Joe Foss Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
861026421
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2019
Forms available
Form 990 2019
Location
Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Phone
4803480316
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Nonmonetary Support N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$150,545
Expenses
$1,087,527
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2019. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • LUCIAN SPATARO (DIRECTOR): $176,540 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2019. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of the joe foss institute is to teach young americans responsible citizenship and prepare them for civic engagement.

What it reported doing in 2019

Jfi, recognized by the IRS as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, was created in 2001 by the late brigadier general joe foss to work with schools and youth groups across america by educating, inspiring and preparing our youth to become informed and engaged citizens. Through our programs, children learn about the founding principles of our country. We send veterans, who personify the time-honored patriotic ideas of service and sacrifice on our nation's behalf, into classrooms nationwide. Our volunteers talk about their military service, good character and leadership skills, america's unique and constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Jfi provides free educational materials directly to schools throughout the year, including a classroom-size american flag and poster-sized copies of the declaration of independence, constitution and bill of rights. This year we began distributing pocket constitutions for each student and a hand held flag when age appropriate. We also offer free lesson plans and videos, with specific learning objectives, that can be downloaded from our website (our "you are america" series). Jfi awards college scholarships to high school students through its essay and video contests. Jfi attends educator and veteran conferences around the country to spread the word of our work, and hosts regional and national stars in service events to introduce and raise awareness about our programs in new areas.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 62% for direct work, and 38% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 85
  • Sustainability: 3
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 86%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0.21 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 3; 3rd 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: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 75%; rating input score 75; 18th 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: -622.4%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.2%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -6% per year; rating input score 0; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -8.4% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -11.6% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 86% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $936K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $177K · 12 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2010 to 2019
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 3/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.