Transform Finance Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
842283500
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
6177337773
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Economic Development

Reported finances

Revenue
$550,034
Expenses
$716,585
Assets
$525,099
Liabilities
$52,124

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CURTIS LYON (DIRECTOR/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • CATHY ALBISA (BOARD PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • CURTIS LYON (DIRECTOR/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $145,518 total reported compensation
  • ANDREA ARMENI (BOARD MEMBER): $48,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To align capital with social justice values, and help activists and community leaders access capital as a tool for transformative social change. We empower community leaders to shape how capital flows affect them - both in terms of holding capital accountable and having a say in its deployment - by demystifying finance and building capacity for activists and community leaders. We support members of the community who have historically been excluded from capital decisions to reclaim their seat at the table. We support investors committed to deepening their impact investment practice to adopt transformative approaches and demonstrate the viability of the approach via education, concrete tools and strategies, and overall guidance. We foster a new discourse and collaboration between these two sets of previously disconnected stakeholders - investors and social justice practitioners - by creating connections, breaking down barriers of knowledge and values, and facilitating dialogue.

What it reported doing in 2024

Led a major research initiative to understand the landscape of enterprises with ownership and governance by non-investor stakeholders. Interviewed dozens of investment practitioners to understand the barriers to fieldwide capital investment. Hosted a convening of investors, launched a major report, developed and delivered a follow-on communications plan that included additional articles, publications, webinars, conference presentations, and social media engagement.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 77% 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 - 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: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 61
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 99.9%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 76.7%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 60%; rating input score 60; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -30.3%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.73; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 30.7% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -34% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -39.5% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 99.9% of revenue deployed · 76.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $549K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $146K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 43/100.