Forward Cities INC EIN 13-4302280

Forward Cities INC

EIN  13-4302280 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Durham, NC
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 9/13/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Builds inclusive communities where everyone can start and grow businesses.
Leadership
C Fay Horwitt · President and CEO · $147K
Money in and out
$1.7M revenue, $1.4M expenses
Bottom line
71% program efficiency

Builds inclusive communities where everyone can start and grow businesses. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $1.7M in revenue, $1.4M in expenses, and $584K in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2024
Total revenue
$1.7M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$1.4M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$584K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $281K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.71 Management & general $0.27 Fundraising $0.01
Program efficiency
71%
of spending reaches programs▼ -3% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
4.8mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▲ +109% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
+16%
revenue over expenses, this year▲ +136% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$1.7M
FY2024▲ +61%
Expenses
$1.4M
FY2024▼ -7%
Total assets
$584K
FY2024▲ +93%
Total liabilities
$0
FY2024
Total revenue
$1.7M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$1.4M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$584K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$281K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$584K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B71%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 36
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 46
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $882K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

E3 durham county award-as the sba navigator program and pilot funding ended in november 2023, the durham county arpa grant award is an opportunity to leverage the sba's investment in durham county and build on e3 durham's momentum.

$440Kprogram expense
02

The black wall street forward pilot program launched in 2022 and was modeled on the pillars that made durham's original black wall street successful, with the goal of continuing the legacy of catalyzing black business owners and champions.

$301Kprogram expense
03

Tulsa ecosystem- forward cities partnered with build in tulsa to create a comprehensive data framework for accelerator and entrepreneurship-support program improvement. Build in tulsa provides entrepreneurs with a network of accelerators, mentoring, education, networking, and direct financial assistance to build community and strategic…

$141Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CForward Cities INC
EINHdr · item D13-4302280
Principal addressHdr · item CDurham, NC
WebsiteHdr · item Jforwardcities.org
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MNC
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFCommunity Development (S31)
Ruling yearIRS BMFNov 2006

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a6
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b6
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
President and CEO
$147,171Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

C Fay Horwitt’s $147K as President and CEO is at the 45th percentile of top reported officer pay among 2834 $1–10M community development nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 3 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
C Fay Horwitt$147,171$138,978$149,485
Christopher Gergen$146,043
Faye Horwitt$144,805

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants100%$1.7M
Other revenue$3K
— government grantsLn 1e$732K
Total revenueLn 12$1.7M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.71 Management & general $0.27 Fundraising $0.01
Program services71%$1.0M
Management & general27%$396K
Fundraising1%$19K
Total functional expensesLn 25$1.4M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$584K
Total assetsLn 16$584K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$0
Total net assetsLn 32$584K
Months of cash on handcomputed4.8

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $584K · Operating expenses/yr $1.4M
4.8 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $1.0M · Total expenses $1.4M
71%
Management & General
Management & general $396K · Total expenses $1.4M
27%
Fundraising
Fundraising $19K · Total expenses $1.4M
1%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $52K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $912K
$0.06 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $1.7M · Total revenue $1.7M
100%
Government reliance
Government grants $732K · Total revenue $1.7M
42%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $0 · Total revenue $1.7M
0%
Investment reliance
Investment income $0 · Total revenue $1.7M
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $0 · Total expenses $1.4M
0%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $1.7M · Prior year $1.1M
+61%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $2.5M · FY2024 $1.7M
-9%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $584K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $1.7M · Expenses $1.4M
+16%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $584K
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $584K · Total assets $584K
100%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $584K
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual C Fay Horwitt · Reported title PRESIDENT AND CEO · Highest reported compensation $147K · Total expenses $1.4M
10%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $576K · Total expenses $1.4M
40%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 71%
Overhead ratio 27%
Fundraising cost ratio 1%
Revenue growth 61%
Legal fee ratio 0%
Accounting fee ratio 2%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
Common FutureFY2024$50K
Total grants receivedfrom 5 funders$450K
See all 5 funders →
Grants paid · 13 grants · $323K · 2022–2024
Infinity BridgesFY2024$19,000
Durham Technical Community CollegeFY2024$16,500
North Carolina Central University School of BusinessFY2024$12,500
Echo SystemNC · FY2024$11,500
Provident1898FY2024$10,250
Ab CommunityNC · FY2024$6,145
Durham Technical Community CollegeFY2022$50,000
North Carolina Central University School of BusinessFY2022$50,000
CohadoFY2022$36,813
Infinity BridgesFY2022$30,000
Echo SystemNC · FY2022$30,000
Provident1898FY2022$25,000
Ab CommunityNC · FY2022$25,000

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024 (Latest)$1.7M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$1.1M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$1.9M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$2.5M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$2.5M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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