Creative Girls Rock

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
842460498
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2021, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Nashville, TN, USA
Phone
6156798939
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts Service Organizations and Activities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$466,420
Expenses
$449,325
Assets
$80,578
Liabilities
$380

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOYA DINWIDDIE (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHARMIN BATES (EXECUTIVE DI): $122,159 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To educate and empower young girls and women to utilize their creative talents to enhance their lives and the world around them.

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2021, we launched the cgr mural program, led by cgr lead mural artist elisheba mrozik, as part of our creative arts initiative. This program teaches young girls and women essential design principles and mural techniques, fostering artistic skills and cultural awareness through collaboration on community-centered projects. Participants of all ages are empowered to transform their surroundings and uplift their communities through creative expression. Since its inception, the program has expanded significantly, with 160 participants contributing to high-visibility murals across greater nashville. These include installations at wego elizabeth duff transit center, mckissack middle school, john early middle school, slim and huskys nashville, napier elementary school, jones paideia elementary school, purpose prep academy, the healing trust foundation; and, 5 mobile murals that were displayed at Tennessee state university, napier, nashville public library: bordeaux, downtown and madison branches. Creative seniors rock is a new vibrant intergenerational initiative in partnership with fiftyforward bordeaux senior center. Recognizing that creativity has no age limit, this program provides older adults with meaningful, engaging opportunities to stay connected, express themselves, and maintain a sense of purpose through the arts. Activities include therapeutic art sessions, creative writing, cultural workshops, and seasonal arts and crafts projects designed to promote cognitive wellness, social engagement, and emotional support. Through this program, we also bridge generational gaps by pairing seniors with youth from our other programs for shared projects and conversations, fostering mutual respect, learning, and community connection.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 60% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 62
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 63
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 63.3%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 65.6%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.89 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 44; 44th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.7%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.18; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27.2%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 29.5% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 33.7% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 25.8% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 63.3% of revenue deployed · 65.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $295K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $122K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • 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.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 44/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.