Groundswell Charitable Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
871530516
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2021
Location
El Segundo, CA, USA
Phone
3106960777
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$11,890,610
Expenses
$4,621,910
Assets
$11,049,807
Liabilities
$518,226

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JAKE WOOD (PRESIDENT & DIRECTOR)

People named in this filing

  • JAKE WOOD (PRESIDENT & DIRECTOR)
  • JOE MARCHESE (TREASURER)
  • ADAM MILLER (SECRETARY)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To empower modern philanthropists with the tools they need to build bridges between companies and nonprofits to foster smart philanthropy for maximum impact to charitable causes.

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2024, the groundswell charitable foundation received $11,750,787 in contributions, and disbursed $4,463,378 in grants at the advice of donors. Over 26,000 individual grants were made, constituting approximately 4,850 unique nonprofit recipients. The top five nonprofits (by number of grants) were: us venture act fund, kenya works, united way fox cities, american national red cross, and st. Jude children's research hospital.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 98% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 86
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 39%; rating input score 39
  • Program expense ratio: 98.5%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2,298.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 40.6%; rating input score 41; 10th 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 61.1%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.39; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 47.5% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 69.7% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 91.8% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 39% of revenue deployed · 98.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 20 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 56 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 56 filed related-organization links
  • 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 39/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 41/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.