Our Hbcus Matter Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
853537613
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Atlanta, GA, USA
Phone
4048039899
Rating
49
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Student Services, Organizations of Students

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$200,095
Expenses
$173,975
Assets
$67,725
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

1 person listed

People named in this filing

  • Brandon Graham (Founder & Director)

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 at Our HBCU's Matter Foundation, Inc is to lead the way for educational programming, career development, and economic mobility for HBCU students, faculty, staff and alumni.

What it reported doing in 2025

My HBCU Matters Summit The My HBCU Matters Summit is the foundations flagship convening designed to advance college access, persistence, and economic mobility for HBCU students and families. The Summit brings together students, educators, HBCU leaders, corporate partners, policymakers, and community stakeholders for multi-day programming focused on academic success, workforce readiness, civic engagement, and leadership development. Programming includes keynote sessions, career and graduate school preparation, financial literacy workshops, mental health resources, and direct engagement with employers and scholarship providers. Outcomes: Served hundreds of high school and college-aged scholars with targeted academic and career readiness programming Increased scholar access to HBCU-aligned mentors, alumni, and employer partners Strengthened corporate and institutional partnerships supporting scholarships, internships, and workforce pipelines Expanded awareness of HBCU pathways and resources for first-generation and Pell-eligible students Generated measurable student outcomes including college enrollment support, internship connections, and leadership development opportunities

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 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: 38
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 12
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 41.2%; rating input score 41
  • Program expense ratio: 47.4%; rating input score 47
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 15th 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; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 13.1%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.39; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -40.9% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 125.6% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 41.2% of revenue deployed · 47.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 7 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $82K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 1 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 21 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 41/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 47/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.