Floor
$48,547
The minimum for any staff member: the MIT living wage for one adult in Philadelphia. Bylaws §3.8.2 bars paying any employee less than a living wage.
Financials
How ReDrafting America plans to pay for its work, and how it will spend what it raises. The rule is simple: launch lean, grow only when funded, and never spend ahead of the money.
- $2,545,690to launch: two full years of operations plus one-time costs
- 74.7%of launch spending is program expense, against a common benchmark of 65%
- 24 monthsfunded before the doors open
What it takes to launch
RDA launches at Quorum Governance, the first stage of its Governance Lifecycle in which the Board can run the organization. Five Pillar Directors are paid, along with two Independent Directors. Everyone works remotely. There are no staff, no office and no lease.
$1,264,095operating budget per year
2 yearsof operations funded before launch (24 months)
$17,500one-time launch costs
$2,545,690to raise before launch
RDA does not launch on hope. It launches when two full years of operations are funded, and there is no separate reserve on top of that runway. The same rule applies to every stage that follows.
Three stages, each funded before it begins
The stages follow the Governance Lifecycle in the Bylaws. Each Pillar and each hire is added only when its own funding is in hand. The remaining six Pillars are seated one at a time as each is funded.
| Item | LaunchQuorum Governance | All Pillars filledPillar Governance | Fully staffedComplete Governance and staff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paid Directors | 5 Pillar + 2 Independent | 11 Pillar + 3 Independent | 11 Pillar + 3 Independent |
| Staff | None | None | 88 |
| Workplace | Remote | 3,150 sq ft office | 5,000 sq ft office |
| Annual budget | $1,264,095 | $1,999,004 | $8,333,251 |
| 24 months of operations | $2,528,190 | $3,998,008 | $16,666,502 |
| One-time costs | $17,500 | $161,217 | $262,008 |
| Total to raise | $2,545,690 | $4,159,225 | $16,928,510 |
Staff at full build-out means up to eight per Pillar. The office opens only after all eleven Pillars are seated: a Class B Philadelphia office, 3,150 square feet at about $93,000 a year, expandable to 5,000. Until then every Director works remotely.
Where each launch dollar goes
About 85 cents of every launch dollar goes to people and outreach: Directors’ pay and social media advertising. Technology, insurance and software together come to about one cent.
| Category | Per year | Share of budget |
|---|---|---|
| Directors’ pay and Independent Director stipends | $560,000 | |
| Social media advertising | $519,000 | |
| Programs and operations | $87,100 | |
| Legal panel and audit | $79,000 | |
| Technology | $6,415 | |
| Insurance | $5,500 | |
| Software | $4,080 | |
| Home-office stipends | $3,000 | |
| Annual launch budget | $1,264,095 | 100% |
Program, management and fundraising
Nonprofits report spending on IRS Form 990 by function. Each Director’s time is divided between program, management and fundraising according to the work that Pillar does. That is why the program share (74.7%) is lower than the share spent on people and outreach (85%): they slice the same budget two ways. The common benchmark, from the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, is at least 65% for programs. RDA stays above it at every stage.
| Stage | Proportions | Program | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launch | 74.7% | 18.4% | 6.9% | |
| Pillar Governance | 72.5% | 23.0% | 4.5% | |
| Fully staffed | 69.3% | 25.6% | 5.1% |
At launch that is $943,678 for programs, $232,906 for management and general, and $87,510 for fundraising.
No one gets rich here. No one gets left behind.
Compensation is limited by the Bylaws and checked by people who have no stake in the answer. The figures below are ceilings used for budgeting, not salaries.
Director ceiling
$100,000
All-in, including benefits and employer taxes, for each paid Pillar Director.
President ceiling
$150,000
All-in, including benefits and employer taxes.
- Independent Directors set actual pay using outside comparability data. The budget pays for an independent compensation consultant, a one-time cost of $10,000, to document that pay is in line with comparable organizations.
