Business Forward Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
264336291
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2028611270
Rating confidence
Limited
Sector
Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,341,546
Expenses
$3,439,861
Assets
$4,083,636
Liabilities
$1,900

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ELIZABETH FAIRCHILD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JAMES DOYLE (OFFICER-DIRECTOR): $971,000 total reported compensation
  • ELIZABETH FAIRCHILD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $303,876 total reported compensation
  • CARRIE GAY (EMPLOYEE): $132,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Business forward builds support for policies that promote america's economic competitiveness. Together with many of the world's largest companies, we recruit, brief and assist fortune 1000 executives, small business owners, investors and entrepreneurs looking for a meaningful way to participate in policy debates.

What it reported doing in 2024

The organization conducts press briefings and outreach to gainpositive and effective dissemination of the organization'sactivities, to encourage participation, and to promote theorganization's content.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 65
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.9%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.19; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 36.3%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 26.6% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments
  • Leadership: top reported pay $971K · 7 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $663K reported
  • Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 24/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 43/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.