Self-Help Ventures Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
581562750
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Durham, NC, USA
Phone
(800) 966-7353
Rating
65
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Urban, Community Economic Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$189,217,541
Expenses
$68,586,121
Assets
$3,447,735,170
Liabilities
$2,692,140,282

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Amanda Frazier Wong (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Russel Hagen (Manager Transition Exec): $172,231 total reported compensation
  • Sarah Brennan (Structured Finance Sector Leader): $166,743 total reported compensation
  • Mary Abad (Sr Commercial Lending Underwriter): $164,722 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To create and protect ownership and economic opportunity for all, especially people of color, women, rural residents, and low-wealth families and communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Economic development through the renovation of historic buildings, construction of new buildings in distressed communities. Providing quality, affordable retail, community facilities and commercial rental space to revitalize and stabilize distressed communities.Economic development through provision of rental property in distressed and blighted areas, Total beneficiaries = approximately 6,767

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The program-spending lines do not add up, so the filing cannot show reliably whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some related-organization disclosures are missing.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 39
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 87
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 25.5%; rating input score 25
  • Program expense ratio: 75%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Scored; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 63.8%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 50.27; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.78; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.3%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.8% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 4 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 25.5% of revenue deployed · 75% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 11 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $51.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $172K · 18 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3M reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 82 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 25/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.