The Women's Advocacy Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
830933033
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Memphis, TN, USA
Phone
9018969055
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Christianity
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$404,841
Expenses
$405,762
Assets
$90,876
Liabilities
$20,277

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

People named in this filing

  • TERRY MORRIS (TREASURER)
  • BILL BROWN (BOARD MEMBER)
  • JARA BEST (BOARD MEMBER)

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

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of the women's advocacy center is to empower and support survivors and victims of domestic abuse in east shelby county, Tennessee. We do this using a 24-month, vertical abuse intervention model to educate women on how to gain economic independence and form healthy relationships, while stabilizing their families and strengthening their faith.

What it reported doing in 2025

Through our "food on the table" meal program, we feed up to 20 families bi-weekly. Meals are sourced from a local food kitchen and distributed to the families we serve on a bi-weekly basis for 10 months of the year. For two months of the year, june and july, we provide families with four meals each month. This is to supplement meals for the families we serve when children are out of school.we provide food for victims of domestic abuse who are in emergency shelter. Victims may remain in the emergency shelter for up to ten days. Once a week, the victim will receive a gift card to cover food for the number of people sheltering with her.we provide emergency groceries for individual families facing food shortages due to the loss of work or other family emergency.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 64% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.1%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 71.9%; rating input score 72
  • 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: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.2%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.22; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 31.8% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 26.9% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -3.6% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.1% of revenue deployed · 71.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $292K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 15/100.