Society of Experimental Test Pilots Scholarship Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
952479396
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Lancaster, CA, USA
Phone
6619429574
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$669,927
Expenses
$398,536
Assets
$9,636,950
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • L BALDERAS (Executive Dir.): $147,676 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The primary purpose of the scholaship fdn is to receive, acquire, manage, administer, & expend property & funds for scholarships & other forms of educational assistance to children of society members, with emphasis given to children of deceased & disabled society members. A scholarship was first awarded in 1967. Since that time over 5.3 million has been granted in educational assistance to over 600 students. In 2025 144 students attended school with scholarship fdn assistance. For every dollar contributed, more than 95% goes directly to cover the students' educational expenses. A contribution to the scholarship fdn is the ideal way to commermorate a society member while helping support children of society members

What it reported doing in 2025

See schedule o

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 71% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 96% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 86
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 81.9%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Limited
    • Requires narrative reports: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Limited
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Limited
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 40.5%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 24.18; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.1%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 81.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $326K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $148K · 23 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes foreign activity and grants
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: 2 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: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.