Children's Defense Fund
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 520895622
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 2026623622
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Civil Rights
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $23,995,349
- Expenses
- $34,918,824
- Assets
- $40,067,480
- Liabilities
- $12,389,199
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- STARSKY WILSON (PRESIDENT/CEO)
- SHERI BRADY (VICE PRESIDENT, STRATEGY & PROGRAM)
- MARIAN EDELMAN (PRESIDENT EMERITA)
Highest reported compensation
- STARSKY WILSON (PRESIDENT/CEO): $377,061 total reported compensation
- SHERI BRADY (VICE PRESIDENT, STRATEGY & PROGRAM): $207,192 total reported compensation
- OLETA FITZGERALD (DIRECTOR OF SOUTHERN REGIONAL OFFICE): $160,607 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Children's defense fund envisions a nation where marginalized children flourish, leaders prioritize their well-being, and communities wield the power to ensure they thrive.
What it reported doing in 2024
Building a movement for youth - identified and trained children and young adults nationwide to be leaders and advocates for the supports and services that children need to thrive. Delivered empowering, multigenerational programming on social justice and civic action to young people, faith leaders and members of the broader community dedicated to addressing the needs of poor children in america.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 71% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 72% for direct work, and 28% for grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 84
- Transparency & Controls: 68
- Accountability: 81
- Sustainability: 25
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 73.2%; rating input score 73
- Fundraising efficiency: $8.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.8%; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 75%; rating input score 75; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -45.5%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.15; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.31; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.6%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 0.9% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 73.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 8 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $25.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $377K · 15 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.6M reported
- Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 43 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 34 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: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 34/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 41/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 55/100.