Cool Effect Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
475068496
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Greenbrae, CA, USA
Phone
4154542665
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$14,590,555
Expenses
$15,604,765
Assets
$6,027,945
Liabilities
$2,170,865

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Jodi Manning (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Jodi Manning (CEO): $373,224 total reported compensation
  • Blake Lawrence (Marketing Mgr): $161,902 total reported compensation
  • JR Patterson (Controller): $125,075 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Cool Effect believes that small actions ignite planet-sized changes. The Organization developed a platform that brings people together to support the worlds best carbon emission reduction projects.

What it reported doing in 2024

Cool Effects mission is to reduce carbon emissions by supporting projects across the globe that reduce carbon dioxide. Cool Effect educates the public on the effects of carbon on the climate and solicits donations to support carbon reduction projects, empowering individuals and businesses to take action in minimizing the emissions of carbon into the atmosphere.Cool Effect performs a deep analysis on both the science and the business structure of projects that claim to remove carbon from the atmosphere. All projects under consideration must first be approved by third-party standard-keeping organizations such as the gold standard, verified carbon standard, and CCR, among others.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% 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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 61
  • Accountability: 85
  • Sustainability: 15
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 99.1%; rating input score 99
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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; 14th 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%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.39; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: Limited

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.7% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 99.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $15.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $373K · 10 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $878K reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.