Carden Memorial Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
814396375
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2017, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Phone
8016612791
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Graduate, Professional Schools (Separate Entities)

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,994,581
Expenses
$3,471,223
Assets
$6,625,111
Liabilities
$3,388,313

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHELLE GOODWIN (Trustee): $107,500 total reported compensation
  • LAURA BROWN (BOARD CHAIR): $43,200 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Carden is a Classical, non-denominational Christian school that educates children pre-k through 8th grade. Carden also trains and educates teachers using the Carden methods, Classical materials, and training that supports patriotism and character development. Cardens mission is to help children find joy by improving the mind, developing the heart, and lifting others.

What it reported doing in 2025

Carden Memorial Foundation (DBA Carden Memorial School) educates children PK-8th grade) with the Carden philosophy, non-denominational Christian training using a classical and traditional curriculum.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 94% of the money available for current operations came from other operating 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

STRONG - 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: 90
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 67
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 97.5%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: $193.86 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 13.1%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.91; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.51; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.3%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.2% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.9% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 85% of revenue deployed · 97.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 6 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $3.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $108K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 16/100.