The Middle Ground Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
301001380
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2018–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025
Location
Milwaukee, WI, USA
Phone
2622222878
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Reported finances

Revenue
$69,276
Expenses
$16,561
Assets
$52,715

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

Leadership & pay

1 person listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Cheri Fuqua (President & CEO)

People named in this filing

  • Cheri Fuqua (President & CEO)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The Middle Grounds mission is to Engage Youth, their families & the community to Break poverty mindset, reduce violence, juvenile injustice & unemployment.

What it reported doing in 2025

The organization worked with community partners to expand access to urban agriculture education, entrepreneurship training, financial literacy resources, and healthy living initiatives. These efforts helped strengthen community engagement while laying the foundation for sustainable programs that promote self-sufficiency and long-term community revitalization.

Operating model

Revenue model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent revenue detail to tell how this nonprofit funds its work.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 54
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Sustainability: 74
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 25.6%; rating input score 26
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 76.1%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.18; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 47.3% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 28.5% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 37.1% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 25.6% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $18K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 1 people listed
  • Consistency: 5 of 6 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 26/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part III program expenses within total did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.