First Tee

Legal name: Pga Tour First Tee Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
834186070
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2019, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, US
Phone
(904) 940-4300
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Golf

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$34,230,410
Expenses
$32,650,601
Assets
$125,158,804
Liabilities
$5,449,725

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GREGORY T MCLAUGHLIN (DIRECTOR/PRESIDENT/SECRETARY)

Highest reported compensation

  • GREGORY T MCLAUGHLIN (DIRECTOR/PRESIDENT/SECRETARY): $1,146,623 total reported compensation
  • GUY GARBARINO (SVP ADVANCEMENT): $427,109 total reported compensation
  • JENNIFER WEILER (SVP NETWORK RELATIONS): $351,519 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

First Tee is a youth development organization that enables kids to build the strength of character that empowers them through a lifetime of new challenges. By seamlessly integrating the game of golf with a life skills curriculum, we create active learning experiences that build inner strength, self-confidence, and resilience that kids can carry to everything they do.

What it reported doing in 2024

First tee curriculum seamlessly integrates life skills with golf skills to build positive social, emotional and character traits in young people, which is learned through the golf context and translated to everyday life, including school. Coaches, teachers and youth leaders receive multi-year training and leadership development to deliver the curriculum, which takes place on golf courses, in schools and through after-school partner locations. In addition, the first tee offers educational opportunities and professional development for chapter staff, volunteer board leaders and teachers. First tee also hosts national event opportunities for selected chapter youth participants to enhance their leadership, understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion, and life skills.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 85% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 50% for direct work, and 50% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 61
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.4%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 74.7%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.77 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • 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: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Pass
    • May require repayment: Pass
  • Grant itemization coverage: 90.4%; rating input score 90; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.6%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.83; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.3%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.8% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.9% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 24% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 75.4% of revenue deployed · 74.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $24.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.1M · 11 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.7M reported
  • Consistency: 44 of 45 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 207 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 133 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.