Cadet Character & Leadership Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
810703923
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Long Beach, CA, USA
Phone
(424) 250-0708
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$-44,450
Expenses
$101,616
Assets
$567,977
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Michael Kathriner (President)

People named in this filing

  • Daniel Gwaltney (Treasurer)
  • Michael Kathriner (President)
  • Ian Fusselman (Director)

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 Cadet Character & Leadership Foundation (CCLF) provides scholarships to cadets to attend character and leadership development activities.

What it reported doing in 2024

CCLF made contributions to the efforts of Civil Air Patrol to upgrade squadron level equipment and to improve meeting space used for cadet training and emergency services. The amount of grants for Civil Air Patrol building upgrades and space improvements in 2024 totaled $16,018.In addition, CCLF made contributions to Civil Air Patrol to repair and upgrade a sailplane used for cadet flight orientation and instruction. The amount of grants used for Civil Air Patrol sailplane repair for 2024 totaled $33,000.Additional support of Civil Air Patrol cadet activities totaled $1,661 for 2024.CCLF also granted funds for cadets to participate in the Air Force Associationsannual National Youth Cyber Defense Competition. This competition inspires youth topursue careers in cybersecurity or other STEM disciplines critical to our nations future. The amount of grants used in 2024 totaled $5,355.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 93
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 97.7%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -328.6%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.59; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 35.4% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 97.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $99K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 51/100.