Iowa Credit Union Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
421438113
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
West Des Moines, IA, USA
Phone
5152213002
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$802,560
Expenses
$731,230
Assets
$2,489,616
Liabilities
$18,725

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JELENA BABIC BARNES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JELENA BABIC BARNES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $111,525 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Founded in 1995 as the philanthropic arm of the Iowa credit union league and guided by the credit union philosophy of "people helping people", the Iowa credit union foundation (the foundation) works to champion financial well-being for all. The foundation's vision is to be a hub for credit union philanthropy.

What it reported doing in 2025

Investing in community research to understand the financial realities of iowans, funding grants to credit unions to support new technology, strategic planning, other services, and supporting funding of other community organizations investing in credit union mission aligned initiatives.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 76% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 76% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 57
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64.2%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 60.4%; rating input score 60
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 71.6%; rating input score 72; 37th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.9%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.4; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.3%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5.5% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -13.7% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.8% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64.2% of revenue deployed · 60.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $442K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $112K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 11 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 54/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.