Stem Forward INC EIN 39-0854863

Stem Forward INC

EIN  39-0854863 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Milwaukee, WI
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
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Size
$100K–1M
What they do
Advances engineering and allied arts/sciences, fostering professional growth and community benefit.
Leadership
Rich Merkel · Executive Director · $112K
Money in and out
$344K revenue, $312K expenses
Bottom line
73% program efficiency

Advances engineering and allied arts/sciences, fostering professional growth and community benefit. For fiscal year 2025 it reported $344K in revenue, $312K in expenses, and $526K in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2025
Total revenue
$344K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$312K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$526K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $32K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.73 Management & general $0.21 Fundraising $0.05
Program efficiency
73%
of spending reaches programs▲ +4% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
21.7mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▲ +3% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
+9%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -43% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2025 · Form 990
Revenue
$344K
FY2025▼ -3%
Expenses
$312K
FY2025▲ +5%
Total assets
$584K
FY2025▲ +7%
Total liabilities
$58K
FY2025▲ +8%
Total revenue
$344K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$312K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$526K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$32K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$584K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B73%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 322
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 422
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $229K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Education Initiative

Direct management of stem outreach activities and programs with a special emphasis on connecting students with stem professionals.

$137Kprogram expense
02

Stem Outreach

Promote occupations and opportunities within the fields of engineering and science.

$52Kprogram expense
03

Events

Organizing and hosting various competitions in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines, including regional and national rube goldberg competitions and future city competition.

$39Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CStem Forward INC
EINHdr · item D39-0854863
Principal addressHdr · item CMilwaukee, WI
WebsiteHdr · item Jstemforward.org
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MWI
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFNonprofit
Ruling yearIRS BMFNov 1993

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a22
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b22
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 · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Director
$111,675Pt VII · Sec A
President Elect
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Past President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Rich Merkel$111,675$108,194$102,206$101,469$97,975$99,638

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 & grants$267K · 78%
Program service revenue$92K · 27%
Investment income$16K · 5%
Contributions & grants78%$267K
Program service revenue27%$92K
Investment income5%$16K
Total revenueLn 12$344K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.73 Management & general $0.21 Fundraising $0.05
Program services73%$229K
Management & general21%$66K
Fundraising5%$17K
Total functional expensesLn 25$312K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$563K
Total assetsLn 16$584K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$58K
Total net assetsLn 32$526K
Months of cash on handcomputed21.7

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2025 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $563K · Operating expenses/yr $312K
21.7 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $229K · Total expenses $312K
73%
Management & General
Management & general $66K · Total expenses $312K
21%
Fundraising
Fundraising $17K · Total expenses $312K
5%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $16K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $252K
$0.06 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $267K · Total revenue $344K
78%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $344K
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $92K · Total revenue $344K
27%
Investment reliance
Investment income $16K · Total revenue $344K
+5%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $92K · Total expenses $312K
30%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $344K · Prior year $354K
-3%
Revenue CAGR
FY2019 $308K · FY2024 $344K
+2%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $526K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $344K · Expenses $312K
+9%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $584K
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $526K · Total assets $584K
90%
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 Rich Merkel · Reported title EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR · Highest reported compensation $112K · Total expenses $312K
36%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $224K · Total expenses $312K
72%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 73%
Overhead ratio 21%
Fundraising cost ratio 6%
Revenue growth -3%
Accounting fee ratio 3%

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
See all 4 funders →
Grants paid · 6 grants · $140K · 2019–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$33,000
Unitemized GrantFY2023$25,000
Unitemized GrantFY2022$22,500
Unitemized GrantFY2021$22,500
Unitemized GrantFY2020$20,000
Unitemized GrantFY2019$17,500

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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
FY2025 (Latest)$344K revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$354K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$300K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$320K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$308K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$308K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2025IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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