Sparrows Nest Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
562274692
IRS 990 coverage
2025–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Greensboro, NC, USA
Phone
3365490146
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Boys and Girls Clubs

Reported finances

Revenue
$94,643
Expenses
$88,345
Assets
$187,892
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Mike Matzinger (Chairman)
  • Dr Alvin Powell (Vice Chairman)
  • Charles Witzke (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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of The Sparrow's Nest, Inc. is to involve youth in leadership initiatives aimed at deterring crime and drug activity. Through the development of educational, artistic, and character-building skills, the organization seeks to equip young individuals with the tools necessary for a successful transition to college or career paths.

What it reported doing in 2025

The Black Suit Initiative's Entrepreneurship Program equips middle and high school young men with hands-on business experience through product development, branding, marketing, budgeting, and teamwork. Participants work alongside local business owners and mentors to create real products and business concepts while building leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills. The program culminates in a community showcase where student teams present and sell their products to the public.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.3%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 6.7%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.13; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 35.3% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.3% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $88K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 59/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.