ACBL Educational Foundation (ACBLEF)

Legal name: American Contract Bridge League Educational Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
581733600
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2020
Location
Horn Lake, MS, USA
Phone
6622533124
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$484,279
Expenses
$789,421
Assets
$2,230,314
Liabilities
$57,849

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBERT S TODD (PRESIDENT)
  • JOEL KRAMER (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • LADAWNA PARHAM MED (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • LADAWNA PARHAM MED (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $121,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The American Contract Bridge League Educational Foundation, a 501(c) 3 philanthropic organization serving North America, exists to increase the number of bridge players and to support enjoyment, growth, and engagement in the game of bridge as part of building a vibrant future for the mind sport for generations.

What it reported doing in 2025

Acbl educational foundation partners with jump start bridge, a bridge-education program operated under the nonprofit atlanta junior bridge, to expand access to bridge education for k12 students. The program provides teacher training, instructional materials, school bridge sets, and practical support to help educators implement bridge as an enrichment, after school, or club activity. Jump start bridge also conducts outreach through educator conferences and supports the development of new school and community bridge programs. Jump start bridge was a major acblef-supported initiative in 2025. During the year, the program reached 607 teachers, 25,513 students, and 421 programs across 235 cities and 39 states. (continued on schedule o)the program also participated in 31 conferences to recruit and support educators. Its 2025 activities included providing bridge materials and curriculum resources, educator outreach and engagement, and expanding opportunities for students to learn bridge through schools and other educational settings. Approximately 87% of jump start bridge's 2025 expenditures were directed toward program delivery, outreach, and engagement. The program continued to demonstrate significant growth and impact in bringing bridge education to students and educators nationwide.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 89% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 76% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 67.7%; rating input score 68
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.97 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 96.3%; rating input score 96; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -63%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.83; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.3%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 67.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $534K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $121K · 19 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 32/100.