Chattanooga Free Store
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 872749722
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2025–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2024
- Location
- Chattanooga, TN, USA
- Phone
- 6786444792
- Rating
- 67
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Human Service Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $87,870
- Expenses
- $58,056
- Assets
- $35,494
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
2 people listed
People named in this filing
- Liz Hutcherson (Secretary)
- Nena Beckham (Treasurer)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The Chattanooga Free Store is a mutual aid organization. We operate a storefront where anyone can access things like clothing, food, sexual health items, harm reduction supplies, and more, all for free, and without having to show any form of ID. Our organization is non religious and volunteer run. We're funded through donations from community members throughout the area. Donations go to purchasing diapers and hygiene items for community members to access for free. We also accept clothing and household item donations which are also given away for free.
What it reported doing in 2025
Hygiene Product Program: We gave away 23,389 hygiene items to the 13,677 people who visited us. This includes shampoo, soap, household cleaner, laundry detergent, toothpaste, deodorant. This program is designed to help our visitors maintain their health and home so they can meet their needs and continue to work with dignity.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 48
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Sustainability: 56
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 40.5%; rating input score 40
- Program expense ratio: 60.9%; rating input score 61
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 33.9%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.61; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 40.5% of revenue deployed · 60.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 3 filed program accomplishments · $35K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 2 people listed
- Consistency: 7 of 7 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 40/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 36/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.