Cair Foundation Inc
EIN 770646756 · Washington, DC · — · civic-advocacy
Address50 E ST SE, Washington, DC 20003-2620
Mission · 990 Part I
“CAIR'S MISSION IS TO ENHANCE UNDERSTANDING OF ISLAM, PROTECT CIVIL RIGHTS, PROMOTE JUSTICE, AND EMPOWER AMERICAN MUSLIMS.”
The IRS Form 990 for FY 2024 is due ~Nov 15 of the year after the fiscal close, followed by 3–6 months of IRS processing and 6–12 months before the cleaned data is published. FY 2024 should begin appearing here around mid-to-late 2025. A gap between today and the latest filing does not mean the org hasn't filed.
▸Additional financials & ratios
- Top-officer compensation: 7.4% of revenue
Attestations & Audits
Org-supplied disclosures that have been verified by the Ihsan Standard Editorial Council. Every standard has a Gold tier (★) reached via an Ihsan Standard or accepted third-party audit. An empty section means the org has not yet filled it in — not that they fail the standard.
- Zakat methodology disclosurenot yet attested
- Zakāt al-Fitr timeline commitmentnot yet attested
- Qurbānī / Udhiya timeline enforcementnot yet attested
- Kaffāra fulfillment commitmentnot yet attested
- Annual zakat distribution reportnot yet attested
- Orphan-fund segregation (Qurʾānic amāna)not yet attested
- Restricted-purpose fund segregation (honoring the amāna)not yet attested
- Per-donation tracking & fulfillmentnot yet attested
- Supplier-stack cleanup plan filednot yet attested
- Full supplier-stack audit completednot yet attested
- Taʿāwun Procurement Audit — Muslim community vendor pledgenot yet attested
- Khulafāʾ al-Arḍ Environmental Stewardship Auditnot yet attested
Where the money went · FY 2023
Form 990 Part IX (Statement of Functional Expenses) split into the four functional buckets, plus automated anomaly detection across the most-asked donor questions.
Expense breakdown · FY 2023
Total $6.35MForm 990 Part IX line items we have on file for this filing (compensation totals + fundraising lines). The full functional-expense col-A/B/C/D split (grants, program, admin, fundraising) was not in the structured extract — the residual sits in “Program & operations” below. Reading note: compensation is NOT the same as “admin overhead” — for orgs running clinics (like IMAN’s FQHC), schools, or in-house programs, most of compensation is program work.
- Compensation & benefits$3.50M · 55.0%
Form 990 Part IX lines 5–10 — total staff compensation: salaries & wages, payroll taxes, and benefits across everyone the org pays (program, clinical, and support staff), plus any pay to officers, directors, and key employees. The per-person split — including which officers, if any, are paid — is in the Compensation history section below. For orgs running clinics, schools, or in-house programs, most of this is program work, not admin.
- Fundraising$137K · 2.2%
Form 990 Part IX line 11e (professional fundraising) + direct fundraising expenses. Donor acquisition, professional fundraisers, mailings.
- Program & operations (other)$2.72M · 42.8%
Total expenses minus compensation and fundraising — the residual covering program supplies, occupancy & utilities, professional fees, beneficiary services, medical supplies (for clinics), travel, equipment, and depreciation. ProPublica's structured extract did not include the Part IX functional split for this filing year; the breakdown PDF reconciles which specific lines went where.
Fundraising efficacy · not the primary lens for this org
Cair Foundation Inc reports $7.56M in contributions on only $137K of fundraising spend (55 : 1) — a ratio that suggests this org isn't fundraising-driven in the conventional sense. The Form 990 “fundraising expense” line item is meant to capture solicitation costs (telemarketing, direct mail, digital ad spend); for universities, masjids, foundations, and orgs primarily supported by major gifts or program revenue, that line is small or zero, and the resulting “ratio” reads as meaningless.
The right operational-efficiency lens for an org like this is reserves, payroll composition, and program-expense ratio — see the financial-anomalies section and the multi-year trend dashboard.
Year-over-year trends · through FY 2023
Arrow color = direction × good-when-upPer-metric direction and magnitude vs. the prior fiscal year. Where the data goes back far enough, the 3-year compound annual growth rate is included — useful for separating one-off spikes from sustained trends.
- Revenue↑ 41.1% YoY$7.94Mprior: $5.63MΔ +$2.31M3y CAGR +19.5%
Total revenue per Form 990 Part I line 12.
- Contributions↑ 42.3% YoY$7.56Mprior: $5.31MΔ +$2.25M3y CAGR +21.4%
Form 990 Part I line 1h — gifts, grants, and contributions received.
