The Nuckolls Fund for Lighting Education

Legal name: The Nuckolls Fund for Lighting Educ

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
133451357
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Garrison, NY, USA
Phone
914-602-9997
Rating
60
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$246,692
Expenses
$134,330
Assets
$2,905,767
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAN BLITZER (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • EDWARD BARTHOLOMEW (BOARD MEMBER)
  • DAN BLITZER (PRESIDENT)
  • TOM BUTTERS (TRUSTEE)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Support lighting education across North America by helping an endowment-funded organization continue its mission through grants and student achievement awards. Established in 1988, the Nuckolls Fund is an endowment fund in support of college-level programs that inspire students with an understanding of light in architecture. The Nuckolls Fund relies on your donations to continue our mission to support lighting education across North America. Please consider supporting our cause with a donation today. Donate Now. Donate Now From inception, the Fund has given $2,080,500 to support lighting education in North America.

What it reported doing in 2024

All grants awarded to formulate curriculum for advanced architectural lighting in the educational program of architectural schools.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 34
  • Transparency & Controls: 78
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 88
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 28.8%; rating input score 29
  • Program expense ratio: 52.9%; rating input score 53
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 81.8%; rating input score 82; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 45.5%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 21.63; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 28.8% of revenue deployed · 52.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $71K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 21 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 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 29/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.