- The Bylaws set an outer limit. Under §3.8.4, no one may be paid more than the lesser of five times the lowest staff pay and what comparable organizations pay for comparable work. The budget ceilings sit well inside that limit.
- Independent Directors receive a fixed stipend, budgeted at $5,000 a year each and approved by the disinterested Independent Review Panel (§5.3.4).
- Every employee gets the same benefits on the same terms, regardless of position or rank (§3.8.3). At full build-out, each staff member is budgeted at $67,967 a year, the living-wage floor plus benefits and employer taxes.
Every ad dollar has to earn the next one
Advertising is how a civic education effort finds the public. It is also the line most worth testing before spending in full. These are annual ceilings, not commitments to spend.
| Line | Per year, ceiling | Views at 2026 benchmark prices |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube | $165,000 | 13.8 million |
| Facebook and Instagram | $135,000 | 12.3 million |
| $50,000 | 6.7 million | |
| Two professionally produced commercials | $100,000 | — |
| Monthly short-form video production | $60,000 | — |
| Scheduling software, stock footage and music | $9,000 | — |
| Total | $519,000 |
- Test, then scale. A test of about $50,000 in the first quarter measures cost per visit and cost per forum sign-up. Only channels that hit their targets receive more. Unspent money stays in the runway.
- Year one targets: about 150,000 site visits and about 5,000 forum participants.
- Organic only on X, Snapchat, TikTok, LinkedIn and Pinterest, where paid issue advertising is barred or carries more risk.
- Civic education only. Advocacy advertising belongs to Ratify America, a separate organization. It is not part of this budget.
Four locks on every dollar
Funded before launch
Two full years of operations are committed before the doors open. No stage begins until it is paid for.
Independent audit
An outside certified public accountant audits the financial statements every year. The budget sets aside $12,500 a year for it.
Independent oversight
The Independent Review Panel, a group of outside attorneys, handles conflicts of interest and approves Independent Director stipends. Independent Directors set pay. At launch the panel is budgeted at $66,500 a year as it grows from three attorneys to five.
Work done in-house
The Bylaws bar contracting out work the organization can do itself. The outside members of the Constitutional Review Panel serve without pay.
The budget, line by line
Every launch line, then the totals by category for all three stages.
Launch operating budget, every line
| Line | Per year |
|---|---|
| People | |
| President, all-in ceiling | $150,000 |
| Four more paid Pillar Directors, all-in ceiling of $100,000 each | $400,000 |
| Two Independent Director stipends | $10,000 |
| Subtotal | $560,000 |
| Legal panel and audit | |
| Independent Review Panel: outside counsel retainers and hourly work | $66,500 |
| Independent audit by a certified public accountant | $12,500 |
| Subtotal | $79,000 |
| Home-office stipends | |
| Home-office stipends for the five remote paid Directors | $3,000 |
| Subtotal | $3,000 |
| Technology | |
| Leased laptops and phones for Directors | $2,580 |
| Mobile phone lines | $2,400 |
| Cloud storage | $335 |
| Device protection plans | $1,100 |
| Subtotal | $6,415 |
| Software | |
| Accounting | $1,200 |
| Payroll platform | $1,680 |
| Donor database | $1,200 |
| Subtotal | $4,080 |
| Insurance | |
| Directors and officers liability, with employment practices coverage | $3,000 |
| General liability | $500 |
| Cyber liability | $2,000 |
| Subtotal | $5,500 |
| Programs and operations | |
| Digital Constitutional Convention platform and participant verification | $20,000 |
| Travel and conferences, including quarterly in-person board meetings | $30,000 |
| Donation processing fees | $15,000 |
| Fundraising email, donor communications and digital campaigns | $10,000 |
| Charitable-solicitation registrations in about 40 states, plus memberships | $7,500 |
| Office supplies, postage and printing | $2,500 |
| Board meeting catering | $1,000 |
