United Way of the Mid South

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
561010742
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Memphis, TN, USA
Phone
9014334300
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Federated Giving Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$17,174,330
Expenses
$17,632,434
Assets
$18,058,555
Liabilities
$5,318,956

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

Leadership & pay

37 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Tomeka Hart Wigginton (President & CEO)
  • Dr Kenneth S Robinson (President & CEO (former))

Highest reported compensation

  • Dr Kenneth S Robinson (President & CEO (former)): $240,998 total reported compensation
  • Gia Stokes (CFO (former)): $206,794 total reported compensation
  • Jarvis Harris (VP of IT, Ops & Data): $190,654 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 mission of United Way is to improve the quality of life for Mid- Southerners by mobilizing and aligning community resources to address priority issues.

What it reported doing in 2024

United Way of the Mid-South coordinates the work of multiple agencies to implement the Free Tax Prep / Volunteer Income Tax Assistance in Crittenden County, AR; DeSoto, Tunica, and Tate Counties in MS; and Fayette, Lauderdale, Tipton, and Shelby Counties in TN. This program provides free tax preparation to maximize the total amount of eligible tax credits for low and moderate-income tax filers. The Free Tax Prep / VITA program was supported by funding from the Internal Revenue Service, Wells Fargo, Entergy, Cummins, Regions, and United Way of the Mid-South investments. Funds were used to support the operation of VITA sites, mobile tax preparation, marketing, and volunteer recognition. In the fiscal year ending 6/30/2025, over 9,400 returns were filed serving more than 13,000 individuals. Clients saved over $2.5 million in estimated refund costs and received over $11 million in refunds.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 82% 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.
  • 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. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.4%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 88%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $29.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 93.7%; 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: 96.6%; rating input score 97; 30th 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: -2.7%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.02; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.29; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.8%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4.3% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -4.9% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -3.1% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.4% of revenue deployed · 88% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 28 of 29 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $15.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $241K · 37 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 36 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 61 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 55 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 44/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.