Polly Klaas Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
680314615
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Petaluma, CA, USA
Phone
8005874357
Rating
57
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Child Abuse, Prevention

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$768,546
Expenses
$1,093,287
Assets
$1,538,942
Liabilities
$29,928

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LIEUTENANT DANNY FISH (President)
  • DANIEL MAYER (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • RAINE HOWE (Executive Dir.): $228,274 total reported compensation
  • CINDY RUDOMETKIN (DIR PROG/RESPONSE): $108,580 total reported compensation
  • CIARA SHUTTLEWORTH (Executive Dir.): $6,923 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The polly klaas foundation is a petaluma, ca based, national nonprofit dedicated to the safety of all children, the recovery of missing children, and public policies that keep children safe in their communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Response department casework services -the polly klaas foundation has assisted over 10,000 families and hundreds of law enforcement agencies in their search for missing and abducted children. Since inception we have seen an overwhelming majority of those children return home safely. The response department provides a variety of services for each type of missing child case all of which are geared toward the recovery and safe return of the child.24 hour hotline - staff and volunteers work with families and law enforcement agencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.national flyer distribution - case-specific flyer distribution anywhere in the nation, within a matter of hours. Decisions about flyer distributions are made as a team effort between the foundation, the local and/or national media exposure - further exposure for a case is achieved by producing and distributing press releases and by doing live or taped radio, television or print interviews. We have assistedfamilies by either working on their behalf with the media or by coaching them through the process. Intake and transmission of leads and tips to the lead agency - public leads are immediately forwarded to the investigating agency. We havestrict policies regarding confidentiality and rely solely on the investigating agency to determine the necessity of follow-up on any lead.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 82% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

MIXED - Most voting board members are independent and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 42
  • Transparency & Controls: 61
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 53.9%; rating input score 54
  • Program expense ratio: 36.4%; rating input score 36
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 22nd 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: 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -42.3%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.41; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 31.4%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.2% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -8.3% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 53.9% of revenue deployed · 36.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $398K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $228K · 11 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 54/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 36/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.