Freedom Communities

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
822329303
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2017
Location
Charlotte, NC, USA
Phone
7042189775
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community, Neighborhood Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,056,122
Expenses
$2,097,269
Assets
$8,797,859
Liabilities
$2,591,309

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • HANNAH BEAVERS (EXECUTIVE DI): $146,856 total reported compensation
  • SUZANNE HUNT (DIRECTOR): $33,667 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

We drive holistic family and community transformation through innovative programs and real estate investments in the freedom drive corridor.

What it reported doing in 2024

Housing & economic development: we are place-based, intentionally limiting our geographic service area to go deep and work holistically with families. With a tagline of "family-centered community transformation", we invest simultaneously in families and in infrastructure so that as families transform, their community does too. Beyond mmf, we continue to invest in the development of the freedom drive corridor to create an environment in which all families can thrive. We have leveraged cross-sector partnerships to create affordable rental and homeownership opportunities. In august 2024, we launched the freedom business collective, a small business hub providing affordable office space, networking events, and education/training to small business owners on charlotte's west side.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 75% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 52
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 76
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 32.7%; rating input score 33
  • Program expense ratio: 78.4%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $30.99 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 70; 70th 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 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 58.5%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.19; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.29; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.6%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 23.4% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 31.2% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 34.9% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 32.7% of revenue deployed · 78.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $147K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • 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 33/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 35/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.