The Silicon Valley Leadership Group Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
912140464
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Jose, CA, USA
Phone
4084534750
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Land Resources Conservation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,259,001
Expenses
$1,242,699
Assets
$1,763,866
Liabilities
$1,001,090

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Chris Weiler (Race Director): $216,746 total reported compensation
  • Ahmad Thomas (Executive Dir.): $28,319 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To tackle issues that will help Silicon Valley remain the international capital of innovation, with a healthy business climate and great quality of life for its workers.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Foundation conducts several events and initiatives under two primary programs, as outlined below: RacesThe Foundation organizes community run/walk events to support local charitable organizations and community programs. Activities under this program include:- Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot Established in 2005, this Thanksgiving Day run supports local charitable organizations, including the Healthier Kids Foundation, Housing Trust Silicon Valley, Second Harvest Silicon Valley, Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County, and The Health Trust. The event has raised over $10 million to support community members in need and is recognized as the largest Thanksgiving Day race in the United States.- Lam Research Hearts and Soles Run Established in 2014 in collaboration with the Santa Clara County Office of Education, this event promotes childrens health and wellness in Silicon Valley. Lam Research serves as the Title Sponsor. Since inception, the event has raised over $800,000 to support the Foundations health initiatives.- Santa Run Silicon Valley Established in 2011, this 5K run/walk supports Christmas in the Park and Downtown Ice in San Jose. The event has raised over $500,000 since inception to support these programs and has collected approximately 2,000 childrens books for Reading Partners over a five-year period. Participants are invited to dress in holiday-themed attire, and the event concludes at Christmas in the Park.EducationThe Foundation supports education and workforce development initiatives through partnerships with businesses, community colleges, and nonprofit organizations. Activities under this program include:- Hire Learning Originally launched in 2018 as Community College to Career, this initiative connects Leadership Group member companies, Silicon Valley community colleges, and partner nonprofit organizations to provide career pathways for students. The program has facilitated over 2,000 work-based learning, career exposure, and hiring opportunities for community college students. Hire Learning focuses on expanding student access to career opportunities, diversifying the STEM workforce pipeline, and supporting student entry into various industries. The program also serves as the umbrella for the Foundations education initiatives, including I-CAP and K-16.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 53% for direct work, and 47% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.8%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 92%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 98.1%; rating input score 98; 46th 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 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 1.3%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.42; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.57; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 17.5%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4.8% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.5% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.8% of revenue deployed · 92% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $217K · 18 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 8 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 — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.