The Cares Project Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
812944362
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2018
Location
Winstonsalem, NC, USA
Phone
3368401555
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Financial Counseling

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$363,037
Expenses
$335,657
Assets
$678,502
Liabilities
$165,233

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RICK HALL (PRESIDENT)
  • ANDREW LAROWE (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN (CEO): $88,171 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

See schedule o

What it reported doing in 2025

The organization made community-funded vehicle loans to 14 low income, credit-challenged working adults, which assisted them and their families in becoming financially secure through car ownership.

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

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: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.4%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 84.8%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.5%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.02; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 26.3%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 23.2% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.4% of revenue deployed · 84.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $285K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $88K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 15/100.