California · Nonprofit
CHALLENGED ATHLETES INC
CHALLENGED ATHLETES INC (California) receives grants from 453 organizations whose IRS filings report $54,154,582 to it, the largest being GALASHIELS FUND LTD ($11,300,000). 217 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2026
- $13M
- Funders on record
- 453
- Grants received
- $54M
- Net assets
- $33M
What Challenged Athletes Inc does
Mission
It is the mission of the challenged athletes foundation to provide opportunities and support to people with physical disabilities so they can pursue active lifestyles through physical fitness and competitive athletics.the challenged athletes foundation believes that involvement in sports at any level increases self-esteem, encourages independence and enhances quality of life.
As stated on its FY2026 Form 990.
Programs
Access for athletes through caf's grant distribution cycle each year, we are able to provide adaptive sports equipment, prosthetics, training, coaching, mentoring and competition grants to physically disabled people aged 3 - 90 years old to enable them enhance their lives through sports. Research shows that participation in sports of any type leads to an increase in independence, self-esteem and sense of worth and accomplishment. Since 1994, caf has provided direct financial assistance to more than 60,000 athletes around the world.
$5,051,604 spentof which $3,356,135 as grants45% of program spendingSan diego triathlon challenge (sdtc) & tour de cove a celebration of life and sport that encompasses not only the community of san diego, but all constituents of the caf family. This four day event engaged over 200 challenged athletes and 1000 fundraisers at our community challenge weekend. Highlights included: (1) kids fun roll & run, san diego triathlon challenge, 5k and tour de cove stationary cycling events (2) celebration of abilities program showcasing all the amazing events and participants (3) virtual group rides, runs & walks, (4) grant presentations (5) online social media engagement.
$1,943,227 spentof which $28,741 as grants$414,451 earned by the program17% of program spendingCaf-idaho offers clinics, programs, grants, and community events to individuals with physical disabilities, while also supporting families, encouraging volunteers, and appreciating our supporters. These opportunities not only provide access to sports but also foster a sense of community, allowing individuals to meet others. A variety of sports clinic opportunities are hosted throughout the year in the idaho region to give individuals with a permanent physical disability the opportunity to learn a new sport or improve their skills.
$1,772,870 spentof which $355,220 as grants16% of program spendingCatch a rising star (crs): a fitness and mentoring program that helps physically challenged people who have suffered a traumatic injury or been born with a congenital defect to take the first step towards a full, active lifestyle. It is a program designed to give newly injured or new-to-sports people the confidence and support they need to become active again. Caf hosts a series of multi-sport clinics and workshops across the country to introduce athletes of all ages and abilities to sports like running, swimming, cycling, rock climbing, wheelchair basketball, archery, strength conditioning and nutrition. The fun, interactive, non-threatening environment allows aspiring challenged athletes a chance to set and reach sports goals and interact with role model athletes that have similar physical challenges.operation rebound (or) - provides unparalleled sports opportunities and support to our troops and veterans of any branch of service and first responders who have suffered permanent physical injuries in the line of duty. Specifically, operation rebound serves injured military and first responders through military medical center physical training program that provides a structured…
$2,451,095 spentof which $1,848,377 as grants22% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $11,218,796.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2020 to 2021, from $17M to $24M (+40%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 2% · 2018 2% · 2020 1% · 2021 7% · 2022 10% · 2023 3% · 2024 2% · 2025 4% · 2026 3%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
113% of CHALLENGED ATHLETES INC’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (21% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 10 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Kristine Entwistle
Chief executive director
As listed on its FY2026 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 91 funders to 149 funders, grant income rose $3.4M → $6.4M.
46 of 453 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 43% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of CHALLENGED ATHLETES INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 453 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
CHALLENGED ATHLETES INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 21% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left
50% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund CHALLENGED ATHLETES INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 29% · 2018 47% · 2019 24% · 2020 27% · 2021 31% · 2022 22% · 2023 25% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
35% of CHALLENGED ATHLETES INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 48% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
CHALLENGED ATHLETES INC draws 76% of its grant income from funders outside California, across 34 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $24M arriving through sponsors registered in 22 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
CHALLENGED ATHLETES INC holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 13 human services nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 13 human services nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2026
Government funding CHALLENGED ATHLETES INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $2.2M on record.
- Department of Veterans Affairs$2.2M
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like CHALLENGED ATHLETES INC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
81% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
84%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Caf Property Inc · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for CHALLENGED ATHLETES INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds CHALLENGED ATHLETES INC?
- CHALLENGED ATHLETES INC (California) receives grants from 453 organizations whose IRS filings report $54,154,582 to it, the largest being GALASHIELS FUND LTD ($11,300,000). 217 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does CHALLENGED ATHLETES INC have?
- IRS filings report 453 organizations giving $54,154,582 in grants to CHALLENGED ATHLETES INC, 217 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of CHALLENGED ATHLETES INC?
- GALASHIELS FUND LTD is the largest funder on record, with $11,300,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like CHALLENGED ATHLETES INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2026 (financials across 2017–2026), and the filings of 453 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing