Charities Review Council

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
410652474
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
St Paul, MN, USA
Phone
6512247030
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Philanthropy, Charity, Voluntarism Promotion

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$321,949
Expenses
$407,249
Assets
$61,801
Liabilities
$63,277

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KRIS KEWITSCH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • KRIS KEWITSCH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $120,754 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Charities review council (the council) is transforming philanthropy by building donor and nonprofit relationships for strong, vibrant, and just communities. We are building a culture of philanthropy where donors, funders, and nonprofits all work together in engaged partnership to strengthen their communities. By working together, donors, funders, and nonprofits are better able to identify and meet the community's needs and find innovative solutions to community concerns.

What it reported doing in 2024

Nonprofit servicesat charities review council, we partner with nonprofit organizations to help them build and communicate their internal strength. Research shows that americans' distrust in institutions is growing. Nonprofits rely upon the council's tools and resources to demonstrate their strength, transparency, and accountability as they strive to meet the ever-changing and often urgent needs of our communities. We served more than 600 nonprofits in 2024 - including five organizations new to the council's services - using the accountability wizard, the accountability standards, the diversity, equity & inclusion toolkit, and the meets standards seal. 51% of organizations self-identified a need for changes through our assessment tool before receiving the council's review results, and 80% of organizations were able to make positive changes to strengthen their organization's governance practices and policies. We engage nonprofits that bolster a healthy, thriving community through the arts, social services, education, and more. They address the most pressing issues in our communities including food insecurity, homelessness, and racial equity.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 10
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.4%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 61.2%; rating input score 61
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.53 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • 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: -26.5%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.15; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.02; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 29.7%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5.5% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.1% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -9% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.4% of revenue deployed · 61.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $249K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $121K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.