| Research publication software | $600 |
| Live-streaming software | $500 |
| Subtotal | $87,100 |
| Social media advertising | |
| YouTube | $165,000 |
| Facebook and Instagram | $135,000 |
| Two professionally produced commercials | $100,000 |
| $50,000 | |
| Monthly short-form video production | $60,000 |
| Social media scheduling software | $5,000 |
| Stock footage and music licensing | $4,000 |
| Subtotal | $519,000 |
| Annual launch budget | $1,264,095 |
One-time launch costs
| Line | One time |
|---|---|
| Independent compensation consultant, to document pay against comparable organizations | $10,000 |
| Recruiting: postings, background checks and onboarding | $5,000 |
| Live-streaming kit | $2,500 |
| One-time launch costs | $17,500 |
Annual budget by category, all three stages
| Category | Launch | Pillar Governance | Fully staffed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Directors’ pay, Independent Director stipends and staff | $560,000 | $1,165,000 | $7,146,109 |
| Legal panel and audit | $79,000 | $97,500 | $145,000 |
| Office rent and home-office stipends | $3,000 | $93,429 | $194,500 |
| Technology | $6,415 | $19,531 | $69,126 |
| Software | $4,080 | $4,944 | $36,416 |
| Insurance | $5,500 | $6,500 | $20,000 |
| Programs and operations | $87,100 | $93,100 | $203,100 |
| Social media advertising | $519,000 | $519,000 | $519,000 |
| Annual budget | $1,264,095 | $1,999,004 | $8,333,251 |
One-time costs by category, all three stages
| Category | Launch | Pillar Governance | Fully staffed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office furniture, build-out, deposit and moving | $0 | $111,315 | $171,991 |
| Technology, network and phones | $2,500 | $34,902 | $53,017 |
| Recruiting and compensation consultant | $15,000 | $15,000 | $37,000 |
| One-time costs | $17,500 | $161,217 | $262,008 |
Before launch: what formation costs
Until RDA launches, it runs on almost nothing. No one is paid, there are no employees, and legal and accounting work is deferred until RDA is funded.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Pennsylvania government filing fees, from incorporation through the 501(c)(3) determination | $754–$1,614, one time |
| Registered office in Pennsylvania | $139 a year |
| Annual charitable-organization renewal and other filings | $15–$250 a year |
| Website domains | $38.40 a year, from August 2027 |
| Website hosting and Microsoft 365 | $0 |
| Legal and accounting | $0, deferred until funded |
| Founder compensation | $0 |
| Pre-launch fundraising, from the first quarter of 2027 | About $30,000, from seed gifts |
Expenses the Founder pays personally during formation are reimbursed only after RDA is funded.
Read it first. Then fund it.
- NowFormation. About $30,000 in seed gifts covers pre-launch costs until RDA launches.
- First quarter of 2027We plan on releasing Constitution v2.0 during this quarter, so donors can read what they are funding. Giving opens after 501(c)(3) status is confirmed.
- LaunchRDA launches only when $2,545,690 is committed: two full years, funded before day one.
- Each stage afterEvery new Pillar and every hire waits for its own 24 months of funding.
Financial documents
Operating budget deck
The 20-page budget presentation, September 2026. It covers the figures on this page and the reasons behind them.
Download PDFTax and audit records
The IRS determination letter, each year’s Form 990 and the independent audit will be posted here as they exist.
Where the budget needs a market price, RDA used published sources, including the MIT Living Wage Calculator, Insureon’s nonprofit insurance data, Citrus Audit Group’s 2026 audit costs, Yardi Research office rents, and 2026 advertising benchmarks from The Jonas Agency and Stackmatix. Estimates will be replaced with quotes as each cost comes due.
Not counted in these figures: pre-launch fundraising, Ratify America, and Google Ad Grants, which provide eligible nonprofits up to $10,000 a month in search advertising. Questions about the budget are welcome through Contact. The rules behind it are in the Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation.