Protostar Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
811864222
IRS 990-PF coverage
2021–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2020, Form 990-PF 2024, Form 990-N 2016
Location
San Diego, CA, USA
Phone
2023601160
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

Reported finances

Revenue
$269,235
Expenses
$129,309

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

Overview

Mission

Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

What it reported funding in 2024

The foundation reported 7 grants totaling $79,000. The stated grant purpose was charitable purposes.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 86% of the foundation's positive operating resources came from contributions.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The foundation distributed 61% of its reported charitable disbursements as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes to charitable grants and the filed numbers largely add up. Assets provide a limited cushion relative to annual grants.

Rating breakdown

  • Grant Deployment: 100
  • Cost Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency: 100
  • Compliance: 100
  • Endowment Health: 12

Detailed rating inputs

Grant Deployment

  • Grant deployment ratio: 100%; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Cost Efficiency

  • Grant expense ratio: 61.1%; rating input score 61; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency

  • Grant recipient disclosure: Yes; rating input score 100

Compliance

  • Part VII-B activity disclosures: 19 of 19 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Property sale or exchange with a disqualified person: Pass
    • Borrowing from or lending to a disqualified person: Pass
    • Goods, services, or facilities involving a disqualified person: Pass
    • Compensation paid to a disqualified person: Pass
    • Assets transferred to a disqualified person: Pass
    • Payment to a government official: Pass
    • Uncorrected prior self-dealing: Pass
    • Prior-year undistributed income: Pass
    • Excess business holdings: Pass
    • Investments that may jeopardize charitable purposes: Pass
    • Uncorrected prior-year jeopardizing investments: Pass
    • Attempt to influence legislation: Pass
    • Attempt to influence an election: Pass
    • Grants to individuals: Pass
    • Grants to organizations: Pass
    • Spending for a noncharitable purpose: Pass
    • Funds received for a personal-benefit contract: Pass
    • Premiums paid on a personal-benefit contract: Pass
    • Prohibited tax-shelter transaction: Pass
  • Filing consistency checks: 10; rating input score 100

Endowment Health

  • Endowment-health comparison: 2.36; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Grants: 100% of grant recipient detail disclosed
  • Payout: At least 100% grant deployment rate
  • Trustees: Filed trustees detail
  • Self-dealing: 100% of reviewed questions answered “No”
  • Investments: 12th percentile for endowment coverage
  • Consistency: 10 of 10 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 1 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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 — Endowment Health: Endowment-health comparison scored 12/100.