FUSE Corps

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
275469219
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2012
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
8556879905
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Citizen Participation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$11,104,989
Expenses
$11,449,217
Assets
$19,231,234
Liabilities
$742,678

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • James Weinberg (CEO)
  • Della Williams (Vice President)
  • Ceantel Rubin (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • James Weinberg (CEO): $345,305 total reported compensation
  • Nancy Gage President (COO): $303,108 total reported compensation
  • Della Williams (Vice President): $196,939 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

FUSE is a national nonprofit dedicated to increasing the capacity of local governments to work more effectively for communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

FUSE embeds private sector executives in city and county agencies to lead projects that tackle complex challenges, improve public services, and accelerate systems change. FUSE Executive Fellowship projects span issue areas such as affordable housing, economic mobility, healthcare access, climate resilience, public safety, infrastructure, and government technology modernization. FUSE has worked in over 350 government agencies across 30 states, serving a combined population equivalent to 1 in 10 Americans.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 60% 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: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.1%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 83.2%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.78 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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; 66th 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: -3.1%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.68; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.2%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.5% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.1% of revenue deployed · 83.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $9.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $345K · 22 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $196K reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 21/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 55/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.