American Gift Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
516506426
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2020
Location
Wilmington, DE, United States
Phone
1-855-AGF-FSTC
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Federated Giving Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$166,326,352
Expenses
$115,867,890
Assets
$642,561,389
Liabilities
$3,805,854

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • L PAUL DORSEY (CHAIRMAN): $60,000 total reported compensation
  • LYMAN AMSDEN (DIRECTOR): $30,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To inspire generosity across America and provide meaningful charitable services for donors to give efficiently, purposefully and with impact, while supporting our communities in prosperity. Paul serves as the Board Chair for American Gift Fund (AGF). He is the Chief Investment Officer and a founding partner of Barley Mill Asset Management. Paul has close to 30 years of investment management experience, is a Chartered Financial Analyst®, a member of the CFA Society of Philadelphia, and was instrumental in the establishment of AGF in 1997. Prior to his career in investment management, Paul was a Supply Officer on board the USS Clark FFG-11 during his tour of duty in the US Navy. Paul has an undergraduate degree in Mathematics from Villanova University and holds a graduate degree in Finance from the Lerner School of Business at the University of Delaware. Paul also has a Master's.

What it reported doing in 2024

Providing grants to eligible charities based on donor recommendations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 88% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 96% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 84
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.4%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 97%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 91.4%; rating input score 91; 23rd 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; 77th 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: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 30.3%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.55; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.2%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 21.9% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.1% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 82.4% of revenue deployed · 97% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $112.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $3.6M · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 18 of 19 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1830 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1826 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.