Clasp

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
331112770
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2027505600
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Energy Resources Conservation and Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$28,948,146
Expenses
$26,779,509
Assets
$23,594,117
Liabilities
$16,916,881

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHRISTINE EGAN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHRISTINE EGAN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $421,472 total reported compensation
  • FRED SHERMAN (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $291,902 total reported compensation
  • CORINNE SCHNEIDER (CHIEF COMM. & DVLPT. OFFICER): $276,480 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Clasp improves the energy and environmental performance of the appliances and equipment we use every day, accelerating our transition to a more sustainable world.

What it reported doing in 2024

The energy access institutions facility ("eaif or "the facility") is a joint donor initiative that provides non-earmarked, flexible funding to market institutions (mi's) that strengthen market health and accelerate growth in the distributed renewable energy (dre) sector, enhancing long-term sustainability and reducing fundraising burdens. Clasp was designated as the eaif manager. 2024 marked clasp's first full year in this role. During the reporting period, clasp distributed more than sek 30.3 million in sub-grants to mi's including to the verasol quality assurance program, a joint program of clasp and the schatz energy research center at California state polytechnic university. Specifically, verasol received an allocation of usd$ 483,540.77 from the eaif grant, which includes $249,145 for fy 2024 and $234,395 for fy 2025. This funding supports verasol's independent quality assurance framework for off-grid solar products, such as household appliances and agricultural equipment. Key activities include the testing, evaluation, and certification of solar products, development of test methods and standards, and technical and analytical support to governments, e.g. The provision of data.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 82% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 82% 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 90.4%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $147.61 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Pass
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Pass
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.5%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.88; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.72; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.8%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.7% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.6% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.9% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84% of revenue deployed · 90.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $24.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $421K · 21 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $5.6M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.