Esa's Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
061582325
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2022232400
Rating
56
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$975,852
Expenses
$636,720
Assets
$1,416,783
Liabilities
$123,774

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STANLEY PIERRE-LOUIS (PRESIDENT & CEO)
  • SUE MADDEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • STANLEY PIERRE-LOUIS (PRESIDENT & CEO): $1,773,639 total reported compensation
  • MICHAEL WILLIAMS (CFO): $354,943 total reported compensation
  • SARA BERL (SECRETARY): $273,000 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 esa foundation harnesses the power of the video game industry to benefit students, schools, and charities, with the ultimate goal of improving the lives of america's youth and setting them on career paths.

What it reported doing in 2024

Donations directed to specific charitable organizations and students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 84% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 63% for direct work, and 37% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

MIXED - 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 few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 36
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 83
  • Sustainability: 67
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 34.1%; rating input score 34
  • Program expense ratio: 52.1%; rating input score 52
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 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: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 34.8%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.23; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 32.8%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -6% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.2% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -9.3% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 34.1% of revenue deployed · 52.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $332K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.8M · 9 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $455K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 34/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 52/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.