Clarkston Development Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
272014061
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2018
Location
Clarkston, GA, USA
Phone
4047366602
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$389,725
Expenses
$409,291
Assets
$90,076
Liabilities
$20,682

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ROBERTA MALAVENDA (Past ED): $22,800 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Clarkston Development Foundation, Inc., CDF Action, a not-for-profit created in 2010, uses an asset based community development approach, connecting and engaging the Clarkston community and surrounding areas by working alongside residents to recognize and develop the individual capacities of each person. By supporting participation and collaboration among community members, the goal is to build a community whose residents drive and direct the development of activities and services. Through a series of dialogues, early learning was selected by the community as a priority, and early learning was selected by the CDF Board of Directors as the focus of the organization.In 2021, the Board and staff completed a strategic planning process, led by Civitas, using Civitas Finding your North Star framework. As a result of the planning process, CDF developed a comprehensive document that included vision, mission, principles, approach, and 3-year strategic directions.Vision: CDF envisions communitie

What it reported doing in 2024

Theory of Change: Clarkston Development Foundation (CDF) catalyzes community change by focusing on three interconnected levers: resident engagement, organizational collaboration, and innovative solutions. Through these strategies, CDF builds on community strengths, mobilizes resources, and pilots scalable projects that promote equity, education, and family wellbeing.Program Service Accomplishments 2024: In 2024, CDF continued its mission to improve early learning access and family engagement for refugee, immigrant, and low-income families in Central DeKalb County. Through the 2Gen Community Literacy Program, CDF provided early literacy kits, family workshops, and multilingual learning opportunities to over 80 children and caregivers.CDFs Ready Schools Initiative operated sites in Clarkston, Stone Mountain, and La Escuelita, supporting kindergarten readiness through culturally responsive instruction and parent engagement. The organization also convened quarterly Early Learning Advisory Committee meetings to strengthen collaboration among educators, families, and community partners.CDF expanded professional development for multilingual early educators, distributed over 300 literacy resources to families, and continued to provide technical assistance to community-based organizations seeking to launch or enhance early learning programs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 70% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 45% for direct work, and 55% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.4%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 66.1%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.29 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.7%; rating input score 100; 60th 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -5%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.22; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.6%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -8.5% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -7.5% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.4% of revenue deployed · 66.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $270K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $23K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.