascade Policy Institute. 1

    Jonathan Haines was the vice president of Spark Freedom. Haines formerly worked for Federalism in Action, State Budget Solutions, and the Maine Heritage Policy Center. 1

    Stanford Swim 1 sat on Spark Freedom’s board; he is the former president of the GFC Foundation 10 and a former chair of the board of the Sutherland Institute. 11

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2017 $67,845 $192,997 $162,981 View
    2016 $38,617 $349,312 $571,873 View
    2015 $265,380 $963,650 $741,117 View
    2014 $110,380 $869,195 $888,963 View
    2013 $62,590 $749,015 $815,750 View

    Prior year filings: 2012, 2011

    Revenue Detail

    Expenses Detail

    Employee Compensation

    Highest Earning Employees

    EmployeeTitleTotal Compensation
    Sara Nicole WilliamsPresident$12,577

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $44,392
    • Number of Grants: 16
    • Number of Funders: 7

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    Contact Us

    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. “About.” Spark Freedom. Archived from the original October 27, 2016. Accessed October 6, 2021. http://web.archive.org/web/20161027163022/http://sparkfreedom.org/about/.
    2. Spark Freedom, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990-EZ), 2017, Part IV.
    3. “Directory.” State Policy Network, 2016. Archived from the original March 30, 2016. Accessed October 6, 2021. http://web.archive.org/web/20160330102542/http://www.spn.org/directory/organizations.asp.
    4. “Our Clients.” Spark Freedom. Archived from the original March 15, 2016. Accessed October 6, 2021. http://web.archive.org/web/20160315234544/http://sparkfreedom.org/our-clients/.
    5. Donors Capital Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2016, Schedule I, Part II.
    6. State Policy Network, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2014, Schedule I, Part II.
    7. Charles Koch Institute, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2017, Schedule I, Part II.
    8. Spark Freedom, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990-EZ), 2017, Part I, Line 9.
    9. “Spark Freedom.” Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 8, 2021. https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/detailsPage?ein=274827443&name=Spark%20Freedom&city=Lancaster&state=TN&countryAbbr=US&dba=&type=CHARITIES,%20EPOSTCARD,%20COPYOFRETURNS&orgTags=CHARITIES&orgTags=EPOSTCARD&orgTags=COPYOFRETURNS.
    10. The GFC Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2018, Part VIII, Line 1a.
    11. Sutherland Institute, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990), 2018, Part VII, Section A, Line 1a.