Cardinal Properties

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
201872207
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Muncie, IN, USA
Phone
7652858312
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Private Grantmaking Foundations

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,347,507
Expenses
$578,831
Assets
$5,181,199
Liabilities
$8,102,217

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Kenneth R Briner (Board Vice President)
  • Randall E Pond (Board President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Geoffrey S Mearns (Board Member): $680,526 total reported compensation
  • Alan Finn (VP for Business Affairs & Treasurer (End 02/25)): $346,699 total reported compensation
  • Jean Kramer Crosby (Board Member): $340,338 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Cardinal properties, inc. Receives, holds, manages, and disposes of real estate, interests in real estate (including conservation easements), and tangible and intangible personal property for the benefit of ball state university foundation.

What it reported doing in 2024

Holding and managing real estate properties throughout the year used for student housing by ball state university, as well as holding and managing other properties and real estate activities of ball state university foundation.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 100% of the money available for current operations came from other operating 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 64
  • Accountability: 72
  • Sustainability: 72
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 98%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 60%; rating input score 60; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 57%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.95; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.56; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 36.3%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4.8% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.6% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 98% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $568K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $681K · 11 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 3 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.