Pledgeling Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
462440594
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2013
Location
Venice, California, US
Phone
3103214025
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$63,226,638
Expenses
$61,128,195
Assets
$13,252,112
Liabilities
$4,828,786

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JAMES CITRON (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JAMES CITRON (PRESIDENT): $287,597 total reported compensation
  • GREGORY YORKE (SECRETARY/TREASURER): $168,230 total reported compensation
  • CASSANDRA FOWLER (DIRECTOR): $149,184 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Pledgeling Foundation simplifies charitable giving to help you make a bigger impact in the world.

What it reported doing in 2024

The foundation made pass-through grants to approximately 20,000 organizations.

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 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 65.9%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.01 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Pass
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 89.6%; rating input score 90; 22nd 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; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.3%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.22; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.1%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 28.8% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 32.3% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 32.9% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 64% of revenue deployed · 65.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $40.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $288K · 4 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $21.9M reported
  • Consistency: 21 of 22 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 918 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 918 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 10/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.