Culture & Animals Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
561476178
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2017
Location
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Phone
9292143763
Rating
65
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$206,709
Expenses
$123,951
Assets
$353,128
Liabilities
$1,650

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JILL HOWARD CHURCH (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARTIN ROWE (EXECUTIVE DI): $35,000 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 culture & animals foundation (caf) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to support artists and scholars in advancing our understanding of and commitment to animals. By providing annual grants to scholars and artists, caf aims to appeal to individual intellect, creativity, and compassion, and build a greater respect for animal rights. Our work stems from the scholarship, passion, and commitment of renowned philosopher tom regan (19382017), who with his wife, nancy, created caf in 1985.

What it reported doing in 2025

Caf provides annual grants to scholars and artists working to encourage our understanding of, and care for, animals. Other expenses are publicity surrounding and promotion of the grantees, lectureship, arts prize, and fellowship via social media and newsletters, and travel and entertainment for board meetings and food.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 59% for direct work, and 41% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 57
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 67
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 44.9%; rating input score 45
  • Program expense ratio: 73.3%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $32.44 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Fail
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • 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: 50%; rating input score 50; 45th 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: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 40%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.85; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 28.2%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 44.9% of revenue deployed · 73.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $91K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $35K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2018 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 45/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 50/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.