Starlight Children's Foundation (National Office)

CharityWatch's rating of Starlight Children's Foundation (National Office) is for the U.S. based 501(c)(3) public charity (tax ID #95-3802159). The rating does not include the financial activities of the Foundation's affiliate organizations.

According to the Starlight Children's Foundation audit of December 31, 2021 (Note 1, Organization):

"The Foundation licenses the Starlight trademark to international affiliates in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom (the International Affiliates) through affiliate agreements, pursuant to which the affiliates deliver programs in their territories dedicated to the Starlight mission. Affiliate agreements entered into between each International Affiliate and the Foundation provide for common purposes and policy direction.

"The accompanying [audited] financial statements were prepared to present the financial information of the Foundation in the United States. The International Affiliates operate independently. The Foundation does not exercise control, nor does it have economic interests in the International Affiliates. Therefore, the financial results of the International Affiliates are not consolidated into the accompanying [audited] financial statements [of the Foundation]..."

According to the Starlight Children's Foundation audit of December 31, 2021 (Note 2 re: Donated goods and services), the Foundation reports receiving in-kind donated goods and services in 2021 on which it placed a total value of $3,550,232.

[Note: CharityWatch generally excludes the value of in-kind (non-cash) donations of goods and services from its calculations of Program % and Cost to Raise $100. More information on how grades are calculated and the treatment of in-kind donations can be found on the Our Process page.]

According to the Starlight Children's Foundation audit of December 31, 2021 (Note 10, Concentrations and Risks):  "Two donors accounted for approximately 73% of the Foundation's total donation revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021."

According to the Starlight Children's Foundation audit of December 31, 2021 (Note 6, PPP Loan):

"On February 16, 2021, the Foundation received a loan from City National Bank (CNB) totaling $553,340, pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)...of the CARES Act, enacted on March 27, 2020. Funds from the loan may only be used for payroll costs, mortgage interest payments, lease payments, and utility payments. Under the terms of the PPP, certain amounts of the loan may be forgiven if they are used for qualifying expenses as described in the CARES Act. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Foundation used the full $553,340 loan amount for qualifying expenses and recognized an equivalent amount as grant revenue in the [audited] statement of activities and changes in net assets. The loan was forgiven in full on February 17, 2022."

According to the Starlight Children's Foundation audit of December 31, 2021 (Note 11, Related Party Transactions):

"A member of the Foundation's Board of Directors is a former partner and current senior counsel at a law firm that provided in-kind legal services of approximately $245,000 to the Foundation during the year ended December 31, 2021..."

According to the Starlight Children's Foundation audit of December 31, 2021 (Note 13, COVID-19):

"In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared novel coronavirus (COVID-19) a pandemic. Although management is continuing to monitor and assess the effects of the pandemic on the Foundation and has implemented plans to mitigate some risks arising from the impact of COVID-19, including the PPP loan, the full impact of COVID-19 on the Foundation's operations and finances is uncertain and will depend on the duration and depth of the pandemic."

According to the Starlight Children's Foundation 2021 tax filing re: Compensation, Supplemental Information (IRS Form 990, Schedule J, Part III):

Regarding nonfixed payments to officers, directors, trustees, key employees and highest compensated employees (Schedule J, Part I, line 7):  "The board determines discretionary incentive payments."

The Foundation reports a "Bonus & incentive compensation" payment of $28,426 for Adam Garone, CEO. His reported total compensation in 2021 is $374,284 (IRS Form 990, Schedule J, Part II).