Secure First Credit Union

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
630310907
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2014
Forms available
Form 990 2014
Location
Birmingham, AL, USA
Phone
2055202115
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Credit Unions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,026,221
Expenses
$2,202,477
Assets
$43,450,540
Liabilities
$37,497,915

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARYA WASHINGTON (PRESIDENT)
  • REGINA PICKENS (VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARYA WASHINGTON (PRESIDENT): $75,864 total reported compensation
  • REGINA PICKENS (VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS): $72,398 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Cooperative society incorporated for the twofold purpose of promoting thrift among its members and creating a source of credit for them at legitimate rates of interest.

What it reported doing in 2014

Code of Alabama, sec 5-17-1, states that a credit union is a cooperative society incorporated for the twofold purpose of promoting thrift among its members and creating a source of credit for them at legitimate rates of interest. Secure first credit union, an Alabama state chartered credit union, provides a variety of financial services to its members, who primarily reside, work, attend school or worship in jefferson, tuscaloosa, blount, shelby, and walker counties. The credit union's field of membership also includes selected employee groups and individuals that reside in these counties. As of december 31, 2014, the credit union provided services to approximately 10,700 members.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 100% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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

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 revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -8.7%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 19.73; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.86; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.7%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: -3.7% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.2% per year; rating input score 0; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $76K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2010 to 2014
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.