California Society of the Sons of the American Revolution

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
330251511
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2016
Location
Torrance, CA, USA
Phone
3102511498
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies & Historic Preservation

Reported finances

Revenue
$159,149
Expenses
$141,848
Assets
$601,547
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOHN FERRIS (PRESIDENT)
  • DONALD B LITTLEFIELD (PAST PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • JOHN FERRIS (PRESIDENT)
  • HARINDER DHINDSA (EXECUTIVE VP)
  • DAN SHURTZ (VP NORTH)

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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The sons of the american revolution are direct descendants of those patriots that achieved the independence of the american people. The objectives of our organization are intended to perpetuate a more profound reverence for the principles of the government founded by our forefathers.

What it reported doing in 2025

Payment from the state society sar to freedoms foundation for travel expense and tuition of selected american history teachers to attend the summer graduate teacher workshop related to the american revolution presented by the freedoms foundation at valley forge, pa.

Operating model

Revenue model
Membership-supported. 64% of the money available for current operations came from membership dues.
Distribution model
Affiliate network. The nonprofit sent 65% of its reported program spending through affiliated organizations.

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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 67
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 79.7%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 81.8%; rating input score 82; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 89.9%; rating input score 90; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 10.9%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.24; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.8% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79% of revenue deployed · 79.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $113K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 18 of 20 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 58/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.