Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 834298449
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2023–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Austin, TX, USA
- Phone
- 5124178084
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $377,395
- Expenses
- $272,607
- Assets
- $155,962
- Liabilities
- $43,986
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MATT WELCH (PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- MATT WELCH (PRESIDENT)
- LORI FRANZKE (SECRETARY)
- CLAY NETTLESHIP (TREASURER)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Ctei is a clean energy education and advocacy organization launched to promote energy innovation and clean energy policies grounded in the conservative principle of common sense, market-based solutions that allow fair competition and provide greater access to clean, affordable and reliable energy.
What it reported doing in 2024
We believe the energy industry is undergoing an unprecedented evolutionone that is shifting away from the traditional model of using fossil fuel generation managed by centralized monopoly utilities to a system that prioritizes the use of advanced emerging technologies, environmental sustainability, market competition, and customer choice to fuel the economy.as this transition occurs, we work every day to encourage the development of a system that leverages the powerful forces of free markets over heavy-handed government mandates. We believe this market-based approach will lead to the most effective and efficient outcomes for consumers, the economy, and the environment.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 72
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 62
- Sustainability: 56
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 71.1%; rating input score 71
- Program expense ratio: 98.5%; rating input score 98
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
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: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 75%; rating input score 75; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 27.8%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.57; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 83.3% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 137.1% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 71.1% of revenue deployed · 98.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 4 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $268K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
- Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 16/100.
- High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.