We Fortify
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 843045036
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2022–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020, Form 990-N 2019
- Location
- Colorado Springs, CO, USA
- Phone
- 7192321252
- Rating
- 74
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Low-Income & Subsidized Rental Housing
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,711,713
- Expenses
- $695,128
- Assets
- $2,586,719
- Liabilities
- $6,650
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Shelley Jensen (CEO)
People named in this filing
- mary bigga (board chair)
- James McMurray (secretary)
- JILL GAEBLER (treasurer)
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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To provide low cost housing for young individuals who are at risk of homelessness, and assist them in developing the necessary skills to be independent.
What it reported doing in 2024
We fortify's working fusion at mill street exists to pivot young adults out of poverty into a state of economic and emotional stability and social connectedness. This village and program is a first-of-its-kind housing initiative in Colorado springs dedicated to breaking the cycle of generational poverty and homelessness. We do this by providing safe dignified housing within a small supportive community, individualized trauma-responsive therapies, life skills education, and living wage career placement. We are a homeless prevention initiative. This is generational shift: one person, one neighborhood, one community at a time. Working fusion at mill street is for young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 who: -will benefit from close proximity to access support services -are able and motivated to be self-sufficient -often through no fault of their own, are at extreme risk for becoming, have been, or are situationally homeless -have the desire to live a life of purpose and independence in the short time since working fusion launched, our residents are growing and moving their lives forward.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 66% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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 most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 55
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 86
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 33.7%; rating input score 34
- Program expense ratio: 83%; rating input score 83
- Fundraising efficiency: $39.27 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- 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: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 59.4%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.72; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 36.4% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 39.7% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 39.4% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 33.7% of revenue deployed · 83% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $577K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
- Consistency: 31 of 31 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 34/100.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.