Attach to Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Information about Schedule O (Form 990 or 990-EZ) and its instructions is at| Return Reference | Explanation |
|---|---|
| FORM 990 - ORGANIZATION'S MISSION | OSPIRG TAKES ON POWERFUL INTERESTS ON BEHALF OF OREGON'S CITIZENS, WORKING TO WIN CONCRETE RESULTS FOR OUR HEALTH AND OUR WELL-BEING. WITH AN EXPERIENCED NETWORK OF RESEARCHERS, ADVOCATES, ORGANIZERS AND VOLUNTEERS ACROSS THE STATE, WE STAND UP TO POWERFUL INTERESTS ON ISSUES TO MAKE HEALTH CARE AFFORDABLE, PROTECT CONSUMERS FROM MARKETPLACE ABUSES, FIGHT POLITICAL CORRUPTION, AND BOOST CIVIC PARTICIPATION. |
| FORM 990, PAGE 2, PART III, LINE 4A | 2.MAKING HEALTH CARE WORK FOR OREGON AS THE COST OF INSURING AN AVERAGE FAMILY OF FOUR HIT 20,000 A YEAR, ACCORDING TO ONE ESTIMATE, ANOTHER RECENT STUDY CONFIRMED THAT AT LEAST 30% OF ALL HEALTH CARE SPENDING IS WASTED ON UNNECESSARY PROCEDURES AND INEFFICIENCY. OSPIRG IS WORKING TO ENSURE THAT THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY DOES MORE TO CUT UNNECESSARY WASTE AND FOCUS ON PREVENTIVE CARE THAT GETS RESULTS, RATHER THAN PASSING THE COSTS OF THIS WASTE ONTO CONSUMERS. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OSPIRG FOUNDATION, WE CONTINUED ALERTING OSPIRG MEMBERS AND THE PUBLIC AT LARGE TO SIGNIFICANT HEALTH INSURANCE RATE HIKE PROPOSALS, USING OSPIRG FOUNDATION RESEARCH TO INFORM THOSE EFFORTS. IN APRIL, WE ALSO ORGANIZED OVER TWO THOUSAND OREGONIANS TO CONTACT STATE OFFICIALS ABOUT A NUMBER OF REQUESTS BY INSURERS TO HIKE PREMIUMS. SINCE 2010, ADDITIONAL SCRUTINY BY STATE OFFICIALS HAS CUT OVER 180 MILLION IN WASTE FROM HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL BUSINESSES. OSPIRG ALSO BUILT PUBLIC AND POLICYMAKING SUPPORT FOR REQUIRING INSURERS TO MORE CLEARLY QUANTIFY THEIR PROGRESS IN LOWERING COSTS AND BOOSTING PREVENTION, AND HOLDING INSURERS ACCOUNTABLE TO STRONG BENCHMARKS. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OSPIRG FOUNDATION, OSPIRG RELEASED RESEARCH MAKING THE CASE FOR POLICIES TO SEE THIS THROUGH AND SHARED THE RESEARCH WITH STATE OFFICIALS; EDUCATED OVER 70,000 OREGONIANS FACE-TO-FACE ABOUT THIS EFFORT; GATHERED OVER 20,000 PETITION SIGNATURES TO GOVERNOR KITZHABER AND STATE OFFICIALS; AND DISTRIBUTED INFORMATION TO 100,000 HOUSEHOLDS ABOUT OPTIONS AVAILABLE UNDER THE NEW HEALTH CARE LAW. IN PART THANKS TO THESE EFFORTS, INSURERS WERE REQUIRED TO DISCLOSE MORE ROBUST INFORMATION ABOUT THESE COST-CONTAINMENT EFFORTS DURING THE 2014 RATE REVIEW CYCLE, AND THERE IS A STRONG LIKELIHOOD THIS ASPECT OF THE PROGRAM WILL BECOME EVEN MORE ROBUST IN COMING YEARS. 3. NO SECRET MONEY IN SALEM HOW GOVERNMENT COLLECTS AND SPENDS MONEY IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT. TAX AND BUDGETING DECISIONS ARE THE MOST CONCRETE WAY THAT GOVERNMENT DECLARES ITS PUBLIC PRIORITIES AND BALANCES BETWEEN COMPETING VALUES. TAX DOLLARS SHOULD ONLY BE USED TO PROMOTE THE PUBLIC INTEREST. WHEN TAX DOLLARS ARE GIVEN TO PRIVATE INTERESTS, TO STIMULATE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR EXAMPLE, IT IS CRITICAL THAT THE PUBLIC CAN CLEARLY SEE WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE GETTING THEIR MONEY'S WORTH. YET, UNTIL RECENTLY, THE DETAILS OF OVER 600 MILLION IN STATE CORPORATE TAX SUBSIDIES WERE KEPT OUT OF REACH FROM THE PUBLIC. AS A RESULT THE PUBLIC HAD VIRTUALLY NO WAY TO EVALUATE THESE SUBSIDIES. OSPIRG, USING RESEARCH DEVELOPED BY OSPIRG FOUNDATION, HELPED PRY OPEN