Ferguson Charitable Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 883352237
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2022–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- 3128932347
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,125,808
- Expenses
- $1,382,121
- Assets
- $3,790,957
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- WILLIAM FERGUSON (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- CARRIE NOWICKI (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $176,850 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Ferguson charitable foundation (the "foundation") is organized and shall be operated for exclusively charitable, educational, scientific, and literary purposes, each within the meaning of code section 501(c)(3). The foundation's initial activities shall include, but shall not be limited to, (a) supporting the creation and operation of an educational program and curriculum in certain colleges and university ("participating colleges") to encourage diverse students to pursue meaningful careers in the real estate industry; (b) providing scholarships to diverse students at participating colleges enrolled in a real estate center for leadership excellence to support the retention of students participating in the program; and equipping diverse students to enter the real estate industry through instruction, mentorship, and on-the-job training.
What it reported doing in 2025
Supports the creation and operation of higher level institutions to encourage those purusing careers in the real estate industry as well as providing scholarships to students.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 62% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
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: 74
- Transparency & Controls: 71
- Accountability: 79
- Sustainability: 74
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 61.2%; rating input score 61
- Program expense ratio: 90.6%; rating input score 91
- Fundraising efficiency: $75.77 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th 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: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
- 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: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 35%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.74; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 12.8%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 52.6% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 36.9% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 61.6% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 61.2% of revenue deployed · 90.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $177K · 4 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $470K reported
- Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.