Foundation for Critical Thinking

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
680225053
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2025
Location
Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Phone
7078789100
Rating
54
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$169,628
Expenses
$241,818
Assets
$520,863
Liabilities
$6,431

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

Leadership & pay

2 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LINDA ELDER PAUL (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • LINDA ELDER PAUL (PRESIDENT & CEO): $1,299 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To promote essential change in education and society through the cultivation of fair-minded critical thinking.

What it reported doing in 2025

Hosted annual conference structured to play a key role in defining, structuring, assessing, improving and advancing the principles and best practices of fairminded critical thought in education and in society. The conference provides a unique opportunity for participants to improve their understanding of critical thinking, as well as their ability to more substantively foster it in the classroom and in all aspects of their work and life.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 81% 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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 46
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 34
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 56.3%; rating input score 56
  • Program expense ratio: 40%; rating input score 40
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.41 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 11; 11th 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: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 50%; rating input score 50; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -42.6%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.15; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.5%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -15.4% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -11.1% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -9.7% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 56.3% of revenue deployed · 40% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 2 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $97K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1K · 2 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 56/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 40/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 50/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 38/100.