Croatian Fraternal Union of America

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
250426430
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Phone
4128430380
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Ethnic, Immigrant Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$51,969,051
Expenses
$46,256,548
Assets
$514,224,865
Liabilities
$440,102,840

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Edward W Pazo (National President)
  • Franjo Bertovic (Executive Vice-President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Edward W Pazo (National President): $353,259 total reported compensation
  • Bernadette Luketich-Sikaras (National Secretary/Treasurer): $254,412 total reported compensation
  • Franjo Bertovic (Executive Vice-President): $18,900 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Financial Services to Persons of Slavic Descent

What it reported doing in 2025

Mutual Membership Benefit Programs, General/Other

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Member-benefit provider. The nonprofit used 85% of its reported program spending for member benefits.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 73
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.9%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 93.4%; rating input score 93; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 11%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.12; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.86; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.4%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.3% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83.9% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 156 of 167 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $46.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $353K · 11 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.