CRITICAL DETAILS FROM SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS AFTER A SERIES OF PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS TO THE STATE THAT CULMINATED IN AN OREGON DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ORDER TO DISCLOSE THE INFORMATION. SHORTLY AFTER, GOVERNOR KITZHABER'S ADMINISTRATION COMMITTED TO DISCLOSING MOST OF THE REMAINING CRITICAL DETAILS OF ALL THE MAJOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUBSIDY PROGRAMS ON OREGON'S TRANSPARENCY WEBSITE BY THE CLOSE OF 2013. HOWEVER, IT TOOK ALL OF FISCAL YEAR 2014 TO HOLD THE KITZHABER ADMINISTRATION TO THIS COMMITMENT. OSPIRG ACTIVATED OVER 4,000 OREGONIANS TO WEIGH INTO THE KITZHABER ADMINISTRATION, WHILE ALSO GENERATING MEDIA COVERAGE TO KEEP THE HEAT ON. OUR EFFORTS PAID OFF; BY THE TURN OF THE YEAR MORE INFORMATION WAS POSTED THAN EVER BEFORE ABOUT CORPORATE TAX SUBSIDIES - SETTING AN IMPORTANT PRECEDENT FOR FUTURE EFFORTS. 4.BRING SUNSHINE TO PORTLAND IN JANUARY, AS WE CELEBRATED PROGRESS AT THE STATE LEVEL, WE LAUNCHED OUR "BRING SUNSHINE TO PORTLAND" CAMPAIGN, CALLING ON MAYOR CHARLIE HALES TO PRIORITIZE THE CITY'S EFFORTS TO IMPROVE ONLINE TRANSPARENCY AND SHINE A BRIGHTER LIGHT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT SPENDING. A RECENT OSPIRG FOUNDATION REPORT GAVE THE CITY OF PORTLAND A GRADE OF "D-" FOR SPENDING TRANSPARENCY. THE REPORT GRADED THE 30 LARGEST CITIES IN THE COUNTRY ON THE DEGREE TO WHICH RESIDENTS COULD ACCESS THEIR CITY'S SPENDING THROUGH A ONE-STOP ONLINE PORTAL. PORTLAND RANKED 25TH OUT OF THE 30 CITIES GRADED IN THE REPORT. BY THE END OF MARCH, MORE THAN 800 PORTLANDERS HAD JOINED OUR CALL FOR GREATER TRANSPARENCY THROUGH AN ONLINE PETITION, AND CITY OFFICIALS HAD COMMITTED TO COMING UP WITH A PLAN TO SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE THE CITY'S TRANSPARENCY EFFORTS. THE CITY HAS YET TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON THEIR COMMITMENT. 5.WALL STREET REFORM IN ITS THIRD YEAR, THE NEW CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU (CFPB) DEMONSTRATED THE POSITIVE IMPACT THAT A FULL TIME FEDERAL CONSUMER WATCHDOG CAN HAVE FOR CONSUMERS WHO ARE MISLED OR CHEATED BY THE FINANCIAL INDUSTRY. CONGRESS CREATED THE CFPB IN 2010, AFTER AN EPIC BATTLE BETWEEN WALL STREET BANKS AND CONSUMER ADVOCATES, INCLUDING OSPIRG AND OUR FEDERATION OF PIRGS IN 23 STATES. TO DATE, THE CFPB HAS PROVIDED MORE THAN 4.6 BILLION IN RELIEF FOR CONSUMERS HARMED BY ILLEGAL PRACTICES, AND INSTITUTED NUMEROUS MARKETPLACE CHANGES TO HELP CONSUMERS AVOID GETTING RIPPED OFF. WITH SUCCESS COMES A BACKLASH FROM THE BANKING INDUSTRY, WHO WORKED HARD TO TRY AND DEFANG THE NEW AGENCY. OSPIRG'S FEDERAL CONSUMER PROGRAM ED MIERZWINSKI WORKED WITH OUR NATIONAL COALITION TO SUCCESSFULLY FIGHT BACK THESE EFFORTS - FOR NOW. 6. PROTECTING OREGON CONSUMERS FOR THE 28TH YEAR, OSPIRG RELEASED OUR ANNUAL "TROUBLE IN TOYLAND" TOY SAFETY REPORT, TO COINCIDE WITH BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING. IN ADDITION, OSPIRG'S RENTERS' HANDBOOK MARKED ITS 41TH ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR. SINCE OSPIRG STUDENT VOLUNTEERS PRODUCED THE FIRST EDITION IN 1973, THE HANDBOOK HAS PROVIDED HARD-TO-FIND INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO KEEP A SECURITY DEPOSIT, GET THAT TOILET FIXED, DEAL WITH A DIFFICULT LANDLORD AND MORE. TODAY, THE HANDBOOK IS AVAILABLE ONLINE FOR FREE ON OSPIRG'S WEBSITE, AND WAS VIEWED BY THOUSANDS LAST YEAR. OSPIRG