American Gi Forum Education Foundation of Santa Maria Calif

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
770289965
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020
Location
Santa Maria, CA, USA
Phone
8054786230
Rating
64
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,722,360
Expenses
$1,677,139
Assets
$349,596
Liabilities
$60,646

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROY BIRD (President)
  • MARIA GARCIA-CACIQUE (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • ROY BIRD (President)
  • MARY JACKA (Secretary)
  • HELEN GALVAN (Treasurer)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The American GI Forum Education Foundation is organized to solicit and receive funds through grants, bequests, gifts, and contributions to provide educational scholarships, grants, loans, and support for educational research and related activities benefiting qualified and financially needy individuals. The Foundation also provides assistance to veterans and their families facing physical, emotional, or financial hardship.

What it reported doing in 2024

Scholarship Awards ProgramSince 1979, the American GI Forum of Santa Maria has awarded over 600 scholarships totaling more than $500,000 to local students. Supported by member fundraising and contributions from individuals, small businesses, and investment income, the program continues to promote educational advancement.Veterans Family Assistance ProgramIn partnership with local agencies, the Foundation provides emergency aidsuch as food, clothing, lodging, transportation, and medicationsto veterans and their families, primarily those who are homeless. Funding is provided by corporate sponsors including Verizon, ExxonMobil, and Pfizer.Low-Cost Internet ProgramTo bridge the digital divide, the Foundation partners with the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) and Frontier Communications to help eligible households access affordable Internet service and receive free HP Chromebooks.Computer Literacy ClassesThrough CETFs School2Home Initiative, trained Foundation team members conduct virtual classes on computer literacy, online safety, and digital parenting for families across California.Time-of-Use (TOU) Community Education ProjectIn collaboration with Energy Upgrade California, the Foundation educates low-income and multicultural communities about new electricity rate structures and energy conservation practices to help reduce costs and protect the environment.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 92% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 0
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97.4%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 0 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.6%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.21; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 53.6% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 36.3% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.2% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 97.4% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 6 board members independent · 0 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 20 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 44/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 34/100.