Cardiff Schools Education Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
330494856
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Cardiff, CA, USA
Phone
4043722947
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Reported finances

Revenue
$159,541
Expenses
$146,353
Assets
$791,741
Liabilities
$131,294

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Tristin Wildstein (President)
  • Julia Cohen (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Tristin Wildstein (President)
  • Julia Cohen (Vice President)
  • Christina Streatfeild (Secretary)

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

To provide financial support for arts, music, physical education, science, technology, and class-size reduction programs that benefit Cardiff and Ada Harris Elementary Schools, serving more than 800 students in the Cardiff School District.

What it reported doing in 2024

The organizations purpose is to strengthen arts, music, PE, science, and technology education at Cardiff and Ada Harris Elementary Schools. It achieved its goals through targeted grants to teachers, staff, and district programs that support innovative instruction, enrich learning, and provide resources not otherwise available through general funding.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 61
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.2%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 91.3%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $24.54 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 19th 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: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • 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: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.3%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.41; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4.6% per year; rating input score 0; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.6% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.2% of revenue deployed · 91.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $134K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 16 of 17 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.