Looking Out Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 455300890
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Nashville, TN, USA
- Phone
- 6153299902
- Rating
- 74
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Public Foundations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,662,503
- Expenses
- $1,694,253
- Assets
- $328,525
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Brandi Carlile (President)
- Gloria Goeres (Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- Catherine Carlile (Chairperson of the Board): $180,000 total reported compensation
- Gloria Goeres (Executive Director): $33,333 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To amplify the impact of music by empowering those without a voice. From neighborhood to nation, we fund organizations that often go unnoticed as they support social justice and humanitarian causes across the US and globally.
What it reported doing in 2024
Grants awarded to specific charitable organizations and individuals chosen by the officers of the foundation in accordance with the primary purpose of Looking Out Foundation's exempt status. To support through music humanitarian outreach efforts in local communities and beyond.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 95% of its reported program spending out as grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 71
- Transparency & Controls: 72
- Accountability: 86
- Sustainability: 33
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 81%; rating input score 81
- Program expense ratio: 79.5%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Fail
- Conducts field audits: Fail
- May suspend future funding: Fail
- Requires financial reports: Pass
- Conducts site visits: Fail
- Requires grant agreements: Fail
- May require repayment: Fail
- Grant itemization coverage: 84.4%; rating input score 84; 36th 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: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- 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: -1.9%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.19; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.7%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 22.9% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 21.7% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 17.1% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 81% of revenue deployed · 79.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $180K · 11 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 25 of 27 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 18 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 22 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 30/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 48/100.