Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Dec 1972.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
81 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
28 people listed on the 990; $1.9M paid to officers and key staff.
Victor Dickson’s $384K as President & CEO is at the 86th percentile of top reported officer pay among 247 $10–100M crime & legal 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor Dickson | $384,360 | $430,570 | $313,574 | $422,612 | $412,612 | $422,612 |
| Mark Yates | $343,744 | $271,198 | $204,947 | $165,299 | $156,233 | $155,646 |
| Sodiqa Williams | $237,987 | $216,940 | $207,516 | $171,103 | $161,838 | $162,645 |
| Joseph Urban | — | $188,805 | $211,010 | $204,815 | $205,196 | $207,131 |
| Jerry Butler | — | — | $209,433 | — | — | $110,295 |
| Harry Alston | $200,936 | $172,139 | $180,750 | $157,298 | $149,048 | $149,789 |
| Chris Rooney | $192,191 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Henrietta Mason | $170,248 | $137,938 | $160,612 | $157,694 | $157,395 | $156,793 |
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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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Provides employment preparation, job placement, and educational programs to help individuals with criminal records secure stable jobs and achieve self-sufficiency.
Questions for Safer Foundation
Your first name shows with your question. Safer Foundation answers here, for everyone.
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Employment Services in Illinois and Iowa
provides individualized intake assessments, job readiness training, and industry-specific skills development for adults with arrest or conviction records. Participants are supported in securing employment in high-demand sectors such as technology, construction, solar energy, transportation and distribution, warehousing and logistics…
Safer foundation, as a nonprofit private agency, operates secure residential work release centers for the illinois department of corrections. Our two adult transition centers (atc's) are work release facilities which allow incarcerated individuals to serve the final 3 to 30 months of their state prison sentences in a community-based…
Basic Skills/Education in Illinois and Iowa
focuses on improving literacy for teenage youth and adults who have an arrest or criminal history, or are deemed at risk of justice system involvement, which can pose significant barriers to self-sufficiency.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2024 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY24 | End FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $10.0M | $5.0M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $6.3M | $7.0M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $25.4M | $19.9M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $22.2M | $20.8M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $3.3M | −$854K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $1.1M | $898K | $187K | $25K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $16.9M | $13.7M | $2.8M | $387K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $514K | $416K | $86K | $12K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $2.1M | $1.7M | $356K | $48K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $1.3M | $1.1M | $221K | $30K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $114K | $93K | $19K | $3K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $775K | $627K | $130K | $18K |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $1000K | $809K | $168K | $23K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $768K | $621K | $129K | $18K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $362K | $293K | $61K | $8K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $3.8M | $3.1M | $639K | $87K |
| TravelLn 17 | $208K | $168K | $35K | $5K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $236K | $191K | $40K | $5K |
| InterestLn 20 | $216K | $174K | $36K | $5K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $774K | $627K | $130K | $18K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $429K | $347K | $72K | $10K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $3.1M | $2.5M | $529K | $72K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $33.8M | $27.4M | $5.7M | $773K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $33.4M | $36.1M | −$2.7M | $1.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 Viewing | $32.5M | $33.8M | −$1.4M | −$854K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $39.2M | $36.3M | $2.8M | $3.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $35.6M | $36.5M | −$870K | $933K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $27.7M | $30.3M | −$2.6M | $1.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $31.7M | $31.9M | −$183K | $4.1M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $32,460,355 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 18 of 18 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $32,460,355 across 10 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $33,819,574 across 18 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $19,935,250 assets, 15 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets −$854,093 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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