Association of Climate Change Officers

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
264129991
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2014
Forms available
Form 990 2014
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2024967390
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Professional Societies, Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,013,710
Expenses
$1,133,848
Assets
$51,176
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Daniel Kreeger (Executive Director and Board Member, ACCO)
  • Jim Sullivan (Vice President, Sustainability, SAP)
  • Jeff Austin (Senior Vice President, Environmental Affairs, Wells Fargo)

Highest reported compensation

  • Daniel Kreeger (Executive Director and Board Member, ACCO): $94,833 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

ACCO defines, develops and supports the functions, resources and communities necessary for effective organizational leadership in addressing climate-related risks and opportunities.

What it reported doing in 2014

ACCO has served as a primary partner to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in co-producing the annual Climate Leadership Conference and Awards program in partnership with The Climate Registry and the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. The Climate Leadership Awards is a national awards program that recognizes and incentivizes exemplary corporate, organizational, and individual leadership in response to climate change. In February 2012, the first-ever awards were presented to one individual and 20 organizations from across the U.S. who are leading the way in the management and reduction of GHG emissions-both in internal operations and throughout the supply chain. The Climate Leadership Awards Dinner takes place during the annual Climate Leadership Conference

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 77% of the money available for current operations came from other operating 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 55
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 73
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 57.4%; rating input score 57
  • Program expense ratio: 51.3%; rating input score 51
  • Fundraising efficiency: $16.16 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90%; rating input score 90; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -11.9%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.05; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.4%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 58.6% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 17.2% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -108% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 57.4% of revenue deployed · 51.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $582K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $95K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2013 to 2014
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 57/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 51/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 56/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 2/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.