Forward Foundation INC EIN 39-1571083

Forward Foundation INC

EIN  39-1571083 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Janesville, WI
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
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Size
$100K–1M
What they do
Attracts new industries to Janesville to boost economic development.
Leadership
Sharlon Hermanson · President
Money in and out
$357K revenue, $334K expenses
Bottom line
56% program efficiency

Attracts new industries to Janesville to boost economic development. For fiscal year 2025 it reported $357K in revenue, $334K in expenses, and $2.1M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2025
Total revenue
$357K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$334K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$2.1M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $23K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.56 Management & general $0.44
Program efficiency
56%
of spending reaches programs▼ -41% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
36.5mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▲ +159% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
+7%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -80% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2025 · Form 990
Revenue
$357K
FY2025▼ -64%
Expenses
$334K
FY2025▼ -50%
Total assets
$2.3M
FY20250%
Total liabilities
$214K
FY2025▼ -10%
Total revenue
$357K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$334K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$2.1M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$23K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$2.3M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B56%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 310
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 410
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $186K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Rock County 5.0 Project

This is a joint-county effort to improve the economic condition of the area. This effort will consist of 5 economic development strategies - Business Retention & Expansion, Business & Investment Attraction, Real Estate Positioning, Small Business & Entrepreneurship, & Workforce Profiling.

$98Kprogram expense
02

Economic Development

the purpose is to encourage economic development by marketing & promoting activities aimed at attracting new industries to Janesville.

$66Kprogram expense
03

Vision Forward Fund

the Vision Forward Fund (VFF) catalyzes change in the following four areas: Brand & Advocacy, Development Culture for Economic Opportunity, Talent Retention & Attraction, Business Retention & Strategic Diversification.

$22Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CForward Foundation INC
EINHdr · item D39-1571083
Principal addressHdr · item CJanesville, WI
WebsiteHdr · item Jnone reported
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MWI
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFCommunity Development (S31Z)
Ruling yearIRS BMFDec 1987

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a10
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b10
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aNo
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13No
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14No
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aNo
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
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Mgr Finance & Ops
$0Pt VII · Sec A
President (until 3/1/24)
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Program service revenue$207K · 58%
Contributions & grants$187K · 52%
Investment income$21K · 6%
Program service revenue58%$207K
Contributions & grants52%$187K
Investment income6%$21K
Total revenueLn 12$357K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.56 Management & general $0.44
Program services56%$186K
Management & general44%$147K
Total functional expensesLn 25$334K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$1.0M
Total assetsLn 16$2.3M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$214K
Total net assetsLn 32$2.1M
Months of cash on handcomputed36.5

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2025 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $1.0M · Operating expenses/yr $334K
36.5 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $186K · Total expenses $334K
56%
Management & General
Management & general $147K · Total expenses $334K
44%
Fundraising
Fundraising $0 · Total expenses $334K
0%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $3K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $475K
$0.01 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $187K · Total revenue $357K
52%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $357K
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $207K · Total revenue $357K
58%
Investment reliance
Investment income $21K · Total revenue $357K
+6%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $207K · Total expenses $334K
62%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $357K · Prior year $979K
-64%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $183K · FY2024 $357K
+18%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $2.1M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $357K · Expenses $334K
+7%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $2.3M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $2.1M · Total assets $2.3M
91%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $2.3M
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Sharlon Hermanson · Reported title President · Highest reported compensation $0 · Total expenses $334K
0%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) — · Total expenses $334K
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 56%
Overhead ratio 44%
Fundraising cost ratio 0%
Revenue growth -64%
Accounting fee ratio 17%

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 · 2 grants · $126K · 2023–2023
Forward Janesville INCWI · FY2023$86,200
Downtown Janesville INCWI · FY2023$40,000

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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
FY2025 (Latest)$357K revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$979K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$407K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$221K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$183K 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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