Fargo-moorhead Area Foundation Corporation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 456010377
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Fargo, ND, USA
- Phone
- 7012340756
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Community Foundations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $28,024,145
- Expenses
- $10,004,624
- Assets
- $150,829,199
- Liabilities
- $2,110,780
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
19 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ERIC WILKIE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- ERIC WILKIE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $232,776 total reported compensation
- PATRICIA MASTEL (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE): $147,764 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
We help donors maximize their philanthropy to create a vibrant community full of opportunities for everyone.
What it reported doing in 2025
The foundation is a community trust that administers 551 charitable funds. These funds are created by contributions from the general public. Grants were awarded in programs in the following areas: community building - 15.1%; basic human needs - 9.5%; art - 10.7%; education - 21.5%; youth - 7.8%; religion - 13.0%; health & wellness - 10.0%; animal welfare - 2.3%; other - 3.0%; disaster relief - 7.1%. These grants and scholarships were made possible from the following types of funds: donor advised - 53%, designated - 24.5%, field of interest - 6%, agency - 1.1%, scholarship - 10%, and unrestricted - 5.4%.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 79% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 81% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - 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 some filed totals do not add up.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 71
- Transparency & Controls: 86
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 89
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 55.3%; rating input score 55
- Program expense ratio: 91.9%; rating input score 92
- Fundraising efficiency: $104.65 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 85.8%; rating input score 86; 25th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 64.3%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 15.08; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3.8%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 12.1% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 10.2% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 55.3% of revenue deployed · 91.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $9.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $233K · 19 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 187 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 165 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.
- 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 55/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.