SF New Deal

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
850498939
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
4154801185
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,162,219
Expenses
$9,232,472
Assets
$7,670,092
Liabilities
$231,457

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Lenore Estrada (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Simon Bertrang (Executive Dir.): $202,281 total reported compensation
  • Jenais Zarlin (Chief Impact Off.): $186,551 total reported compensation
  • Jacob Bindman (Chief Program Off.): $181,109 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

SF New Deal (the Organization) is a California nonprofit organization operating in the city and county of San Francisco. The mission of the organization is to strengthen neighborhoods by making it easier for under-resourced small business owners to succeed.

What it reported doing in 2024

SF New Deal (the Organization) is a California non-profit corporation tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Organization was founded in March 2020 and is based in and operates throughout San Francisco, strengthening neighborhoods by making it easier for under-resourced small business owners to succeed. SF New Deal creates responsive programs providing funding and hands-on support to meet both the urgent and long-term needs of San Franciscos small businesses, always shaped by the culture and character of each unique neighborhood. Programs and services are free to access and accessible in person, over the phone, or by email in many languages. They advance two impact priorities: Supporting Small Business Success and Increasing Neighborhood Vibrancy.SF New Deal advances two impact priorities supporting small business success and increasing neighborhood vibrancy by focusing on the following activities: Downtown Revitalization: Creating a holistic and sustainable model for Downtown revitalization making it a vibrant and thriving community once again.Cityside Critical Response: Staying proactive and ready to respond when urgent needs arise for small businesses in any neighborhood. And because we work closely with diverse communities, our support is culturally informed, always mindful, and respectful of each communitys needs.Innovation and Advocacy: Piloting innovative solutions that respond to the unique needs of different neighborhoods and advocating for smart, effective policy reforms.The success and impact of SF New Deals work relies on trusted relationships with small businesses, the city, major corporations, and communities who share a vision for a vibrant San Francisco with diverse and thriving small businesses.Over the life of SF New Deal, it has disbursed over $50.3 million to 1,686 local businesses citywide in all eleven districts of San Francisco.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 77% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 67% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 59
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.2%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 87.8%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $27.79 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 2nd 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: 39.6%; rating input score 40; 10th 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.1%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.83; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.2%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 44.1% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 17.2% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.2% of revenue deployed · 87.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $8.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $202K · 10 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $172K reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 29 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 18 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 15 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 40/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.