Des Moines Black Liberation Movement Foundation Dba Dsm Blm Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
852513407
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2025–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2024
Location
Huxley, IA, USA
Phone
5153145242
Rating confidence
Limited
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy

Reported finances

Revenue
$0
Expenses
$796
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

People named in this filing

  • JAYLEN CAVIL (Director)
  • PADEN SHEUMAKER (Director)
  • CATHERINE BURRIS LYONS (Director)

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 Des Moines Black Liberation Movement (DSM BLM Foundation) was established to center Black voices, leadership, and ideas while advocating for radical, transformative change. The organization affirmed that every Black life matters and worked to uplift and fight for the dignity and well-being of Black individuals across the community. Its programs were designed and implemented to improve the lived experiences of Black residents in Des Moines and throughout Iowa. The organization also stood in solidarity with groups across the state working toward racial justice. DSM BLM Foundation dissolved on November 15, 2025, due to a lack of sustained financial support sufficient to support its operations and programming.

What it reported doing in 2025

PROGRAM SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS - The Des Moines Black Liberation Movement Foundation (DSM BLM Foundation) wound down program service activities in the months leading up to its dissolution on November 15, 2025. In prior years, the DSM BLM Foundation's program services included Culture and Education, Mutual Aid, and Communications. Communications activities included disseminating information related to the Foundation's mission and activities through its website and social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, reaching 38,000 followers (duplicated count) as of its dissolution. Culture & Education activities included the Black Children's Memorial and Garden, which hosted silent and candlelight vigils to honor Black children whose lives ended early and the annual Juneteenth celebration. Mutual Aid focused on providing support to families experiencing grief and loss. The DSM BLM Foundation served as the fiscal sponsor for Des Moines People's Pride, which hosted one-day events on June 15, 2024, and June 14, 2025, at Lauridsen Amphitheater in Water Works Park in Des Moines, Iowa, with attendance exceeding 500. Additionally, in 2023, the Grinnell College Black Student Mutual Aid Fund partnered with the DSM BLM Foundation, which served as a fiscal sponsor, facilitating the distribution of $15,700 in grants to 61 black students targeted by racism and bigotry and experiencing unsafe conditions. Funds were raised through a GoFundMe campaign originating in October 2022.

Operating model

Revenue model
No positive adjusted resources. The filing reports no positive adjusted operating resources.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 93% 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

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 40
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Sustainability: 7
  • Growth: NotEnoughData

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: 39.8%; rating input score 40

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: Limited
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 3; 3rd 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: 39.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $317 in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 9 of 9 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: Program expense ratio scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.