Contina Impact

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
364657870
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Berkeley, CA, USA
Phone
5108414123
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$21,662,768
Expenses
$13,544,406
Assets
$14,041,305
Liabilities
$1,861,715

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • AARON DORFMAN (PRESIDENT)
  • KARI DUNN SARATOVSKY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • KARI DUNN SARATOVSKY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $12,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The organization's mission is to serve as the fiscal sponsor for the charitable donations and philanthropic disbursements of individuals, foundation, and other entities, to provide technical assistance to youth-serving and nonprofit organizations and to coordinate education and other policy efforts.

What it reported doing in 2024

Guardian fund: the guardian fund has invested in legal, security, cybersecurity, andcrisis communications work for individuals and organizations who came under threat for their work on behalf of american democracy.democracy communications collaborative & fund: the democracy communications collaborative and fund project builds durable public support for liberal democracy and democratic values through communications. Activities focus on field coordination, the provision of shared resources such as public opinion research, and the management of a pooled donor fund.democracy funders network: we fiscally sponsored a project that serves as a learning and action community for donors concerned about the health of american democracy. That project held a major convening of donors from across the ideological spectrum to discuss how to ensure democracy delivers for the american public, and it advised funders on their philanthropic strategies and grantmaking in the democracy space.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 68% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.3%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 97.4%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Pass
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • 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: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 37.5%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.04; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.1%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 24.2% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 25.6% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 61.3% of revenue deployed · 97.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 7 filed program accomplishments · $13.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $12K · 3 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4.1M reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 24 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 23 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.