Berry Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
431830400
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Kansas City, MO, USA
Phone
9137357745
Rating
49
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Adult, Continuing Education

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,470,563
Expenses
$637,837
Assets
$97,023,537
Liabilities
$16,113

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Michael Hays (Director, President, CEO and Treasurer)

Highest reported compensation

  • Michael Hays (Director, President, CEO and Treasurer): $183,333 total reported compensation
  • James Anderson (VP, COO and Secretary): $183,333 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The organization operates exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary and educational purposes, by engaging directly in support of these purposes, and/or by making distributions to other nonprofit organizations in accordance with Internal Revenue Service rules and regulations.

What it reported doing in 2024

Grants to charitable organizations

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most filed governance safeguards are in place. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 10
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 81
  • Sustainability: 87
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 3.5%; rating input score 3
  • Program expense ratio: 24.3%; rating input score 24
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 96.8%; rating input score 97; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 85.7%; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 152.11; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 57.5%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -39% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -19.8% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 3.5% of revenue deployed · 24.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $155K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $183K · 4 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 40 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 3/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 24/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.