Pathfinders Milwaukee Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391185304
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Milwaukee, WI, USA
Phone
4149642565
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Children's, Youth Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,606,833
Expenses
$7,648,226
Assets
$6,960,995
Liabilities
$4,295,241

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TIMOTHY BAACK (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • TIMOTHY BAACK (PRESIDENT & CEO): $219,450 total reported compensation
  • MARTIN ALBA (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $198,223 total reported compensation
  • RENEE KIRNBERGER (CHIEF DEVELOPEMENT OFFICER): $169,873 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Pathfinders brings safety, hope and healing to youth in crisis through innovative and transformational services. Our vision is to provide a more meaningful voice for youth in crisis and ensure that all youth are safe, healthy, independent, successful and valued.

What it reported doing in 2025

The southeastern education center in now closed.youth anti-violence - pathfinders serves young people who are at high risk of sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking. We work with youth who frequently find themselves at the intersection of sexual violence and homelessness. In addition to providing direct services for youth experiencing sexual violence, our anti-sexual violence team places great emphasis on raising community awareness and ensuring that youth with lived experience have a platform to influence systems change. In this department are: hand-in-hand - this program is now closed.new paths - working specifically with youth and young adults aged 11-25 who have experienced sexual exploitation and trafficking, new paths offer accompaniment and advocacy services for youth as they navigate medical, legal and social service systems.drop-in center - our welcoming and inclusive drop-in center meets youth's basic needs for food, clothing, laundry, showers, hygiene resources and safe social spaces. We also provide case management, employment and education support, sexual health and wellness education and mental health services.street outreach - within the dic program is street outreach. They operate milwaukee's only youth-focused street outreach team. With our mobile resource center, we meet youth where they are and share resources, basic needs items, sexual and mental wellness education, and referrals to aid their safe exit from the streets. By bringing our resources to the streets, we remove barriers to accessing services and build trusting relationships with young people in their neighborhoods.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 65% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 84% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70.5%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 70.1%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -0.5%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.91; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.62; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.5%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.6% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 70.5% of revenue deployed · 70.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $5.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $219K · 25 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 24/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.