Morehead-cain Scholarship Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN: 562462593
IRS 990 coverage: 2010–2024
Forms available: Form 990 2024
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Phone: 9199621201
Rating: 83
Verdict: STRONG
Rating confidence: Moderate
Sector: Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards
Affiliation: Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue: $6,053,774
Expenses: $7,792,924
Assets: $61,131,778
Liabilities: $31,825

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

CHRISTOPHER J BRADFORD (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

CHRISTOPHER J BRADFORD (PRESIDENT): $511,289 total reported compensation
STEVEN R MICHALAK (TREASURER): $251,724 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Morehead-cain scholarship fund provides support for the morehead-cain program at the university of North Carolina at chapel hill.

What it reported doing in 2024

The morehead-cain scholarship fund facilitates a competitive grant opportunity among secondary school educators in North Carolina who were identified and celebrated by current morehead-cain scholars and semifinalists for their positive impact on them and other future leaders.begun in 2024, the impact educator discovery fund is intended to inspire self-discovery, exploration, skill development, and professional growth. Its aim is to celebrate extraordinary teachers and school leaders to enable their continued investment in the young people of our state. Ideally grant-enabled experiences are both restorative and productive, and recipients return to teaching refreshed and prepared to share a new perspective or insight with their students and school community. In 2025, 15 grants averaging under $2,400 each were awarded to educators serving students in North Carolina following an application and careful selection process. Each recipient committed to return to the education profession and was required to provide a report on their experience, what learning it enabled, and how it might impact their work as an educator going forward.

Operating model

Revenue model: Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model: Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 97% 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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

Financial Efficiency: 89
Transparency & Controls: 71
Accountability: 91
Sustainability: 49
Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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: 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: -28.7%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.84; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
Officer compensation ratio: 0.4%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

Program expense growth: 16.9% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Revenue growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
Asset growth: 10.7% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Details

Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $7.8M in reported program spending
Leadership: top reported pay $511K · 17 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
Contacts: How to reach this organization
Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
Related organizations: 2 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: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.