Kansas Common Sense Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
923745193
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2023
Location
Topeka, KS, USA
Phone
7852496923
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy Organizations

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,011,908
Expenses
$858,022
Assets
$711,648
Liabilities
$29,920

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ASHLEY JONES-WISNER (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MIKE GAUGHAN (TREASURER): $95,123 total reported compensation
  • LAUREN E FITZGERALD (MANAGING DIR): $92,454 total reported compensation
  • ASHLEY ALL (SECRETARY): $21,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Our team develops research-based messages to empower kansans, advocates, nonprofit groups, and community leaders in their fight to promotes commonsense Kansas values.

What it reported doing in 2025

Developing research-based messages to empower kansans, advocates, nonprofit groups, and community leaders in their fight to promotes commonsense Kansas values.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 51
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.7%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 99.9%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1,011 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 15.2%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.83; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.4%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 139.8% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 39.3% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 26.5% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.7% of revenue deployed · 99.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $857K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $95K · 4 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $122K reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.