Celebrate Freedom Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
571086445
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
West Columbia, SC, USA
Phone
8037084752
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Commemorative Events

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$510,526
Expenses
$479,028
Assets
$1,807,745
Liabilities
$64,380

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JACK LOVELADY (PRESIDENT &)

People named in this filing

  • PAUL WERTS (CHAIRMAN & C)
  • JACK LOVELADY (PRESIDENT &)
  • DEAN CREPES (EXECUTIVE DI)

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 develop and produce the nation's premiere celebration of freedom, to honor the veterans of all wars and conflicts, to encourage and assist education of elementary, middle, and high school children in the study of the constitution and military heritage, and to foster lasting patriotism in citizens of all ages through cultural and education venues, living history reenactments, and military heritage displays, military statues and/or memorial parks, military historical museums, and youth training programs which support the science, technology, engineering, mathematics and leadership courses in the middle and high schools.

What it reported doing in 2024

Living history reenactments, military heritage displays, military status and/or memorial parks, military historical museums and youth training programs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.6%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 84.1%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $763.29 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 97; 97th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 6.2%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.77; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.9% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.6% of revenue deployed · 84.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $403K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 53/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.