StriveCLT
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 874644219
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2023
- Location
- Charlotte, NC, USA
- Phone
- 7049964425
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Public, Society Benefit N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $154,413
- Expenses
- $266,048
- Assets
- $195,096
- Liabilities
- $113
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Gary Henderson (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- Gwendolyn G High (Executive Dir.): $76,501 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
StriveCLT helps families who aspire to increase their social capital. We provide reading, digital, financial and civic literacy education as well as family mentoring and networking opportunities to help them reach their full potential
What it reported doing in 2025
Financial Literacy, Civic Engagement, and Organizational Capacity Building In 2025, StriveCLT provided financial literacy education and civic engagement programming for residents of Southside Homes and surrounding communities. Through volunteer-led workshops, community partnerships, and a pilot educational series, the organization delivered practical financial education focused on budgeting, savings, credit awareness, debt management, financial goal setting, and long-term financial stability. In partnership with Inlivian, StriveCLT implemented a virtual financial literacy pilot for Southside Homes residents. The organization purchased 25 THRIVE in 2025 Financial Empowerment Planners for individual use to help residents plan monthly budgets and track income and expenses. A StriveCLT board member who is also a bank vice president led a four-week discussion series. StriveCLT continued evaluating in-person, virtual, and hybrid delivery models to improve accessibility and participation. Residents who participated in the financial literacy pilot reported satisfaction with the learning experience and discussions. StriveCLT identified opportunities to strengthen the model through targeted outreach, clearer inputs and activities, and stronger outcome measurement. The Executive Director worked with a United Way consultant to develop a logic model and evaluation tools to support future financial literacy training and to help measure outcomes related to financial stability, including timely rent payments. StriveCLT also supported civic participation through nonpartisan voter education and community outreach. Activities included distributing educational materials, sharing voter information resources, participating in community events, and collaborating with local civic leaders and organizations to increase awareness of voting access and civic participation. A major demonstration of civic engagement and community support occurred during StriveCLT's Martin Luther King Jr. Day volunteer event. Nearly 80 children and adults packed 100 care bags containing hygiene products, books, and handmade Martin Luther King Jr. bookmarks for senior residents at Southside Homes. In 2025, StriveCLT also received a Share Charlotte Goodie Award for Cool Collaboration with Barre Belle in recognition of the partnership that provided no-cost ballet lessons to children whose families could not otherwise afford them. In addition to direct service programming, StriveCLT continued strengthening its organizational infrastructure and long-term sustainability. The organization implemented recommendations from its multi-year strategic planning process to strengthen governance, improve program delivery, increase community impact, and support long-term organizational growth.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 81% 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: 87
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 74
- Sustainability: 18
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 74%; rating input score 74
- Fundraising efficiency: $22.02 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- 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: -72.3%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.73; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 28.8%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -16.1% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 15.7% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 17.2% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 74% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $197K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $77K · 12 people listed
- Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 58/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.