Climate Leadership Council Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 813115310
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2017–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2016
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 2029194900
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Pollution Abatement and Control Services
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,958,282
- Expenses
- $3,784,971
- Assets
- $7,107,466
- Liabilities
- $1,854,421
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- GREGORY I BERTELSEN (CEO)
- TIFFANY ADAMS (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND COO)
Highest reported compensation
- GREGORY I BERTELSEN (CEO): $359,745 total reported compensation
- CATRINA RORKE (SENIOR VP OF POLICY AND RESEARCH): $347,992 total reported compensation
- TIFFANY ADAMS (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND COO): $325,824 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 develop and promote a carbon dividends framework - based on carbon fees whose revenues are rebated to citizens through dividends - as the most cost-effective, equitable, and politically viable climate solution.
What it reported doing in 2024
The climate leadership council (the "council") works with a broad set of stakeholders to advance the most effective, fair, and lasting climate solutions. Since its inception, the council has been producing groundbreaking research and convening multinational corporations, environmental ngos, labor interests, economists, and other thought leaders across the political spectrum to develop and advance effective climate solutions that leverage market forces to lower global greenhouse gas emissions.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 79% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 75
- Transparency & Controls: 74
- Accountability: 68
- Sustainability: 45
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 75.1%; rating input score 75
- Program expense ratio: 77.7%; rating input score 78
- Fundraising efficiency: $23.74 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- 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: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 4.4%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.88; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 49.4%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 13.5% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 75.1% of revenue deployed · 77.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $360K · 13 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 9 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 38/100.