Housing Forward

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
752461679
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Dallas, TX, USA
Phone
9726385600
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Neighborhood Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$19,531,670
Expenses
$19,484,323
Assets
$8,283,400
Liabilities
$1,962,488

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • SARAH KAHN (Chief Prog Off): $184,231 total reported compensation
  • MACKESHIA BROWN (CFO-THRU 11/24): $126,577 total reported compensation
  • RAE CLAY (CHIEF PROGRAMS OFF): $126,140 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Housing forward leads in the development and implementation of an effective homeless response system to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring in dallas and collin counties.

What it reported doing in 2024

Housing forward leads the planning and grant submission for the federally funded continuum of care program consolidated application which brings in approximately $51 million in hud funds for housing and services for persons experiencing homelessness. Housing forward's role as collaborative applicant provides leadership to the coc planning bodies, provides guidance to the governance of the coc, federal and state compliance, evaluates and monitors overall performance of the continuum of care, coordinates the homeless re-housing system, and leads the strategic planning process to implement strategies for ending homelessness. Housing forward also serves as the financial intermediary and rental assistance administrator for several grants to enhance administrative efficiency and support to service providers. Housing forward also serves as the administrator of the homeless management information system (hmis) and the coordinated access system, which are hud-mandated systems for public and private homeless housing and services programs, to track client level information and performance outcomes.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 66% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 78% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 92
  • Transparency & Controls: 78
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.5%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 92.7%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $124.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 20th 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: 85.6%; rating input score 86; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 0.2%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.43; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.2%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 30.2% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 92.5% of revenue deployed · 92.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $18.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $184K · 20 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.8M reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 21 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 18 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 54/100.