Foundations for a Better Oregon

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
421606106
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
5035424325
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,801,812
Expenses
$1,524,021
Assets
$3,384,230
Liabilities
$157,984

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • WHITNEY GRUBBS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • WHITNEY GRUBBS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $283,120 total reported compensation
  • JANET SOTO RODRIGUEZ (DEPUTY DIRECTOR): $188,733 total reported compensation
  • ANNA MARIE HIGGINS (DIRECTOR OF POLICY & SYSTEMS STRATEGY): $164,265 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Foundations for a better Oregon advances Oregon's commitment to supporting every child to learn, grow, and thrive. We build bridges between community, policymakers, and philanthropy, setting a foundation for shared vision and collective action.

What it reported doing in 2025

Advocacy - working primarily at the state level, we collaborate with impacted communities throughout the state to analyze, develop, and advocate for policy changes and public investments that create a better Oregon for every child. We believe public systems work best when impacted communities engage in the entire cycle of change, from problem identification to policy design to accountability. Community partner support - engaging multiple perspectives and examining issues from different vantage points are critical to driving collective action. Through Oregon partners for education justice, we convene oregonians to form a statewide network of community-based organizations, culturally specific service providers, and education advocates who are championing a racially just and community-centered education system, and also work to support a broad range of partners across Oregon. Narrative - we move beyond traditional messaging campaigns to disrupt damaging narratives and tell a more nuanced Oregon story. By addressing longstanding systemic failures and uplifting the deep-rooted strengths of our children and communities, we can narrate the path to a more just future. Policy development & research - we know that reaching solutions requires common understanding of what is, what could be, and why it matters. We work to understand and analyze current trends, best practices, and promising solutions to inform better policy, process & practice. System support - we believe that our strongest work happens when we bridge across constituencies. We collaborate with system actors and philanthropic partners in their work to center and partner with impacted communities. Future work & partnerships - foundations for a better Oregon is always seeking to learn, grow, and think about what's next for the future of Oregon kids. While leaving our work open for possibilities, some of the work that we explore does not neatly fit into another category.

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 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

SUPPORTED - 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 67
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 45.6%; rating input score 46
  • Program expense ratio: 83.9%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $441.31 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 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: 45.6%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.22; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 52.1%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -15.2% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -9.9% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4.3% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 45.6% of revenue deployed · 83.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $283K · 17 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2016 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 46/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.