California Communications Access Foundation Dba Ability Central

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
611411655
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Concord, CA, USA
Phone
7608715141
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Centers to Support the Independence of Specific Populations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,507,404
Expenses
$5,705,664
Assets
$53,841,167
Liabilities
$1,484,467

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BARRY SAUDAN (PRESIDENT CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • BARRY SAUDAN (PRESIDENT CEO): $473,137 total reported compensation
  • JACQUELYN TAYLOR (DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $324,502 total reported compensation
  • TAMMY TOLLIVER POLANCO (DIRECTOR OF HR AND ADMIN): $320,954 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of California communications access foundation (ccaf) is to serve as an educator, convener and resource that works collaboratively to ensure communications and information access in service of individuals who are deaf or disabled.

What it reported doing in 2024

California communications access foundation now focuses primarily on ability central, its philanthropic wing founded in 2010. The mission of ability central is to serve as a resource, convener, and educator working collaboratively to ensure that people who are deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent can communicate and access information. Since its inception, ability central has granted more than $14.3m to 200+ projects, serving more than 500k people with disabilities through programs encouraging career development, training, and tech innovation. For fiscal year 2025, ability central awarded more than $800,000 to 12 nonprofit organizations in California offering a diverse array of support and services to disabled communities. Ability central also offers salesforce consulting and echnical support to other nonprofits working to help people with disabilities. Through its portal website, ability central provided online information, resources, and education for 100k+ people with questions about disabilities and communication access.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 63% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 77% for direct work, and 23% for grants.

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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 60.4%; rating input score 60
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -62.7%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.44; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 52.4%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.3% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 60.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $3.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $473K · 22 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 23 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 12 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 48/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.