Foot Forward Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
474606145
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2016, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Louisville, KY, USA
Phone
3145506665
Rating
59
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Centers to Support the Independence of Specific Populations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$256,484
Expenses
$265,130
Assets
$58,890
Liabilities
$6,128

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Laura Chauvin (Chair)
  • Jack Chauvin (Board Member)
  • Addison Corcoran (Secretary)

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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

We work with Tanzanian women Artisans as they create beautiful, handmade artisan products. We provide a fair wage for their exceptional work, along with unique opportunities which enrich their lives and those of their families (this includes clean water accessible to them and their families, access to tools and equipment for micro-business, school fees and uniforms, and English lessons). Ultimately, after expenses, proceeds from artisan products are invested in US charities which invest in clean water, girls education, and women and children's health. We have no paid employees and though costs for starting up the organization have been higher (with potential for revenue from artisan products uncertain) we endeavor to ensure that we are achieving important social good for the Artisans and the charitable beneficiaries.

What it reported doing in 2025

ARTISAN PROGRAM: Our commitment to female empowerment and economic mobility has a deep and lasting impact on the 30 women Artisans currently engaged in our program in East Africa (Tanzania), allowing them to structurally exit poverty while preserving their rich cultural heritage. Through this program, we partner directly with local women to produce handcrafted, high-quality African Maasai sandals, jewelry, dog collars, and other accessories. These items utilize traditional, intricate beadwork coupled with sustainable, up-cycled materials-such as thread salvaged from grain bags and plastic templates given a second life. By providing a reliable marketplace and ensuring the payment of fair wages, we empower these women with financial stability and independence, allowing them to better provide for their households and families. The creative and collaborative process builds robust self-esteem, cultivating leadership skills that the Artisans carry forward into all aspects of their community lives. Furthermore, our investment extends beyond commerce into active educational and enrichment support for the Artisans. This access to education significantly increases the likelihood that these women will educate their own children, creating a compounding multi-generational cycle of literacy and opportunity. Finally, 100% of the net proceeds generated from these artisan product sales directly fund our organizational infrastructure and our signature humanitarian initiatives, creating an unbroken circle of women helping women elevate themselves with dignity and hope.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 81% 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

MIXED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 53
  • Accountability: 12
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 92.5%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 0%; rating input score 0; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -3.4%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.22; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 25.7% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.4% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.7% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 92.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 4 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $245K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 41 of 42 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 22/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.