Sierra Meadows Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
825378397
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2022
Official website data refreshed
Jun 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2022, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Fresno, CA, United States
Phone
+1 559-900-7110
Rating
63
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Rehabilitative Medical Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$332,414
Expenses
$291,279
Assets
$202,881
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Matthew Tatum (President)

People named in this filing

  • Megan Tatum (Secretary)
  • Matthew Tatum (President)
  • Jordan Farley (Treasurer)

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 2022. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Sierra Meadows Foundation is dedicated to restoring hope and alleviating suffering for uninsured and under-resourced families in California's Central Valley. By addressing mental health and communication challenges, it empowers individuals and creates brighter futures, while also developing a skilled behavioral health workforce to meet the region's growing needs. Through Birdie Lou Counseling Center and Encourage Speech Services for Children, it offers completely free mental health and speech therapy services—without the need for insurance—ensuring care is accessible to everyone regardless of financial or systemic barriers.

What it reported doing in 2022

Program 1 - Birdie Lou Counseling Center Program activities include employing a team of three Clinical Supervisors (LMFT and LCSW) who supervise a team of 14 therapists in training, providing an average of 10 client sessions per week for a total of approximately 140 free therapy sessions per week.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 54
  • Accountability: 57
  • Sustainability: 57
  • Growth: NotEnoughData

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.6%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 57.1%; rating input score 57; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 12.4%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.7; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: Limited
  • Asset growth: Limited

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 87.6% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 7 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $313K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 22 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 57/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 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.