Building Charters Fund Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
822116378
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2125717260
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Reported finances

Revenue
$9,649,843
Expenses
$8,224,520
Assets
$228,212,427
Liabilities
$215,661,330

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BUDDY PHILPOT (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • BUDDY PHILPOT (PRESIDENT)
  • BRAHM CRAMER (TREASURER)
  • SCOTT PEARSON (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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Bcf was established for the benefit of, to perform the functions of, and to carry out the purposes of civic builders, inc., a New York not-for-profit corporation, national association of charter school authorizers, a Colorado not-for-profit corporation, and such other qualified public charities that exist to support charter school facilities as bcf's members and board of directors may designate from time to time.

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2024, the facilities investment fund committed approximately $31.6 million dollars to new charter school projects which will serve 1,567 charter school students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 83% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.7%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 97.9%; rating input score 98
  • 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: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 14.8%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 27.75; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.95; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 31.3% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 34.9% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 32.7% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.7% of revenue deployed · 97.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $8.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $2M reported
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 7 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.