Bernie L Bates Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
541752985
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Alexandria, VA, USA
Phone
7038017091
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$193,734
Expenses
$191,255
Assets
$510,887
Liabilities
$41,647

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Marvin Chisolm (President)
  • Hector Sheppard Jr (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Marvin Chisolm (President)
  • Hector Sheppard Jr (Vice President)
  • W J Williams Jr (Secretary)

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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Bernie L Bates Foundation, Inc. shall award scholarships to college students and college-bound students. The Foundation shall provide support to the less fortunate by assisting to feed, clothe, house, and educate them. The Foundation will support food banks and other helping facilities in the community. The Foundation shall assist in community activities such as talent enrichment and college preparation programs. The Foundation shall seek out opportunities to support and mentor our youth in the community.

What it reported doing in 2025

Scholarship Recipients: Samson Boyd-North Carolina A&T State University-$5,000; Daniel Purvis-University of North Carolina(Chapel Hill)-$5,000; Evan Kinsel-Morehouse College & Georgia Tech-$2,500; Sean Cranford-Swarthmore College-$1,750; Christopher Ludd-Virginia Commonwealth University-$1,500; Winston Matthews-University of British Columbia-$1,500; Almirah Racine-Purdue University-$1,500; Zayin Taylor-Spelman College-$1,500; Grant McIntosh-Colby College-$1,500; IsabellaFloyd-Old Dominion University-$1,750; Noah Isirimah-International High School Essay Contest-$500

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 93
  • Transparency & Controls: 62
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.3%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 92.8%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $857.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 5.6%; rating input score 6; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.3%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.67; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 23.2% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 19.1% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 92.3% of revenue deployed · 92.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $178K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 18 people listed
  • Consistency: 44 of 45 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 6/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 39/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 24/100.