Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
610485432
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Louisville, KY, USA
Phone
5022666264
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Men's Service Clubs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,282,802
Expenses
$6,203,185
Assets
$23,508,357
Liabilities
$558,182

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SHERRY CROSE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • SHERRY CROSE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $191,244 total reported compensation
  • GERARD KAUFFMANN (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE): $80,954 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 honorable order of Kentucky colonels, inc. Grants money to 501(c)(3) entities that demonstrate a need that otherwise cannot be met and that will enhance or extend their charitable or educational activities.

What it reported doing in 2024

The honorable order of Kentucky colonels, inc (hokc) grants money to 501(c)(3) entities that demonstrate fiscal responsibility and the mission to strengthen the lives of kentuckians or to highlight and enhance the culture of the commonwealth. The organization focuses on Kentucky charities and conducts a "good works program" that focuses its large grant-making activities on charitable organizations operating in Kentucky. See schedule o for additional information. It receives hundreds of grant applications annually and through a careful winnowing and vetting process, seeks to ensure that its contributions are allocated in a dedicated and reasonable way. The organization also has an ongoing emergency grant process for Kentucky nonprofits and also raises and distributes funds to provide disaster relief. In 2024, hokc granted $4,533,108 to 366 organizations who served more than three million individuals in the state of Kentucky. Since hokc began as a 501(c)(3)organization, close to $68 million dollars has been awarded.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 81% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 97% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 75.5%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.79 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: -17.4%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.79; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.4%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.9% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 75.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $191K · 18 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $303K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 34 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 360 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 366 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule D expense reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule D revenue reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.