CharityWatch Rating of Point Foundation

The mission of the California-based Point Foundation is to support the educational aspirations of LGBTQ+ and ally students to become impactful leaders in their lives, careers, and communities. CharityWatch recently analyzed the charity’s audited financial statements and IRS tax Form 990 for its fiscal year ended June 30th, 2024, to assess its financial efficiency and governance practices.

Program vs Overhead Spending

Point Foundation is reasonably financially efficient, but there is room for improvement. CharityWatch calculated that the charity spent about $4.9 million of its $6.7 million in cash expenses on its programs in fiscal 2024, and just under $1.8 million on overhead. This computes to 73% spent on programmatic activities and 27% on overhead. Grants or scholarships comprised only about 37% of the charity’s total cash program spending and 27% of its total cash expenses in fiscal 2024.

Rating

Point Foundation earns a “B+” rating for financial efficiency and a final, downgraded rating of “C+” on CharityWatch’s “A+” to “F” rating scale for its fiscal year ended June 30th, 2024.

CharityWatch reduces the rating of any charity that has available assets equal to 3 or more years’ worth of operating expenses. In CharityWatch’s view, a reserve of less than three years is reasonable and does not affect a charity’s rating. A charity’s “Years of Available Assets” reflects how many years a charity could continue to operate at current spending levels without raising any additional contributions or other revenues. CharityWatch computes this ratio after adjusting for permanently restricted funds; equity in land, buildings and equipment used in operations; contributions/accounts receivable due in greater than five years; and other assets that a charity is restricted by outside parties from using. CharityWatch believes it is reasonable for a charity to hold less than three years’ worth of assets in reserve.

See Our Process to learn more about how CharityWatch considers a charity’s asset reserves and the High Asset List for a list of charities whose ratings have been reduced due to high assets.

Scholarships

Point Foundation reports that $1,831,778 of its cash program spending in fiscal 2024 consisted of grants. It gave out another $99,600 in “noncash assistance,” which it described in its tax filing as “shared cost of undivided bill.”

Point Foundation reports in its tax filing that its scholarship application asks for general, family, and citizenship information; academic record and standardized test scores; leadership experience; LGBT community experience; financial need; and essays. The applicant pool is then narrowed down to a group of semi-finalists who are asked to submit additional, supplemental material, including letters of recommendation and official school transcripts. Candidates selected for further review are then interviewed by telephone before a final pool of finalists is selected for scholarship consideration. Scholarship recipients are required to show proof of enrollment in an accredited U.S. college or university. Tuition and housing payments are sent directly to the school upon submission of a tuition invoice.

Leadership Development

Point Foundation reports that it spent about $1.3 million on its leadership development program in fiscal 2024. According to its fiscal 2024 tax filing, in 2023–2024, Point provided a mix of in-person and online leadership development programs for LGBTQ scholars, including a new Career Exposure Program with visits to major corporate headquarters and attendance at professional conferences. The flagship Scholar Retreat and various online workshops focused on career skills, financial literacy, and mentorship. Community college scholars benefited from dedicated conferences and sessions designed to support academic transfers and job readiness. Point also emphasized inclusive mentorship, expert coaching for BIPOC scholars, and peer networking, equipping participants with tools for academic success and leadership development.

Governance & Transparency

CharityWatch assesses charities based on specific governance and transparency benchmarks. For fiscal 2024, Point Foundation passed all of CharityWatch’s Governance and Transparency benchmarks.

Conflict of Interest Policy: The organization reports having a written policy and regularly monitors and enforces compliance.

Annual Disclosure: Officers, directors, and key staff are required to annually disclose any interests that could give rise to conflicts.

Whistleblower Policy: A written policy is in place to protect individuals who report unethical or illegal activities.

Document Retention and Destruction Policy: The foundation maintains a policy outlining procedures for document retention and destruction.

Financial Statements: Financial statements are audited by an independent accountant.

Tax Filing: The foundation reports providing a copy of its IRS tax Form 990 to all board members prior to filing.

Board of Directors: The board is comprised of 34 voting members, with all 34 being reported as independent.

Board Meetings: The minutes of board and board committee meetings are documented.

Transparency: Point Foundation passes CharityWatch’s Transparency benchmarks. To meet transparency benchmarks, a charity must post a complete copy of its most current, independent audited financial statements on its public web site. It must provide complete copies of its IRS tax form(s) 990 to CharityWatch upon request, and may be required to answer questions related to its financial reporting and/or provide additional documentation if such information is necessary for CharityWatch to complete a meaningful evaluation.

Severance & Bonus Payments

According to the Point Foundation (PF) tax filing for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, PF reports re: Compensation, Supplemental Information (IRS Form 990, Schedule J, Part III):

Regarding severance payments to officers, directors, trustees, key employees and highest compensated employees (Schedule J, Part I, Line 4a):

“Margaux Cowden was given $66,473 in severance.”

[Margaux Cowden, Chief of Program, had total reported compensation of $172,088 during 2023 (IRS Form 990, Schedule J, Part II)]. 

Regarding non-fixed payments to officers, directors, trustees, key employees and highest compensated employees (Schedule J, Part I, Line 7):

“Staff bonuses are determined on performance evaluation and completion of strategic plan objectives.”

PF reports providing “bonus & incentive compensation” during 2023 to five individuals. Jorge Valencia, Executive Director & CEO, received $57,600 of bonus and incentive compensation, with a total reported compensation of $365,973. The remaining four individuals received $2,953 to $19,067 with total compensation ranging from $167,858 to $254,430.