Stewardship
How we will measure ourselves.
A foundation that asks for trust should hand a yardstick to anyone who wants to use one. Here is ours.
Year-1 financial model (in formation)
Because we are pre-operating, we publish the actual model we are building toward rather than a polished ratio. Our Year-1 plan, to be revisited each year and disclosed against actuals on Form 990:
- Gross fundraising target: $75,000. Founder seed contribution, the Roar sustaining circle, founder-network gifts, and one fall benefit.
- Year-1 operating costs: ~$50,000. Insurance, accounting and legal for incorporation and Form 1023, software, brand and website, basic event and outreach costs.
- Net to programs in Year 1: ~$25,000 (~33%). Front-loaded build year. Program ratio is expected to climb materially as fixed costs amortize over a larger base.
Year-1 program ratio will be lower than the long-run target on purpose — first-year build costs (formation, legal, audit-readiness, brand, website) are real and we refuse to hide them. We will report actuals against this plan annually on Form 990 and on this page.
5-year trajectory
Our planned growth and recipient impact, conservative case:
- Year 1: $75K gross · ~15 recipients served
- Year 2: $150K gross · ~40 recipients
- Year 3: $300K gross · ~100 recipients
- Year 4: $500K gross · ~200 recipients
- Year 5: $1,000,000 gross · ~400 recipients
By the end of Year 3 we plan to be operating to a long-run program-ratio target consistent with leading nonprofit benchmarks published by Charity Navigator, BBB Wise Giving Alliance, and ECFA. Until we have an audited Form 990 we will not quote a specific program ratio as if it were a result.
The Roar — our sustaining circle
The Roar is Fear Not Foundation's monthly recurring giving program. The Year-1 design target is 50 founding members at $25 / month — a stable $15,000 / year base that lets us plan grants instead of chasing them. Recurring gifts are the most important number we track, because they are the most honest signal that the work is trusted.
Governance commitments
Our governance plan, in force from the first board meeting:
- Interim board, Day 1: Kevin Alexander Nezat (President & Chief Steward), Deanna Nezat (Co-founder & Secretary), and one independent director (Kelli Salter) — meeting the IRS preference for a majority that is not related and not compensated. We will expand to a five-to-seven-member board within twelve months of incorporation.
- Public-charity classification: we are pursuing 509(a)(2) status (publicly supported through program-related contributions) rather than private-foundation classification.
- Form 1023: we are filing the long-form Form 1023, not Form 1023-EZ, because our planned Year-1 gross receipts exceed the $50,000 EZ-eligibility threshold and a long-form narrative gives donors and the IRS a clearer view of our model.
- Fiscal-sponsorship contingency: if our determination letter takes longer than expected, we will operate under a fiscal sponsor so donor gifts can be tax-deductible from day one — never accepting deductible-implying gifts in our own name until the IRS letter is in hand.
- A written Conflict-of-Interest Policy covering board members, officers, and key employees.
- A Whistleblower Policy.
- A Document Retention & Destruction Policy.
- A Gift Acceptance Policy.
- A board roster with brief biographies and committee assignments.
Our planned reporting cadence
- Annually: audited Form 990 published on this page within 30 days of filing, plus a one-page stewardship report (program / operations / fundraising ratios; lives counted at the four impact tiers — Touch, Assist, Transform, Multiply).
- Quarterly: a short note to the Founders' List on grants made, lives served, and funds raised.
- On request: the Foundation's most recent Form 990, governing documents, and exemption letter — provided in accordance with the public-inspection rules in IRS public-disclosure guidance.
Independent verification — once we are eligible
We intend to seek inclusion or rating with:
- Candid (formerly GuideStar) profile, reaching the highest available transparency seal.
- Charity Navigator rating once we meet their eligibility threshold.
- BBB Wise Giving Alliance review against the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.
- ECFA accreditation, which is the recognized standard for faith-based financial accountability.
What you can ask us today
Even before we are operating, we will answer these five questions for any prospective donor in writing:
- Has Form 1023 actually been submitted to the IRS, and what is the IRS submission acknowledgment number?
- Are we registered with the Alabama Attorney General as a charitable organization?
- Will we issue a contemporaneous written acknowledgment per IRS Publication 1771 once exemption is granted?
- Who is on the board, and what is the conflict-of-interest policy?
- Where will the first audited Form 990 be published?
Email kevin@fearnotfoundation.net any time.