Celtic Arts Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911878785
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Mount Vernon, WA, USA
Phone
3604164934
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Cultural, Ethnic Awareness

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,235,350
Expenses
$1,079,225
Assets
$3,652,720
Liabilities
$17,513

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARILYN MCLEAN (PRESIDENT)
  • DAVID LOFGREN (VICE-PRESIDENT)
  • CAYLEY SCHMID (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • CAYLEY SCHMID (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $98,624 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To sponsor, encourage and promote celtic culture through events and educational activities.

What it reported doing in 2024

The bagpipes for beginners series is an eight-week class offered quarterly for students wanting to learn how to play the bagpipes, a traditional scottish instrument. There are seven levels of classes offered to provide support for true beginners to more advanced and experienced players. Classes are held at the littlefield celtic center. In 2024, there were 59 students who participated in the series. The classes are a direct fulfillment of caf's mission of sponsoring and promoting celtic culture through events and educational activities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 67
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.1%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 78.9%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 12.6%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.38; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.1%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.1% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.1% of revenue deployed · 78.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $852K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $99K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • 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: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.