Kwame Charitable Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
884346912
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2022
Location
St Louis, MO, USA
Phone
3147545619
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Student Services, Organizations of Students

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$155,882
Expenses
$179,028
Assets
$80,637
Liabilities
$72,239

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KWAME THOMPSON (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • ANTHONY THOMPSON (CHAIR)
  • KWAME THOMPSON (PRESIDENT)
  • LYDIA HUSTON (SECRETARY / EXEC. DIR. (THRU 11/25))

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

See schedule okwame charitable foundation strives to change the trajectory of the lives of motivated young adults. College exposure and endowed scholarships are the primary avenues by which we remove barriers that can impede success. We look towards a future that is more hopeful for scholars who deserve of the opportunity to reach their full potential.

What it reported doing in 2025

By establishing endowments at institutes of higher learning, kwame charitable foundation provides an enduring fund for scholarship support for first generation, pell grant eligible students who are enrolled in the schools. The students complete the application process, and each school adheres to kcf's guidelines on selection parameters each semester. Annual hbcu college tour travels by chartered bus taking up to 50 high school students to visit 4-5 historically black colleges and universities through various regions of the u.s. The tour, which occurs continued on schedule oduring a week in march, is an affordable route for students to become exposed to schools outside of st. Louis, as well as some of the lesser known hbcu's that are often overlooked by high school guidance counselors. By shouldering some of the expenses for the tour, students and their families need only contribute a modest amount, compared to the great value the students receive. Occasional support is given to organizations with educational component that serve teens or young adults, specifically those applying to or enrolled in college or in a workforce development program.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 67% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 94
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 99%; rating input score 99
  • Program expense ratio: 86.2%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $193.94 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 87.9%; rating input score 88; 53rd 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: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -14.8%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.45; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.9; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -13.6% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -15.1% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 99% of revenue deployed · 86.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $154K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 7 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 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 23/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.