Carolinas Golf Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
591761556
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2017
Location
Southern Pines, NC, USA
Phone
9106731000
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$302,146
Expenses
$257,595
Assets
$1,027,689
Liabilities
$188,989

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ANDY PRIEST (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • MARION MOORE (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MIKE SMITH (1ST PAST PRESIDENT)
  • RICK RIDDLE (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ANDY PRIEST (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $241,907 total reported compensation
  • BENJAMIN BONCELLA (TOP FINANCIAL OFFICIAL): $98,755 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The carolinas golf foundation was formed by the carolinas golf association in 1977 to provide scholarships and funding for a variety of carolinas-based golf initiatives.

What it reported doing in 2025

The foundation's scholarship program supports students who are aspiring to become golf superintendents and turfgrass managers in the carolinas. The carolinas golf foundation underwrites grants to turfgrass majors at clemson university and North Carolina state university. Individual grants varied in value up to $2,000. Charles e. Lynch jr., cga counsel, noted, "this year's winners are the men and women who will direct tomorrow's turf programs. They will discover solutions for future turfgrass problems. We are pleased to participate in endowing this ongoing program." the carolinas golf foundation first offered scholarship aid to turfgrass majors in 1977. The foundation also started a more expansive scholarship program in 2020 by giving $25,000 to several students who excel in grade, community work and who also have an interest in golf. The carolinas golf foundation has provided more than $1,500,000 over the last 37 years for various projects and scholarships. A partial list of the groups the carolinas golf foundation has provided with financial backing and resources: carolinas pga, challenged golfers network, clemson scholarships, cgcsa round4research, fairway outreach, harris ymca, lpga/usga girls programs, myrtle beach junior golf foundation, nc state scholarships, ncwga, seven first tee programs, salvation army project, sc junior golf association, six community college programs, triad youth golf foundation, wcga, wilmington junior golf academy, wscga foundation, youth on course, and general scholarships.

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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 61
  • Accountability: 68
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.8%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 97.8%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 58.5%; rating input score 59; 47th 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: 2 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 22
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 14.7%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.99; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.8%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.8% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.5% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83.8% of revenue deployed · 97.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 2 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $252K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $242K · 8 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 17 of 18 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2018 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 59/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.