Final Third Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
814359966
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2016
Location
Columbus, OH, USA
Phone
6149627222
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Soccer

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$930,001
Expenses
$870,711
Assets
$155,370
Liabilities
$123,825

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • BENJAMIN LEVEY (Executive Dir.): $95,671 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Final third foundation (f3) continues to grow and evolve in central Ohio and through its partner organization in kenya. F3 uses the game of soccer to bring people together, educate, and enrich communities. What began with the likoni community football league in kenya has expanded into a network of programs that unify communities through soccer, literacy, wellness, and environmental learning. Guided by a global mindset and a focus on collective impact, f3 strengthens trust, belonging, and opportunity for youth locally and abroad.in 202425, f3 expanded access and deepened partnerships that strengthen youth development through sport and learning. Along-side key partners like nationwide childrens hospital, the organization helped launch the first columbus city schools region 3 elementary soccer and winter futsal leagues, serving more than 275 students. New collaborations began with whitehall recreation to support youth soccer and coaching education, while a five-year partnership with bexle

What it reported doing in 2024

Recreational leagues and community soccer: through the columbus east soccer association (cesa), f3 served more than 1,450 players across its 202425 seasons, supported by 196 volunteer coaches and 107 teams. Scholarships and subsidized fees totaled $51,780, with $27,700 in discounted field costs at pathways park. Partner organizations included bexley and whitehall recreation and parks department, Ohio youth academy, columbus lions, columbus eagles, brice christian academy, galacticos, dl soccer academy, and columbus bilingual academy.soccer & literacy initiative: the early readers program reached 356 pre-k and kindergarten students across nine schools. F3s afterschool program served 1,140 students in grades 36 at 15 schoolsdouble the previous years reachwith projections to serve 2,000+ students in 202526. The vibrant vowels research study, conducted with columbus city schools and radboud university, examines the impact of color-coding text on reading fluency among 3rd5th graders at eight schools.environmental awareness and pathways park: the sprouts program engaged 160 students across three schools through gardening and environmental lessons. Collaborations with Ohio state university students supported meadow reclamation and soil restoration projects at pathways park. In 2024, one acre of meadow was seeded and 60 trees planted with the help of 5060 community volunteers through the city of columbus tree assistance program and local partners.f3 academy and elite pathways: to make high-level soccer accessible, f3 launched the f3 academy and 618 project. The academy (ages 610) costs $100 per year and includes two uniforms, nine league games, and professional coaching. 36 players currently participate. The college id camp hosted 57 players and college coaches from seven universities, offering affordable exposure at $25 per participant. Summer camp and winter futsal clinics engaged 50 youth in 202425, promoting teamwork and skill development.likoni community football league (kenya): founded in 2011, the likoni community football league has engaged over 16,000 youth through structured football and leadership development. About 600 players participate each season across boys and girls divisions. F3 provides fiscal sponsorship, technical support, and volunteer engagement to strengthen governance and sustainability.professional development: f3 invests in the growth of coaches, referees, and educators. In 202425, 12 community members earned u.s. Soccer grassroots licenses, and f3 hosted four coaching education sessions and ongoing mentorship. Referee training supported 40 officials (ages 1467) from diverse backgrounds and removed financial barriers through a uniform & accessory program. F3s soccer & literacy staff completed year-round instructional trainings to enhance teaching and data collection fidelity.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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 - 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: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 78
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.8%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 80.9%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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: 90%; rating input score 90; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 6.4%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.18; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.8; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 24.7% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 27% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 26.9% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75.8% of revenue deployed · 80.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $705K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $96K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 53/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 9/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.