The Clara Lionel Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 455620521
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- New York, NY, USA
- Phone
- 2122023230
- Rating
- 68
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Fund Raising and Fund Distribution
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $24,028,784
- Expenses
- $6,603,329
- Assets
- $67,867,604
- Liabilities
- $2,850,596
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- TAMARA LARSEN (PRESIDENT)
- JESSIE SCHUTT-AINE (VICE PRESIDENT)
- MAI LASSITER (INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/DIRECTOR)
- JO OPOT THROUGH 012024 (INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- MAI LASSITER (INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/DIRECTOR): $539,042 total reported compensation
- IVAN ROSALES (CHIEF FINANCIAL AND OPERATING OFFICER): $253,525 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Clf invests in climate solutions in the caribbean & united states and helps communities prepare for and withstand natural disasters.
What it reported doing in 2024
Climate solutions - our climate solutions pillar supports organizations in the u.s. And caribbean focused on reimagining and implementing short and long-term solutions for climate impacts. These organizations integrate cultural considerations into decision-making, and work to advance environmental causes.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 64% of its reported program spending out as grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - 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 the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 49
- Transparency & Controls: 63
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 84
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 27.7%; rating input score 28
- Program expense ratio: 76.3%; rating input score 76
- Fundraising efficiency: $55.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
- 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: Fail
- May require repayment: Fail
- 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: 72.5%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.28; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 12%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 18.6% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 18% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 29.2% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 27.7% of revenue deployed · 76.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $539K · 11 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $310K reported
- Consistency: 38 of 39 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 6 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 28/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.