Charism

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
450435273
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2019
Forms available
Form 990 2019
Location
Fargo, ND, USA
Phone
7013560260
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Housing Development, Construction, Management

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$423,117
Expenses
$558,517
Assets
$426,903
Liabilities
$7,396

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2019. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TERRY STROH (PRESIDENT)
  • KEVIN ZIMMER (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JOHN FISHER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO JULY)
  • JAMES NAGBE (INTERM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JAMES NAGBE (INTERM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $47,905 total reported compensation
  • JOHN FISHER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO JULY): $39,749 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2019. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Charism is a neighborhood support center offering a safe and welcoming anchor point to underserved youth and their families through relationship-based, skill building programs and services that improve the quality of life. Charism pays attention to the needs of underserved youth.

What it reported doing in 2019

215 low income/at risk children took part in charism's after school and summer stem programming which includes partnerships with fargo parks, fargo public schools, the creative plains foundation, and red river dance all of which provide great opportunities for the children to learn and grow in new environments. Charism partnered with 5 schools - ed clapp, lewis & clark, jefferson elementary schools, carl ben eielson middle school, and fargo south high school.charism's grocery assistance program has over 700 families registered to receive supplemental groceries. An average of 317 families are served each month which equates to an average of 678 individuals (323 adults, 63 elderly, 292 children). An average of 25,100 pounds of food is redistributed per month to those in need in the community.charism's check and connect mentorship program worked with 68 youth who have attendance (unexcused, tardies) and behavioral disruptions in the classroom. This past school year, 80% of those students improved their attendance, and/or decreased behavioral disruptions. The expansion of the high school mentoring program served 16 additional students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 63% 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

SUPPORTED - 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: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.1%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 70.5%; rating input score 71
  • 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 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -32%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.76; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.7%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.3% per year; rating input score 0; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -17.2% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.1% of revenue deployed · 70.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $394K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $48K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2013 to 2019
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.