Choices for Freedom Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 811996343
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2022, Form 990-N 2019
- Location
- Stockton, CA, USA
- Phone
- 5108153488
- Rating
- 86
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Rehabilitation Services for Offenders
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $300,791
- Expenses
- $467,505
- Assets
- $203,587
- Liabilities
- $4,133
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
5 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Nathaniel Williams Jr (Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- Nathaniel Williams Jr (Executive Director): $126,000 total reported compensation
- Carolyn Williams (Administrative Director): $24,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Choices for Freedom is dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families who have been impacted by mass incarceration. We develop and deliver effective programs, incorporating life skills and healing. We bring culturally relevant programs to men and women who are serving time, with reentry programs to assist them with reintegration back into the community, and deliver mentoring and prevention programs for youth.
What it reported doing in 2025
Choices delivered a cognitive behavioral program "You've Got Choices" with financial incentives to 29 young adults referred by the City of Stockton Office of Violence Prevention for gang involvement, with support from Making WorldBuilders and the National Prevention Science Coalition.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 95% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 92
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 79
- Sustainability: 14
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 82.9%; rating input score 83
- Fundraising efficiency: $64.03 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 78; 78th 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: 80%; rating input score 80; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -55.4%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.44; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 32.1%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 14.3% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 20.5% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 82.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 7 filed program accomplishments · $388K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $126K · 5 people listed
- Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 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.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 34/100.