Hawaii Culinary Education Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
550911478
IRS 990 coverage
2025–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2024
Location
Honolulu, HI, USA
Phone
8089419088
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Higher Education Institutions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$305,065
Expenses
$77,845
Assets
$241,026
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • HAYLEY MATSON-MATHES (EXECUTIVE DI): $57,925 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Hawaii culinary education foundation's (hcef) mission is to provide hawaiis culinary students and professionals access to the best knowledge and exposure to cutting-edge techniques through a variety of programs and educational opportunities with local, national and international chefs and food experts. Hcef is dedicated to the development and support of culinary training programs throughout the state of Hawaii to promote Hawaii's unique culinary traditions. Created in 1998, as the hale aina ohana, the Hawaii culinary education foundation recognizes the contribution of the culinary industry to hawaiis economy. Hcef coordinates an advisory committee comprised of prominent members of the Hawaii restaurant and hospitality industry and leaders of culinary programs meet regularly to plan activities and fund-raising events.

What it reported doing in 2025

Hawaii culinary education foundation (hcef) provides financial and professional resources towards activities that enhance the scope of learning by culinary students and professionals. Hcef facilitates the sharing of knowledge by experts with students. Hcef is the only organization of its kind in the state of Hawaii and the u.s. Accomplished chefs and food experts are partnered with hawaiis culinary students and professionals through hcef programs such as the following: visiting culinary experts introduce national and international food trends and ideas through demonstrations and workshops center of the plate workshops throughout the state feature top island chefs sharing their knowledge and experience master chef classes help hone student skill sets by focusing on specific techniques and philosophies professional workshops for industry professionals to improve and update their skills high school culinary mentoring programs hcef is also involved in: public educational programs celebrity chef dinners annual fundraiser golf tournament for culinary supporters raising the culinary bar in Hawaii through ongoing culinary education

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 45
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 24.2%; rating input score 24
  • Program expense ratio: 95%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 74.5%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.1; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 74.4%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 24.2% of revenue deployed · 95% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $74K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $58K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 24/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.