Movement Strategy Center Action Fund
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 141996986
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2017–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2023, Form 990-N 2008
- Location
- Oakland, CA, USA
- Phone
- 5104440640
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Professional Societies, Associations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $530,966
- Expenses
- $510,443
- Assets
- $343,135
- Liabilities
- $51,853
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- TOMAS GARDUNO (PRESIDENT)
- CARLA DARTIS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- CARLA DARTIS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $250,932 total reported compensation
- TAJ JAMES (TREASURER): $201,624 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Movement strategy center action fund advances advocacy and civic engagement efforts.
What it reported doing in 2024
The organization advances social welfare by engaging in advocacy, civic engagement, and public education efforts focused on improving the well-being of children, families, and communities. During the fiscal year, the organization conducted policy advocacy campaigns, community education initiatives, and strategic partnerships to address systemic inequities in health, education, economic opportunity, and community development.(continued on schedule o)specific activities included:- supporting grassroots advocacy campaigns and coalition-building efforts- developing and disseminating educational materials and policy analysis- providing training and capacity-building to community partners- facilitating civic engagement activities such as public forums and policy discussionsthe organization measured its impact through participation levels, number of partners engaged, and progress toward policy and community-driven outcomes.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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
SUPPORTED - 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 92
- Transparency & Controls: 71
- Accountability: 67
- Sustainability: 39
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 90%; rating input score 90
- Program expense ratio: 93.7%; rating input score 94
- Fundraising efficiency: $606.71 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
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: 98.9%; rating input score 99; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 14th 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: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 3.9%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.67; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 13.3%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 18.9% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -4.6% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 90% of revenue deployed · 93.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $478K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $251K · 4 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2017 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.