California Association of Tactical Officers

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
330816655
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2012
Location
Garden Grove, CA, USA
Phone
6613016508
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Crime Prevention

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,037,907
Expenses
$912,195
Assets
$260,191
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BRENT STRATTON (PRESIDENT)
  • MARCUS SPRAGUE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • DOUG MCGEACHY (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DOUG MCGEACHY (VICE PRESIDENT): $20,800 total reported compensation
  • MARCUS SPRAGUE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $17,270 total reported compensation
  • BRENT STRATTON (PRESIDENT): $16,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Cato is a non-profit, non-political organization. Cato is organized exclusively for charitable purposes with the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code. Cato was established as an organization "of tactical team members by and for tactical team members." with over 30 million residents in California and over 80,000 sworn officers, cato's mandate is to provide information, training, and resources to its members.

What it reported doing in 2024

To increase the professionalism and proficiency of special weapons teams and members across the state. To provide a forum for the exchanges of current and relevant issues and information: maintain a secure online web site; provide and/or sponsor superior training and conference programs; maintain a liaison with tactical teams methods of operation and equipment; provide training assistance and support; and become the largest non-profit organization in the state dedicated exclusively to personnel in all levels of tactical operations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 95% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 72
  • Sustainability: 50
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.7%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 91.8%; rating input score 92
  • 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 12.1%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.29; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.4%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 23.7% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 21.5% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -3.1% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.7% of revenue deployed · 91.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $837K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $21K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.