Higher Works Collaborative

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
830930283
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2022
Forms available
Form 990 2022, Form 990-EZ 2019
Location
St Cloud, MN, USA
Phone
3207741588
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$372,381
Expenses
$387,888
Assets
$363,877
Liabilities
$368,936

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • NATOYIA ALBERTS (EXEC ADMINIS): $37,671 total reported compensation
  • BUDDY KING (OPERATIONS D): $8,305 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Community development organization with a focus on bipoc (black indigenous people of color).

What it reported doing in 2022

Housing: support of community needs in housing; through activities, services, support and aid in the attainment or maintaining of housing for our clients. Continued support for "rashad's house", a male transitional housing program offering options for a new direction in life.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 63
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68.6%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 65.8%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.56 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 36; 36th 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: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -4.2%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.94; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.01; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.9%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 27% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 47.9% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 71.2% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 68.6% of revenue deployed · 65.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $255K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $38K · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2020 to 2022
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 36/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 33/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.