- Investment income↑ 40.8% YoY$13Kprior: $9KΔ +$4K3y CAGR +29.0%
Form 990 Part VIII line 4 — interest, dividends, and other investment earnings on the org's reserve. For orgs with material reserves, a healthy investment-income trend indicates capital is actually working; near-zero income on a large reserve raises the 'idle capital' question.
- Total expenses↑ 21.6% YoY$6.35Mprior: $5.23MΔ +$1.13M3y CAGR +11.7%
Form 990 Part I line 18 — total functional expenses.
- Top-officer compensation↑ 48.7% YoY$588Kprior: $395KΔ +$193K3y CAGR +33.7%
Form 990 Part IX line 5 — aggregate compensation for officers, directors, key employees, and the five highest-paid employees. Growing in line with revenue is expected for healthy orgs; growing faster than revenue is the question worth asking.
- Total compensation & benefits↑ 22.1% YoY$3.50Mprior: $2.86MΔ +$633K3y CAGR +8.7%
Officer comp + other salaries + payroll tax — total people-cost of running the org.
- Net assets↑ 38.4% YoY$6.05Mprior: $4.37MΔ +$1.68M3y CAGR +33.1%
Form 990 Part X line 33 — assets minus liabilities at year end.
- Months of reserve↑ 13.8% YoY11.4 moprior: 10.0 moΔ +1.4 mo3y CAGR +19.2%
Net assets ÷ (annual expenses ÷ 12). The trend matters more than the absolute number: a falling reserve year-over-year is the early warning sign of fragility, even if it's still above the 3-month floor.
Financial context · plain math
Automated checks across Form 990 Part IX and Part VII Section B. We publish the math and the source; we do not adjudicate intent. Many of these have legitimate explanations specific to the org’s mission — read each card’s context note before forming a judgment. The org has full right of reply.
Top-officer compensation: elevated share of revenue
7.4%ContextTop-officer comp was $588K on revenue of $7.94M — 7.4%.
ContextThis is the line on Form 990 Part VII Section A that aggregates compensation for officers, directors, key employees, and the five highest-paid employees. It is NOT just the CEO. Orgs running clinics with senior medical staff (IMAN's Federally Qualified Health Center, for example), licensed professional teams, or multi-physician practices will legitimately show higher numbers here. Read the per-individual breakdown before judging.
Source: Form 990 Part VII Section A (top-officer compensation total)
See compensation history below for the per-individual breakdown →
Engagement-track path:if a specific explanation fits the org (new-org ramp, capital campaign, FQHC medical-staff payroll, multi-year grant schedule), the org can sign in, attach the supporting filing detail, and a contextual note will publish alongside the relevant card. The numbers stay — the reader gets the reasoning.
▸Multi-year history
click to expand
Multi-year history
click to expand| Year | Revenue | Expenses | Net assets | Contributions | Officer/KE comp | Inv. income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $7.9M | $6.4M | $6.1M | $7.6M | $588K | $13K |
| 2022 | $5.6M | $5.2M | $4.4M | $5.3M | $395K | $9K |
| 2021 | $6.2M | $4.7M | $4.1M | $5.7M | $244K | $7K |
| 2020 | $4.7M | $4.6M | $2.6M | $4.2M | $246K | $6K |
| 2019 | $5.2M | $5.6M | $2.7M | $4.6M | $245K | $5K |
| 2018 | $3.9M | $5.5M | $3.1M | $3.6M | $251K | $3K |
| 2017 | $6.6M | $4.9M | $6.1M | $6.6M | $280K | $1K |
| 2016 | $5.2M | $3.0M | $4.4M | $5.1M | $239K | $2K |
| 2015 | $3.3M | $2.7M | $2.2M | $3.3M | $218K | $2K |
| 2014 | $2.2M | $2.6M | $1.6M | $2.2M | $182K | $3K |
| 2013 | $2.2M | $3.3M | $2.1M | $2.2M | $447K | $3K |
| 2012 | $1.8M | $2.0M | $3.0M | $1.6M | $164K | $10K |
| 2011 | $4.1M | $785K | $2.4M | $4.0M | $60K | $11K |
Ethical supplier stack — strength on record
No widely-flagged vendors were detected on Cair Foundation Inc's public website during our most recent scan. This covers analytics, payment, and SSO vendors visible in the rendered HTML, the donor-page network log, and the site’s DNS records — but not back-office tools (CRM, accounting, ad-tech) that don’t appear publicly. On the publicly-scannable supplier surface, Cair Foundation Inc is among the cleanest in the cohort.
