Brighter Future Alliance

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
455076442
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2023, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Bismarck, ND, USA
Phone
7012200797
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy

Reported finances

Revenue
$961,300
Expenses
$1,030,578
Assets
$43,402
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

People named in this filing

  • PAT FINKEN (Director Chair)
  • CARROLL DEWING (Director)
  • BARRY WILFAHRT (Director)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Advance the cause of freedom and free enterprise as a means to further common good and general welfare of the citizens of the United States.

What it reported doing in 2024

Strategic education program for the public on economic, energy, and drug control legislation and laws. Developed program services for GOTV. Created program services to provide information to the public on the impact key administrative and regulatory proposals make to the common good and general welfare of the citizens. Conducted research and evaluation of various legislative and govern- ment policy proposals and developed related modeling. Advocated for the defeat of a state ballot measure to legalize marijuana. Made independent expenditures to advocate for the defeat of federal

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 97.3%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -7.2%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.04; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 22.9% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 19.6% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.5% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 97.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $644K reported
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 2/100.