Sew Valley

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
822721314
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2018, Form 990-N 2017
Location
Cincinnati, OH, USA
Phone
5138732481
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts Service Organizations and Activities

Reported finances

Revenue
$603,674
Expenses
$605,507
Assets
$227,155
Liabilities
$1,165

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BRITTANY KOVACS (CO-FOUNDER, CEO)
  • JENNIFER SEISER (BOARD PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • SHAILAH MAYNARD (CO-FOUNDER, COO): $53,846 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 advance apparel designers and entrepreneurs in growing their brands in a sustainable and thoughtful way by offering physical workspace, educational workshops and contract services such as pattern making, sample making, and small batch production.

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2024, sew valley initiated the pre-planning phase of a capital campaign designed to address critical workforce and infrastructure needs in cincinnati's sewn manufacturing industry. The campaign, currently in development, aims to raise funds to expand sew valley's manufacturing capacity, enhance workforce training programs, and secure a larger, advanced facility to support the region's growing demand for ethical and sustainable apparel manufacturing. Throughout 2024, sew valley engaged stakeholders, conducted feasibility research, identified strategic partners and committee members, and began developing campaign materials. This foundational work will position sew valley to launch a full-scale capital fundraising effort that strengthens our long-term impact, empowers creative entrepreneurs, and creates equitable employment opportunities in the local economy.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% 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.

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: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 62
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 74.4%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.42 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.3%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.38; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.9%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.1% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 19.2% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 31.6% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 74.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 10 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $451K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $54K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.