Leaven Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391572168
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Menasha, WI, USA
Phone
9207389635
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,011,661
Expenses
$1,986,560
Assets
$11,407,845
Liabilities
$68,090

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • NIKKI GERHARD (EXECUTIVE DI): $100,254 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Serving the needs of people in the tri-county area (calumet, outagamie, and winnebago counties) by: 1) providing emergency goods and services on a short-term basis to needy people who do not qualify for service by, or whose needs cannot be met entirely by existing agencies. 2)providing a central agency for referral and/pr distribution of goods and services that would help eliminate duplication of efforts while reducing fraudulent use of helping services through a comprehensive information file on agencies, referrals, services, and users. 3) providing a flow of information among helping agencies as to the ever- changing matters of services available and eligibility requirements. 4) analyzing use of services and policies of agencies to help advocate justice for the needy.

What it reported doing in 2025

Pay it forward program is a no-fee, no-cost loan program for people who wouldn't qualify for assistance through the traditional charity model. A contingency to the loan is no-cost budget counseling provided by fisc. The goal of the program is to help participants learn to meet their basic needs and build financial self-sufficiency. Loans payments will be recycled to fund new loans, ensuring greater utilization of the organization's resources and enabling it to extend its reach to more households. During 2025, the organization paid out 0 in loans and received 557 in repayments.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 85% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 68% 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 reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.9%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 76.4%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $28.79 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th 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; 63rd 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: 1.2%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.74; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.9% of revenue deployed · 76.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $100K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 31/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.