Making Change

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
481003869
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2019
Forms available
Form 990 2019
Location
Thornton, CO, USA
Phone
7193378946
Rating
42
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,870
Expenses
$545
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2019. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

2 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID MCCONNELL (PRESIDENT/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID MCCONNELL (PRESIDENT/CEO): $180,393 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2019. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Making change, formally known as ficah, was incorporated on july 23, 1985, for the purpose of soliciting contributions from corporate and private sources within the retail industry to fund self-help community development projects throughout the united states.

What it reported doing in 2019

Making change is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that promotes hunger relief, human dignity, wellness, and self-sufficient communities. We do this by enabling our retail partners to solicit donations from their shoppers to provide support of non-profit agencies (fully vetted by making change as a legitimate 501(c)(3) prior to disbursement of funding) whose missions are to promote self-sufficiency within the communities our retail partners serve. We facilitate the collection of these donations via the development of in-store point-of-purchase materials (located at the check stand) that allows shoppers (the donors) to contribute funds as they complete their in-store purchases.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 100% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
No current program activity. The filing reports no program spending for the current year.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 0
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Program expense ratio: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 70.9%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 33,099.6%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -11.8% per year; rating input score 0; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.7% per year; rating input score 0; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -20.6% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 0% of revenue deployed · 0% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 1 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $180K · 2 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 12 of 12 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2010 to 2019
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 2/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 0/100.