Mainestream Finance

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
010539222
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Bangor, ME, USA
Phone
2079733500
Rating
59
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Small Business Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$504,682
Expenses
$558,012
Assets
$7,709,124
Liabilities
$4,917,877

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KARA HAY (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • KARA HAY (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $305,093 total reported compensation
  • DENICE CONARY (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $233,840 total reported compensation
  • HEIDI LEBLANC (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $193,726 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 promote community development and perform all functions permitted as community development financial institution, primarily through financing activities, serving the low income targeted population of the state of Maine.

What it reported doing in 2024

Loan servicing: mainestream finance provides loans, education, and services to assist individuals to start small businesses and assist existing small businesses to grow. Assistance includes finance review, assistance with a business plan, foreclosure, debt management, budget and business cash flow counseling. Mainestream finance loans funds to day care providers that are used to establish/expand child care businesses in order to create job opportunities for low-income individuals. Mainestream finance also offers loans to those who can not qualify for other loan products at an affordable rate. First mortgage loans are available to purchase, rehabilitate or refinance residential owner-occupied properties. Through education programs, mainestream finance fosters successful homeownership, entrepreneurship, and wealth creation. Financial counseling occurs pre- and post-loan closing. If borrowers qualify for usda/rd loans and/or Maine housing's loans, mainestream finance encourages and assists them to apply for those products if appropriate. Classes are offered for individuals seeking to purchase a home to learn the process and calculations involved in loan processing, home owners insurance, escrows, home inspections, and all other aspects of a home purchase.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 96% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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

MIXED - Most voting board members are independent and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 44
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 51%; rating input score 51
  • Program expense ratio: 46.1%; rating input score 46
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -10.6%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 13.82; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.64; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.1%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -7.3% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 51% of revenue deployed · 46.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $257K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $305K · 8 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 18 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 51/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 46/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 16/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.