City Forward Collective Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391590212
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Milwaukee, WI, USA
Phone
4149885359
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,213,458
Expenses
$2,657,455
Assets
$8,108,478
Liabilities
$144,489

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • COLLESTON MORGAN JR (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • COLLESTON MORGAN JR (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $217,348 total reported compensation
  • SPENCER SCHIEN (SENIOR DIRECTOR-STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS): $130,713 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Cfc's mission is to secure the future of milwaukee and its institutions, economy, and quality of life by ending educational inequity and ensuring every child has the opportunity to attend a high-quality school.

What it reported doing in 2024

Stakeholder engagement and mobilization (formerly family and community organizing and community - informed policy) - facilitate sustained family and community organizing to build a movement of milwaukee parents and other residents who understand and advocate for quality schools across milwaukee. Advocate for local and state policies and systems that eliminate educational inequities and ensure high-quality schools thrive; mobilize "grassroot" communities and create coalitions with "grasstop" leaders to achieve positive change.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 79% for direct work, and 21% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and assets have declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 55.6%; rating input score 56
  • Program expense ratio: 84.2%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $26.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 36.9%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.05; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.1%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -6.1% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 55.6% of revenue deployed · 84.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $217K · 16 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $673K reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 10 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 56/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.