Even with a clean public-side stack, the Ihsan Standard engagement track offers a further audit at zero org cost during the pilot: the Khulafāʾ al-Arḍ Stewardship Audit (environmental footprint of sites and vendors). See the Attestations & Audits section above.
Method: automatic vendor detection from public website HTML — scope is limited to what the org makes visible on the site. See standards for the full vendor rubric.
Compensation history
Form 990 Part VII Section A · 11 filings on record
Every officer, director, key employee, and highest-compensated employee with reported pay. Recent year is shown by default — switch tabs for prior years or the unique-people roll-up.
FY 2023
8 paid · 7 unpaid board · total $1.4M| Name | Title | From org | Related orgs | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nihad Awad | Executive Director | $229K | $0 | $35K | $264K |
| Cary Hooper | Director Of Communications | $179K | $0 | $33K | $212K |
| Lena Masri | National Litigation Director | $151K | $4K | $20K | $174K |
| Gadier Abbas | Senior Litigation Attorney | $132K | $4K | $26K | $163K |
| Omar Ali | Director Of It | $136K | $0 | $26K | $162K |
| Mariam Aladdin Albakaye | Controller | $124K | $0 | $29K | $154K |
| Thania Clevenger | Chief Operating Officer | $127K | $0 | $19K | $146K |
| Edward Mitchell | Deputy Executive Director | $118K | $0 | $18K | $136K |
Compensation detail · Schedule J
IRS Form 990 Schedule J requires officers and key employees with reportable compensation above $150,000 to break out base salary, bonuses, deferred compensation, and non-taxable benefits. From FY 2024.
| Name · title | Base | Bonus | Other | Deferred | Benefits | Total (org) | Related orgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NIHAD AWAD EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | $236K | $0 | $0 | $9K | $27K | $273K | — |
CARY HOOPER DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS | $187K | $0 | $0 | $6K | $27K | $221K | — |
LENA MASRI NATIONAL LITIGATION DIR/GEN. COUNSEL | $173K | $0 | $0 | $7K | $7K | $187K | $12K |
THANIA CLEVENGER CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER | $162K | $0 | $0 | $7K | $22K | $191K | — |
EDWARD MITCHELL DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | $164K | $0 | $0 | $0 | $23K | $187K | — |
GADIER ABBAS SENIOR LITIGATION ATTORNEY | $143K | $0 | $0 | $6K | $22K | $171K | $12K |
MARIAM ALADDIN-ALBAKAYE CONTROLLER | $148K | $0 | $0 | $6K | $26K | $180K | — |
OMAR ALI DIRECTOR OF IT | $150K | $0 | $0 | $6K | $10K | $166K | — |
Grants made · Schedule I
The organizations and people Cair Foundation Inc re-granted money to, as reported on IRS Form 990 Schedule I. Total disbursed across these1 grants: $15K.
| Recipient | Amount | Purpose | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
MAS-MUSLIM AMERICAN SOCIETY EIN 262503530 | $15K | GENERAL SUPPORT | 2024 |
▸Verticals · detected automatically
click to expand
Verticals · detected automatically
click to expandSignals automatically extracted from public website data on https://www.cair.com— please verify against the source link before relying on any single tag. “Unknown” means no evidence was found, not that the org doesn’t offer it.
In their own words · Schedule O
Supplemental narratives the org wrote on IRS Form 990 Schedule O — program-activity descriptions, governance explanations, and answers to specific 990 line items. Useful primary-source context that doesn’t fit into the structured fields elsewhere on this page.
- FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 11BFY 2024
CAIR FOUNDATION'S OUTSIDE CPA FIRM PREPARES THE FORM 990. THE FORM IS THEN REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY THE ORGANIZATION'S CONTROLLER. THE FORM IS PROVIDED TO THE FULL BOARD FOR ACCEPTANCE BEFORE FILING.
- FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 12CFY 2024
ALL DIRECTORS, PRINCIPAL OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF A COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD ARE COVERED PERSONS UNDER CAIR FOUNDATION'S CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY. IN ANY ACTUAL OR POSSIBLE CONFLICT OF INTEREST, THE COVERED PERSON MUST DISCLOSE THE EXISTENCE OF THE FINANCIAL INTEREST, IF ANY TO THE BOARD AND MEMBERS OF COMMITTEES WITH BOARD DELEGATED POWERS CONSIDERING THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION OR ARRANGEMENT. EACH COVERED PERSON SHOULD ANNUALLY SIGN A STATEMENT WHICH AFFIRMS THAT THEY (1) RECEIVED A COPY OF THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY. (2) HAS READ AND UNDERSTANDS THE POLICY (3) AGREE TO COMPLY WITH THE POLICY. (4) UNDERSTANDS THE ORGANIZATION IS CHARITABLE AND EDUCATIONAL AND TO MAINTAIN ITS FEDERAL TAX EXEMPTION IT MUST ENGAGE PRIMARILY IN ACTIVITIES WHICH ACCOMPLISH ONE OR MORE OF ITS TAX-EXEMPT PURPOSES. TO ENSURE THE ORGANIZATION OPERATES IN A MANNER CONSISTENT WITH CHARITABLE PURPOSES AND DOES NOT ENGAGE IN ACTIVITIES THAT COULD JEOPARDIZE ITS TAX-EXEMPT STATUS, PERIODIC REVIEWS ARE CONDUCTED. THE PERIODIC REVIEWS AT A MINIMUM, INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING SUBJECTS: (1) WHETHER COMPENSATION ARRANGEMENTS AND BENEFITS ARE REASONABLE, BASED ON COMPETENT SURVEY INFORMATION, AND THE RESULT OF ARM'S LENGTH BARGAINING. (2) WHETHER PARTNERSHIPS, JOINT VENTURES, AND ARRANGEMENTS WITH MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS CONFORM TO THE ORGANIZATION'S WRITTEN POLICIES, ARE PROPERLY RECORDED, REFLECT REASONABLE INVESTMENTS OR PAYMENTS FOR GOODS AND SERVICES, FURTHER CHARITABLE PURPOSES, AND DO NOT RESULT IN INUREMENT, IMPERMISSIBLE PRIVATE BENEFIT, AN EXCESS BENEFIT TRANSACTION, OR AN ACT OF SELF-DEALING. IN ADDRESSING THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST, THE INTERESTED PERSON MAY MAKE A PRESENTATION AT THE BOARD OR COMMITTEE MEETING, BUT AFTER THE PRESENTATION, HE/SHE SHOULD LEAVE THE MEETING DURING THE DISCUSSION OF, AND VOTE ON, THE TRANSACTION OR ARRANGEMENT INVOLVING THE POSSIBLE CONFLICT OF INTEREST. THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE BOARD OR COMMITTEE SHOULD APPOINT A PERSON OR COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE ALTERNATIVES TO
- FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 15FY 2024
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS HAS A POLICY FOR REVIEWING AND APPROVING THE COMPENSATION PACKAGES OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND OTHER KEY EMPLOYEES ON A REGULAR BASIS TO DETERMINE IT IS FAIR AND REASONABLE WITH THE GOAL OF RETAINING EMPLOYEES AT COMPENSATION LEVELS WITHIN APPROPRIATE MARKET RANGE. THE POLICY PROVIDES THAT THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE COMPENSATION ARRANGEMENT WILL BE CONDUCTED, IN ADVANCE, BY INDEPENDENT AND IMPARTIAL MEMBERS OF THE BOARD (OR A COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD). THE BOARD REVIEWS COMPARABLE COMPENSATION DATA FOR COMPARABLE SERVICES, COMPARABLE ENTERPRISES (BY BUDGET, REVENUES, NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES, PERSONS SERVED, AND MISSION), COMPARABLE CIRCUMSTANCES (GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS/COST OF LIVING), AND OTHER FACTORS SUCH AS WHETHER THE PERSON MANAGES MULTIPLE FUNCTIONS OR DEPARTMENTS, THE EMPLOYEE'S DUTIES AND PAST PERFORMANCE HISTORY, AND THE EMPLOYEE'S BACKGROUND, SKILLS, EDUCATION, AND EXPERIENCE. THE BOARD MAY ALSO REVIEW CURRENT COMPENSATION SURVEYS COMPILED BY INDEPENDENT FIRMS AND CONSIDER RECENT WRITTEN OFFERS FROM SIMILAR ORGANIZATIONS COMPETING FOR THE COVERED INDIVIDUAL'S SERVICES. THE DOCUMENTATION OF THE BOARD INCLUDES THE TERMS OF THE TRANSACTION AND THE DATE OF APPROVAL, THE MEMBERS WHO WERE PRESENT DURING THE DEBATE AND VOTE ON THE TRANSACTION, A DESCRIPTION OF THE COMPARABILITY DATA AND HOW IT WAS OBTAINED AND RELIED UPON INCLUDING THE RECOMMENDATIONS RECEIVED FROM THIRD-PARTY CONSULTANTS, AND DOCUMENTATION OF THE BASIS FOR THE DETERMINATION.