Zelenko Freedom Foundation Corp Co Sally Wagenmaker

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
883021092
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Boca Raton, FL, USA
Phone
8477789474
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$147,951
Expenses
$188,943
Assets
$37,342
Liabilities
$8,784

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

People named in this filing

  • BRENT E HAMACHEK (Secretary)
  • ANN VANDERSTEEL (Chairman)
  • KEVIN JENKINS (Director)

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 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Zelenko Freedom Foundation Corp was founded to carry on the vision of its founder, the late Dr. Vladimir Zelenko. The Foundation is organized and operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes and seeks to inspire and equip future leaders dedicated to the principles of personal autonomy, human dignity, and free expression. These corporate purposes are based on three core values education, truth, and freedom, which are necessary for the preservation of democratic institutions and the cultivation of individual and communal human flourishing.

What it reported doing in 2023

The Zelenko Fellows Program launched with the sponsorship of our first Fellow, Alex Stone. Alex, whose focus is in the area of media integrity, has been able to attend various media events and has been introduced to several media personalities by ZFF Chairwoman Ann Vandersteel. Alex has also been trained to host a livestream television program on Brighteon TV and assisted in developing the skills and formatting for his own podcast. Ann Vanersteel has launched The Zelenko Report on Brighteon TV which airs Monday-Friday. Ann has guests that focus on all areas of the ZFF mission and has attracted an international audience following. ZFF has sponsored and co-hosted two Common Ground Campus events consistent with their original program initiatives outlined in their IRS tax exempt application form. The first event was held at the University of Houston and focused on finding common ground between students with differing views of higher education funding. The second event was held at Medina High School in Medina, Ohio where the focus was on agreeing to the rights of student groups on campus. Both events promoted the ZFF and both were moderated by ZFF board member Brent Hamachek. Chairman Ann Vandersteel attended the Houston event in person and made remarks on behalf of the foundation.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 6
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 88%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -27.7%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.2; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -27.4% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -73.2% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -60.3% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 88% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 3 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $166K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 16 of 17 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2022 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 57/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.