C-span Education Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521867105
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2027373220
Rating
65
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$408,775
Expenses
$171,256
Assets
$5,364,233
Liabilities
$100,200

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BRIAN LAMB (PRESIDENT/TRUSTEE (THRU 8/24))
  • ROBERT KENNEDY (VICE-PRESIDENT AND CO-CEO (THRU 5/24))
  • SUSAN SWAIN (VICE-PRESIDENT AND CO-CEO)
  • SAMUEL FEIST (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (FROM 12/24))

Highest reported compensation

  • ROBERT KENNEDY (VICE-PRESIDENT AND CO-CEO (THRU 5/24)): $732,843 total reported compensation
  • SUSAN SWAIN (VICE-PRESIDENT AND CO-CEO): $610,871 total reported compensation
  • BRIAN LAMB (PRESIDENT/TRUSTEE (THRU 8/24)): $428,489 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 conduct and promote national and international public affairs to high schools and colleges for educational purposes.

What it reported doing in 2024

Lamb fellowships: the foundation funds expenses associated with "teachers-in-residence" who work alongside c-span staff during the summer, assisting in the development of lesson plans and other resources.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 82% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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 few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 68
  • Accountability: 44
  • Sustainability: 78
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.9%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 94.7%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 20%; rating input score 20; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 58.1%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 31.32; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 125.2%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -6.8% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.9% of revenue deployed · 94.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $162K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $733K · 7 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 2 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 20/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.