Steele Creek Fire Department Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
561964419
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Charlotte, NC, USA
Phone
7045649733
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fire Prevention

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,162,185
Expenses
$5,026,092
Assets
$11,026,403
Liabilities
$8,328,534

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BRIAN WEISS (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHRIS HARDIN (CHIEF): $89,000 total reported compensation
  • ROBERT FREDRICKSON (SECRETARY/TR): $60,000 total reported compensation
  • BRETT SMITH (VICE-PRESIDE): $24,646 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Provide fire and first responder medical services to all residences and businesses located in the steele creek North Carolina fire district - an area of over 26 square miles. Other related services are to provide backup fire and medical services when requested by other fire districts. Provide fire and medical related training to members of the dept.

What it reported doing in 2024

Due to growth in the area, steele creek fire department was able to hire seven additional full time employees this year so they can focus on providing improved responses to community needs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 97% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97.4%; rating input score 97
  • 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.6%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.19; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.76; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.5%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 22.4% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 19.7% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 23.4% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 97.4% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $89K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 43/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.