Southern Partners Fund Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 582409301
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Atlanta, GA, USA
- Phone
- 4045419091
- Rating
- 71
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Centers to Support the Independence of Specific Populations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,526,632
- Expenses
- $4,989,215
- Assets
- $24,386,045
- Liabilities
- $239,682
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- FERNANDO CUEVAS JR (Executive Dir.): $248,876 total reported compensation
- DAPHNE SAETHANG (CFO): $153,287 total reported compensation
- DIANNA FREELON-FOSTER (Chairman): $9,250 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Southern partners fund is a foundation created to serve southern communities and organizations seeking social, economic, and environmental justice by providing them with financial resources, technical assistance and training, and access to systems of information and empowerment.
What it reported doing in 2024
Spf launched the social justice institute (sji) as a leadership development andcapacity building program to enhance the sustainability of grantee groups and othergrassroots organizations committed to social justice in the south. Sjis frameworkincorporates grantmaking, organizational development, youth leadership development, culture and the arts. Sji promotes knowledge building, best practices inorganizational management, and collective understanding of current and historichuman rights issues in the south. Sji has several components:- peer-to-peer coaching and networking- executive coaching- one-on-one organizational assessments- consulting for select community-based organizations- regional workshops across the southeast- two-day experiential trainings twice per yeara significant branch of sji is the young leaders for social change (ylsc) fellowshipthat sustains the racial and economic justice movement that requires the continuedsupport and cultivation of our future leaders. Ylsc was designed to help individualsaged 18-to-35 to become more grounded and effective leaders. This program is anopportunity for these individuals to enhance their leadership skills, learn newskills, and apply said skills in their respective communities.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 80% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 76% of its reported program spending out as grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 88
- Transparency & Controls: 71
- Accountability: 48
- Sustainability: 40
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 86.2%; rating input score 86
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.85 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th 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: 94.5%; rating input score 94; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 11.1%; rating input score 11; 6th 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: -41.5%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.89; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.3%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 15.1% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -38.7% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 86.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 1 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $4.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $249K · 11 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $118K reported
- Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 7 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: 88 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 73 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 11/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 30/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.