Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521790724
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Culver City, CA, USA
Phone
3107045240
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Amateur Sports

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,375,344
Expenses
$1,178,126
Assets
$745,067
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

66 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Abiye Nurelegne (President)
  • Ojulu Lero (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Dessalegn Befekadu (Director)
  • Aboneh Mamo (Director)
  • Afework Kebede (Director)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Honor Ethiopian heros in the fields of sports, social and art. The organization is dedicated to promote the the rich Ethiopian culture and heritage as well as build positive environment within Ethiopian - American communities in North America.

What it reported doing in 2025

Each year, ESFNA invites individuals that have excelled in sports in Ethiopia in the past. From soccer players to long distance runners that have made the country a proud nation. ESFNA also honor Ethiopians in the social and art fields. If it were not for ESFNA invitation, most of these heroes would not have had the opportunity to visit the United States. Lately ESFNA begun honoring individuals who have played a significant role during the early years of ESFNA who happen to reside in USA.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 100% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 80
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.2%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 97.1%; rating input score 97
  • 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 86.4%; rating input score 86; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 14.3%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.63; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83.2% of revenue deployed · 97.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 57 of 66 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 66 people listed
  • Consistency: 16 of 16 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization is not authorized to operate as a charity in California.