Fields of Hope

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
743253195
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2009
Location
Charlotte, NC, USA
Phone
8776471230
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Sexual Abuse, Prevention

Reported finances

Revenue
$732,422
Expenses
$1,049,551
Assets
$272,057
Liabilities
$73,649

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Melissa Hall (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Melissa Hall (Executive Director): $94,481 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

FOH addresses a critical service gap for young survivors in the Charlotte metro area. FOH provides nationally accredited residential services for young victims of sex trafficking and was the first organization to do so in the United States when we opened our first safe house in 2009. Annually, we serve 50+ young adults through FOH residential and community-based programs.

What it reported doing in 2024

Youth for Hope (Y4H) was founded in 2014 as the prevention and awareness arm of Fields of Hope (FOH) an eighteen-year-old 501c3 based in Charlotte, NC, which works to prevent children and youth from falling victim to sex trafficking, offer assistance to those still trapped, and restore those that have survived by providing hope, empowerment and a brighter future. Annually, over 300,000 children, average age 12, are sold into the sex slave trade in the U.S. N.C. is among the top ten states for this crime, and Charlotte is the #1 city in the Carolinas for human trafficking. Y4H focuses on empowering our nation's youth to protect themselves, educate their friends, and prevent crime before it happens. Youth for Hope provides prevention and awareness through a unique peer-to-peer-led curriculum delivered throughout the Carolinas through clubs within high schools, colleges, church youth groups, and community groups. Y4H-trained volunteers, both students and young adults, design and execute community prevention and awareness events to culminate or launch Y4H clubs. Y4H has impacted over 15,000 youth across the region with its radically different human trafficking prevention model. Y4H's focus is educating and engaging the generation who are primary targets of traffickers our youth. Y4H student leaders have been featured on national and local panels, achieved recognition by a US Senator, and our youth leaders participate in NCHTC and Shared Hope International conferences at the state and national level each year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 68% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 13
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 79.9%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.67 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -43.3%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.26; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.27; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 79.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $839K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $94K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.