Salem Community Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
341001130
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Salem, OH, USA
Phone
3303324021
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,057,574
Expenses
$2,916,359
Assets
$48,417,373
Liabilities
$527

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOHN E TONTI (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • STEVEN J BAILEY (DIRECTOR)
  • THOMAS BAKER (DIRECTOR)
  • CAROLYN CALDWELL (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 salem community foundation, a public non-profit charitable trust, has as its mission to improve the quality of life in salem, Ohio, and the immediate area. The mission of the salem community foundation is to assess and meet changing community needs and interests through financial awards, and to assist donors to build and preserve enduring assets for charitable purposes. Grants are provided through endowment funds established by generous donors and support a broad range of needs in the areas of arts and humanities, health and human services, public and community services, and education.

What it reported doing in 2025

In carrying out the exempt purposes, the betterment of the community was achieved through the disbursement of grants to a variety of organizations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 62% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 96% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 92
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.6%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 95.8%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 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: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: 58.7%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 16.6; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.6% of revenue deployed · 95.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 18 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 10 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.