ALSO PRODUCED TIPS AND RESOURCES ON A VARIETY OF OTHER CONSUMER TOPICS, INCLUDING OUR CAR LOAN CHECKLIST, GUIDE TO ONLINE PRIVACY, GUIDE TO CELL PHONE PLANS, STUDENT AID 101, MANAGING CREDIT, AND MORE. WE ALSO RAN CONSUMER EDUCATION CLASSES ON HOW TO BUY HEALTH INSURANCE AND AVOIDING DEBT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 7.SAVE ANTIBIOTICS WITH MEDICAL AUTHORITIES WARNING OF THAT WE ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING ANTIBIOTICS, OSPIRG JOINED A NATIONAL COALITION WORKING TO END THE OVERUSE OF ANTIBIOTICS ON FARM ANIMALS - A MAJOR AREA OF OVERUSE. WORKING WITH ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, WE GENERATED 50,000 PETITIONS ASKING THE PRESIDENT TO ORDER THE FDA TO BAN THE USE OF ANTIBIOTICS ON FACTORY FARMS, EXCEPT IN CASES WHEN ANIMALS ARE SICK. IN JULY, OSPIRG FEDERAL PROGRAM DIRECTOR MIKE RUSSO BROUGHT THE CASE FOR REFORM DIRECTLY TO THE WHITE HOUSE, TESTIFYING BEFORE THE PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL OF ADVISORS ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. MORE THAN 2,500 MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS ALSO ENDORSED THE CAMPAIGN, DEMONSTRATING THE CONSENSUS OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMUNITY. WE ALSO TOOK OUR CASE DIRECTLY TO GROCERY STORE CHAINS, DELIVERING PETITION SIGNATURES TO THE CEO OF TRADER JOE'S, URGING HIM TO STOP SELLING MEAT FROM ANIMALS UNNECESSARILY TREATED WITH ANTIBIOTICS. AND, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO WAIT FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO ACT, WE ALSO WORKED WITH A COALITION OF STATE LAWMAKERS AND ORGANIZATIONS TO CRAFT LEGISLATION FOR THE 2015 LEGISLATIVE SESSION THAT WOULD PROHIBIT THE OVERUSE OF ANTIBIOTICS ON OREGON'S FACTORY FARMS. |
| FORM 990, PAGE 6, PART VI, LINE 11B | THE ORGANIZATION PROVIDES A DRAFT 990 TO ALL BOARD MEMBERS. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND ADMINISTRATOR REVIEW IN DETAIL. |
| FORM 990, PAGE 6, PART VI, LINE 12C | THE ORGANIZATION REQUIRES THE BOARD MEMBERS AND KEY EMPLOYEES TO SIGN A CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH FISCAL YEAR AND REPORT ANY SUBSEQUENT CONFLICTS THAT MAY ARISE DURING THE YEAR. |
| FORM 990, PAGE 6, PART VI, LINE 15A | THE COMPENSATION COMMITTEE WILL ESTABLISH ACCEPTABLE COMPENSATION PACKAGES AFTER REVIEWING AT LEAST ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: 1) INFORMATION ABOUT COMPENSATION PAID BY SIMILARLY SITUATED TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS FOR SIMILAR SERVICES; 2) CURRENT COMPENSATION SURVEYS COMPILED BY INDEPENDENT FIRMS; OR 3) ACTUAL WRITTEN OFFERS FROM SIMILARLY SITUATED ORGANIZATIONS. |
| FORM 990, PAGE 6, PART VI, LINE 15B | THE COMPENSATION COMMITTEE WILL ESTABLISH ACCEPTABLE COMPENSATION PACKAGES AFTER REVIEWING AT LEAST ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: 1) INFORMATION ABOUT COMPENSATION PAID BY SIMILARLY SITUATED TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS FOR SIMILAR SERVICES; 2) CURRENT COMPENSATION SURVEYS COMPILED BY INDEPENDENT FIRMS; OR 3) ACTUAL WRITTEN OFFERS FROM SIMILARLY SITUATED ORGANIZATIONS. |
| FORM 990, PAGE 6, PART VI, LINE 19 | THE ORGANIZATION'S FORM 990 AND EXEMPT APPLICATIONS ARE KEPT IN OUR OFFICE AND ARE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC UPON REQUEST. |
| FORM 990, PART IX, LINE 11G | CONSULTANT 5,700 17,048 0 CITIZEN OUTREACH PROGRAM 437,712 0 230,198 |
| Software ID: | |
| Software Version: |