Freedom Project Network

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
813494728
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2019, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Sunflower, MS, USA
Phone
6622076288
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Foundations

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,012,883
Expenses
$751,096
Assets
$1,345,534
Liabilities
$18,059

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LaToysha Brown (Executive Director)
  • Kate Gluckman (Board President)

Highest reported compensation

  • LaToysha Brown (Executive Director): $60,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Freedom Project Network (FPN) carries forward the spirit of the 1964 Freedom Schools by holding space for young people - Freedom Fellows - to share their personal and community struggles, to create healing for themselves and their communities, and to study, train, and act on solutions. We aim to build community and power alongside young Mississippians by providing holistic and liberatory educational experiences.

What it reported doing in 2024

FREEDOM SUMMER COLLEGIATE: Freedom Summer Collegiate recruits, trains, and funds doctoral candidates to design and facilitate transformative summer seminars at each Freedom Project site. In this program, high-school Freedom Fellows experience a powerful college simulation from the comfort of the Freedom Project and earn college credit from Millsaps College. In 2024, five Freedom Summer Collegiate instructors led college-bridge courses at the Meridian FP, the Sunflower County FP, and the Rosedale FP. Each FP had additional site coordinators to support course logistics. This year, FSC students explored science fiction; theories of education; food, land, and the environment; theories of race & power; and AI large-language models.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% 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

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.1%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 82%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.36 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st 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: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 25.8%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.79; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 36.7% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 33.8% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 34.4% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 61.1% of revenue deployed · 82% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $616K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $60K · 18 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 51/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 44/100.