Starlight Children's Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 953802159
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Culver City, CA, USA
- Phone
- 3104791212
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $19,824,173
- Expenses
- $17,300,272
- Assets
- $22,202,949
- Liabilities
- $1,439,274
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
22 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ADAM GARONE (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- ADAM GARONE (CEO): $379,270 total reported compensation
- MIKE OLSON CPA (CFO): $213,285 total reported compensation
- CINDEE STARKIE (VP OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS): $195,220 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Since 1983, starlight has been delivering happiness to seriously ill children and their families.
What it reported doing in 2024
Prescription for play: starlight is proud to collaborate with the lego group and the weitzman institutes' "prescription for play program" to recognize the critical role of play in early childhood development. Participating in this program, starlight helps integrate play into the entire healthcare journey to support child development and positive patient engagement. The weitzman institute (the innovation and research arm of the moses/weitzman health system, a 501(c)(3)) provides funding to starlight to facilitate the distribution of prescription for play lego kits to pediatric offices across the u.s. During healthcare visits. Public contributions to starlight are not used to complete this distribution activity.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 83% of its reported program spending out as 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 70
- Transparency & Controls: 73
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 62
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 71.8%; rating input score 72
- Program expense ratio: 80.9%; rating input score 81
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.27 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 66th 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: 12.7%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.28; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 10.6% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 71.8% of revenue deployed · 80.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $14M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $379K · 22 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3M reported
- Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 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.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 30/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.