The Sharks Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
770374062
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Jose, CA, USA
Phone
4082877070
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,701,275
Expenses
$1,733,638
Assets
$847,966
Liabilities
$496

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DOUG BENTZ (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER)
  • KEVIN BROWN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • KEVIN BROWN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $117,496 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

See schedule o

What it reported doing in 2024

The sharks foundation's community assist grant program provides monetary support to public, 501(c)(3) non-profits serving bay area youth and families. Spanning from september 2024 to june 2025, the program featured key activations/events and included support from sharks players, coaches, broadcasters, executives, corporate partners, employees, and volunteers. Throughout the season grants were also provided to nonprofits to align with nhl initiatives such as hockey fights cancer, to supply emergency aid, and donations that were generated from sharks foundation fundraising efforts. Grants ranged from $3,000-$56,000.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 86% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 total spending goes to programs and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.1%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 56.5%; rating input score 56
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 88.8%; rating input score 89; 38th 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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.9%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.49; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.8%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5.1% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73.1% of revenue deployed · 56.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $979K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $117K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 22 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 22 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 21 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 56/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 30/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 23/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 48/100.