CREATE Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237248582
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Tupelo, MS, US
Phone
662-844-8989
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$23,645,992
Expenses
$24,244,940
Assets
$199,798,321
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHAEL K CLAYBORNE (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHAEL K CLAYBORNE (PRESIDENT): $299,295 total reported compensation
  • EDDIE BLAKELEY (DIRECTOR): $147,519 total reported compensation
  • JUANITA FLOYD (SENIOR V.P.): $143,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of CREATE Foundation is to encourage philanthropy and provide leadership to impact regional issues.

What it reported doing in 2025

Contributions were made to various charitable organizations including public schools and universities to improve education and community life and to promote charitable giving. The organization also operates as a fiscal agent for a number of charitable projects as well as building permanent community endowments, encouraging philanthropy and managing charitable funds contributed by individuals, families, organizations, and corporations, serves to strenthen regional community development capacity, and provides leadership on key community issues.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 74% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 91% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.5%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 90.4%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19.59 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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; 64th 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: -2.5%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.24; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.4%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 7 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 94.5% of revenue deployed · 90.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $21.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $299K · 27 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.