Project Sycamore A Nfp Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
113811842
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-EZ 2020, Form 990-N 2008
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Humanities Organizations
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$273,382
Expenses
$290,436
Assets
$24,608
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TIMOTHY DEMPSEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • STEPHEN ONEIL (PRESIDENT)
  • CHARLES DONOVAN JR (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • TIMOTHY DEMPSEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $84,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of Sycamore Trust is to provide a source of information a vehicle for the exchange of views and a collective voice to Notre Dame alumni and others in the Notre Dame family who are concerned about preserving the Catholic identity of the University in order to support the mission statements requirement for a continuing presence of a predominant number of Catholic intellectuals on faculty.

What it reported doing in 2023

The organization conducts opportunities for collective prayer spiritual support and community engagement to strengthen efforts that uphold the Catholic identity of the University of Notre Dame. Throughout the year the organization organizes prayer initiatives devotional activities and mission-focused gatherings for alumni families and friends. These events foster solidarity deepen commitment to the Universitys Catholic mission and build a supportive community around the organizations work.

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.
  • 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 93
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.3%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 77.4%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.44 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 13th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -6.2%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.08; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 28.9%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 31.9% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4.7% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 82.3% of revenue deployed · 77.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $225K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $84K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 36 of 37 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2022 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 47/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.