Fernwood Group Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
822364976
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2125836001
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$78,356,505
Expenses
$28,191,270
Assets
$669,008,236
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PATRICIA E HARRIS (PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

People named in this filing

  • RICHARD K DESCHERER (DIRECTOR THRU 3/23/24)
  • PATRICIA E HARRIS (PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
  • ALLISON JAFFIN (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. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

See explanation for part i, line 1 on schedule o.

What it reported doing in 2024

$22,500,000 was granted to reduce tobacco use.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 61% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 88% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 98
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 51.8%; rating input score 52
  • Program expense ratio: 90.9%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 64%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 23.73; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.9% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -32.9% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 51.8% of revenue deployed · 90.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $25.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $5.5M reported
  • Consistency: 16 of 16 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 52/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.