The Nashville Catalyst Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
992815884
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Nashville, TN, USA
Phone
6153214939
Rating
45
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$19,955,932
Expenses
$497,722
Assets
$19,545,063
Liabilities
$54,333

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • HAL CATO (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • HAL CATO (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $271,697 total reported compensation
  • JAMES MUNCH (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $208,306 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 nashville catalyst fund (the "fund") is a Tennessee non-profit public benefit corporation that offers flexible financing for the development and preservation of affordable housing within nashville and davidson county. The fund enables mission-motivated developers to be more competitive in the race to preserve existing regulated and unregulated affordable housing and accelerates the creation of high-impact affordable housing.the fund is a supporting organization of the community foundation of middle Tennessee ("cfmt"), a Tennessee non-profit corporation.

What it reported doing in 2024

By blending capital from a range of sources, the fund provides early-stage capital to mission-driven developers to support the preservation and creation of affordable housing supply in nashville.the catalyst fund is a new tool that responds to the specific conditions faced by affordable housing developers trying to increase affordable housing production in nashville. Loan products are tailored to the nashville market and are designed to support the preservation and construction of affordable housing.mission-driven developers that are being outcompeted in the race to preserve older affordable housing buildings and acquire land for affordable housing development will be able to execute a quick acquisition at terms that makes the project financially feasible via the fund's acquisition loan product.the fund provides loan products that are not available elsewhere in the market that can preserve the affordability of housing in an increasingly competitive market. First loss capital from metro enables the catalyst fund to take early-stage risks that other lenders cannot, accelerating the timeline for preservation and creation of affordable housing. In addition, the fund's bridge loan product allows mission-motivated developers to jumpstart their projects without waiting to receive public subsidy or grant proceeds.loan products are specifically designed to include and support non-profit and emerging bipoc developers within the affordable housing sector. The fund is a new source for predevelopment loans that target high-impact projects led by emerging developers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 17
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 72
  • Sustainability: 95
  • Growth: NotEnoughData

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 2.4%; rating input score 2
  • Program expense ratio: 49.3%; rating input score 49
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 97.5%; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 39.27; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: Limited
  • Asset growth: Limited

Details

  • Where the money goes: 2.4% of revenue deployed · 49.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $246K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $272K · 5 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $354K reported
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 2/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 49/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 9 not reported.