Porter County Community Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
352000788
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Valparaiso, IN, USA
Phone
2194650294
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$12,718,293
Expenses
$8,302,035
Assets
$123,970,912
Liabilities
$28,825,435

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

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • WILLIAM A HIGBIE (PRESIDENT/CEO)
  • JERI PAT GABBERT (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • WILLIAM A HIGBIE (PRESIDENT/CEO): $186,601 total reported compensation
  • JERI PAT GABBERT (VICE PRESIDENT): $177,378 total reported compensation
  • MARY JANE EISENHAUER (EMPLOYEE): $166,112 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To strengthen our community through lasting generosity and leadership

What it reported doing in 2025

The organization disburses grants to charitable organizations for projects that promote the community and help meet the changing needs of the community. The organization also disburses grants to porter county residents in accordance with the requests of donors who establish scholarship funds.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 85% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 76
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.9%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 84.8%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 48th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 34.7%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 14.93; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.1%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.9% of revenue deployed · 84.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $187K · 28 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 95 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 89 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 35/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.