The Community Foundation of Frederick County Maryland Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521488711
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Frederick, MD, USA
Phone
3016957660
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$23,558,636
Expenses
$12,812,566
Assets
$211,221,771
Liabilities
$13,452,102

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

Leadership & pay

31 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PAUL ROSE (FIRST VICE PRESIDENT)
  • RAEANN BUTLER (SECOND VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ELIZABETH Y DAY (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • ELIZABETH Y DAY (PRESIDENT & CEO): $260,038 total reported compensation
  • GAIL M FITZGERALD (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $218,543 total reported compensation
  • KIMBERLY LIDDICK - BYRNES (DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COM): $124,990 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The community foundation is dedicated to connecting people who care with causes that matter to enrich the quality of life in frederick county now and for future generations.

What it reported doing in 2024

Scholarships-the community foundation is one of the largest providers of scholarships in frederick county, and administers the trumpower scholarships for carroll county residents. Scholarships are awarded to individuals pursuing education past high school, including two and four-year colleges and universities, trade and technical schools, masters and doctoral programs, and certifications. Students may apply for scholarships during any year of their academic careers, including non-traditional students who did not begin their post-secondary studies immediately following high school. The community foundation's volunteer scholarship committee reviews all applications and selects recipients that best match the criteria set forth by the donor when the scholarship fund was established. Scholarships are available for almost any area of study, some do not consider financial need as criteria, and some are renewable for one or more years. Additionally, some scholarships are offered for students ages 6 to 17 for music, instrumental, dance and vocal instruction and some are offered for youth ages 11 to 18 for athletic programs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 63% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 92% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 73
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 87
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.7%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 82.6%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $16.14 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: 45.6%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 16.49; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.7%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73.7% of revenue deployed · 82.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $10.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $260K · 31 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $138K reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 38 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 138 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 138 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.
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 51/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.