The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
221508812
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Irving, TX, USA
Phone
9725561000
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,606,770
Expenses
$5,578,143
Assets
$13,833,551
Liabilities
$3,502,553

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

Leadership & pay

62 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEVEN J HATCHELL (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEVEN J HATCHELL (PRESIDENT & CEO): $515,885 total reported compensation
  • MATTHEW SIGN (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $368,659 total reported compensation
  • DAVID M SANDERS (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $251,117 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 foundation was organized to honor the great players and coaches in the history of college football and to inspire our nation's youth to compete on the athletic fields and in the classroom and to assume leadership roles on high school and college campuses. The organization partly accomplishes this by awarding scholarships to high school and college football players based upon academic excellence, athletic ability, and leadership qualities.

What it reported doing in 2024

22 college football hall of famers selected and honored. 16 national scholar athletes selected and honored. Hall of fame on-campus salutes. National scholar-athlete programs and initiatives where nff currently distributes more than $1.3 million each year in scholarships, including $300,000 at the national level and more than $1 million through its chapter network at the grassroots level. Nff chapter network which includes 120 outpost in 47 states and encourages leadership, sportsmanship and academic excellence among america's young football players. More than 12,000 members host over 300 events each year, reaching more than 600,000 football players at 6,000 high schools. Nff high school showcases; hampshire honor society, honoring college football players from all divisions of play who each maintained a cumulative gpa of 3.2 or better throughout their college careers. 2,016 players from 343 schools qualified for membership.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.3%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 69.2%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: Limited
  • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -21.1%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.48; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27.2%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.3% of revenue deployed · 69.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 59 of 59 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $3.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $516K · 62 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.2M reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 38 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 3/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 38/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule G fundraiser detail did not reconcile in the filed values.