Higher Ground Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
834106787
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Elkins Park, PA, USA
Phone
7172088790
Rating
62
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

Reported finances

Revenue
$24,163
Expenses
$41,447
Assets
$674,449
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

People named in this filing

  • DAVID C BERNSTEIN (DIRECTOR)
  • MITCHELL ROSENZWEIG (DIRECTOR)
  • ADAM DAVIS (DIRECTOR)

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

Higher ground foundation, inc. Was founded in 2019 for the purpose of building and operating a museum. It is currently in the fund-raising stage of launching this museum.

What it reported doing in 2025

The museum program that higher ground foundation, inc. Intends to operate is not yet operational.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up. 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: 51
  • Transparency & Controls: 93
  • Accountability: 51
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 54.7%; rating input score 55
  • Program expense ratio: 60.3%; rating input score 60
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • 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: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -71.5%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 16.27; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.9% per year; rating input score 0; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: Limited
  • Asset growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 54.7% of revenue deployed · 60.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $25K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 14 of 14 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 55/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 21/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.