Climate Lead Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
884336644
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2022
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
8778295500
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Nonmonetary Support N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$37,511,814
Expenses
$17,533,933
Assets
$44,542,974
Liabilities
$1,098,031

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JENNIFER KITT (PRESIDENT)
  • ROBYNN STEFFEN (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JENNIFER KITT (PRESIDENT): $844,317 total reported compensation
  • ROBYNN STEFFEN (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT): $456,688 total reported compensation
  • MARIA ATHENA BALLESTEROS (MD, GLOBAL CLIMATE STRATEGIES): $390,514 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Climate lead was founded in 2019 to empower philanthropic leaders everywhere to take immediate and far-reaching climate action. Climate lead provides tailored guidance, connections to peers and a diverse expert network, and sources an array of opportunities to fund high-impact climate solutions with a proven or clear potential for impact. Climate lead does not advocate for any one theory of change in how it aligns donor interests to what the climate needs. Climate lead has a global reach and is headquartered in san francisco, California.

What it reported doing in 2024

Climate lead provides tailored guidance, connections to peers and a diverse expert network, and sources an array of opportunities to fund high-impact climate solutions with a proven or clear potential for impact.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 57
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 76
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 37.8%; rating input score 38
  • Program expense ratio: 78.2%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $102.3 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 53.3%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.54; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.1%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 80.1% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 19% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 58.4% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 37.8% of revenue deployed · 78.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $13.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $844K · 17 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.4M reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 38/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.