Creative Defense Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 932125820
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2023–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Jupiter, FL, USA
- Phone
- 2028127465
- Rating
- 62
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- National Security
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,490,374
- Expenses
- $1,101,310
- Assets
- $626,278
- Liabilities
- $350,000
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DAVID RAMEY (PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR)
- KYLIE CARROLL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- JOHN RICHARDSON (DIRECTOR): $40,000 total reported compensation
- KYLIE CARROLL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $19,375 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 applicant's activities are for the purpose of educating the public on issues related to national security as well as leveraging relationships to bring together leaders across industries and the country to convene for the purpose of mutual education and discussion on national security issues and developing changes in the field. Accordingly, the applicant's activities are largely focused on two prongs (1) educating the public by providing easy access to educational materials on issues in national security, and (2) facilitating conversations among thinkers and leaders.
What it reported doing in 2024
Holding conferences to bring together national security leaders, u.s. Entrepreneurs, and intrapreneurs to address the institutional, cultural, policy, and legal barriers impeding innovators from bringing their technologies, speed, agility, and cost effectiveness to u.s. National security.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 99% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 53
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 28
- Sustainability: 54
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 52.5%; rating input score 52
- Program expense ratio: 71%; rating input score 71
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 40%; rating input score 40; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 26.1%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.57; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.56; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.4%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 179.2% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 200% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 90.1% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 52.5% of revenue deployed · 71% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 2 of 5 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $782K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $40K · 7 people listed
- Consistency: 19 of 19 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
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- 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: Mission deployment rate scored 52/100.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
- Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 40/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 52/100.