Pierce County Center for Dispute Resolution

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911508442
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Tacoma, WA, USA
Phone
2535723657
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Crime, Legal Related N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,703,810
Expenses
$1,851,679
Assets
$1,003,415
Liabilities
$545,683

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Michael Transue (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Maralise Hood Quan (Executive Dir.): $134,956 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to resolve differences and strengthen relationships in the community with inclusive and equitable dialog.

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025, the Center for Dialog & Resolution made a deliberate and strategic decision to refine its development and outreach processes to ensure long-term sustainability. After identifying signs of donor fatigue associated with our annual dinner and auction, CDR paused the event in 2025 to focus on strengthening internal outreach efforts and donor stewardship capacity. This transitional year provided an opportunity to evaluate fundraising effectiveness, including the implementation of a targeted mailing campaign and the refinement of our Active Donor database. These efforts confirmed that our supporters are most responsive to accessible, meaningful, and in-person engagement opportunities. As part of its commitment to long-term sustainability, CDR also welcomed a Finance Manager in 2025. This new role strengthened the organization's financial management capacity, improved reporting and internal processes, and provided additional support for strategic planning. Investing in this position reflects the Center's commitment to building a strong operational foundation that will support continued growth and service to the community. The Center also successfully reintroduced its End-of-Year Appeal, an important source of recurring support from annual donors, and began planning a diverse and robust fundraising calendar for 2026. By the end of 2025, CDR had launched development efforts for a Spring Breakfast Fundraiser designed to provide an accessible entry point for our broader mediator and donor community, while also planning the ZAZZ Cocktail Fundraiser for the fall. Together, these events will help create a more resilient and inclusive philanthropic model and reflect our commitment to advancing the long-term value of conflict resolution throughout Pierce County.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 63% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Expenses are high relative to revenue and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.9%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 67.1%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $20.87 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -8.7%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.54; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.54; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.3%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.4% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.9% of revenue deployed · 67.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $135K · 9 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $114K reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 57/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 45/100.