Make A Chess Move

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
822514307
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Denver, CO, USA
Phone
3038184609
Rating
56
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$588,616
Expenses
$593,411
Assets
$190,177
Liabilities
$47,967

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Phillip Douglas (Executive Director)

People named in this filing

  • Maria Mims (Secretary)
  • Alicia Mountain (Treasurer)
  • Simone R Williams (Board Chair)

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

The mission of Make a Chess Move MACM is to build a just society by developing tenaciious learners, compassionate leaders, and ethically driven critical thinkers.

What it reported doing in 2025

2025 Achievements include: 88% Overall Rating on Charitynavigator.org Expanded Youth reach and curriculum impact. Strong Community and credibility through Boston P8, most attended club/ after school program. Strengthened Local and Online Presence through Social Media platforms. Proclamation Award through the Mayors Office - District 8, District 9. he Make a Chess Move (MACM) program is desiged to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline by developing the abilities of yuth to reduce destructive decision maing and increase pro-social behaviour in their schools anc communitites.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 94% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 46
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 36
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 39.4%; rating input score 39
  • Program expense ratio: 39.3%; rating input score 39
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2,457.87 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.8%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.32; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.6% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.5% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 39.4% of revenue deployed · 39.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 4 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $233K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 39/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 22/100.