Firelight Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
272795006
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Scotts Valley, CA, USA
Phone
8314298750
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Relief

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,784,106
Expenses
$3,135,131
Assets
$17,198,044
Liabilities
$210,974

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARIEME DAFF (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARIEME DAFF (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $213,648 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Firelight supports catalytic community-based organizations in eastern and southern africa that work with their own communities to realize shared visions of sustainable change and true potential for children and youth.

What it reported doing in 2024

Child rights and child protectionfirelight funded and supported 10 community-based organizations in malawi to catalyze and strengthen community-driven systems change to end child marriage in their communities. Grantees facilitated their communities to analyze and take action to influence the different systems that affect factors related to child marriage, such as family economic security, girls' access to schooling, teenage pregnancy, norms and practices around sexuality, access to sexual and reproductive health, and expanding girls' own visioning of their future opportunities. Firelight also funded and supported seven (7) youth-led organizations in kenya to work with their communities to identify the priority issues facing youth in their community and carry out action plans to address those issues such as increasing youth access to gainful employment and greater incomes through vocational training, reducing widespread drug and substance abuse issues through awareness-raising efforts, connecting youth to community mentors, and supporting youth to adapt to climate change.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 89% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 55% for direct work, and 45% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.1%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 75.6%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.05 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Pass
    • Conducts field audits: Pass
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 17.2%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.49; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.8%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.6% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.1% of revenue deployed · 75.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $214K · 11 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $333K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 49/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.