Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Oct 2017.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
95 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
7 people listed on the 990; $113K paid to officers and key staff (Part VII, Section A).
Erin Scharf’s $148K as Executive Dir. is at the 72nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 3869 $1–10M human services 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 · 1 named individual · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erin Scharf | $147,782 | $124,079 | $118,178 | $119,691 | $112,819 |
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.
See Brides for a Cause executive salaries →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
Resells donated wedding gowns and accessories to fund women's charities.
Questions for Brides for a Cause
Your first name shows with your question. Brides for a Cause answers here, for everyone.
Brides for a Cause receives and sells donated wedding dresses and bridal accessories to raise money to give grants and donations to irc 501 (c)(3) organizations that promote womens causes while simultaneously protecting the environment by reusing wedding material at its boutique locations in portland, or, tacoma, WA and seattle, WA.
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2020. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 81-1902616) · Dispute this lineProvided 95 free wedding dresses to military Brides, first responders and healthcare workers working the front lines of covid-19 pandemic through the Brides across america operation wedding gown events, valuing $50,875.
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2020. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 81-1902616) · Dispute this lineContributed $210,000 to (22) locally and nationally-recognized charitable causes that provide services and assistance to women in need. Beneficiaries include: the loveland foundation, Brides across america, dressember, abbys closet, dress for success oregon, dress for success seattle, every mother counts, haydens helping hands, baby…
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2020. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 81-1902616) · Dispute this lineFunders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $139K | $81K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $0 | |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $43K | $56K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $1.5M | $1.9M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $11K | $107K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $1.5M | $1.8M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $682K | $682K | ||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $0 | |||
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $0 | |||
| Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4 | $0 | |||
| Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Ln 5 | $120K | $96K | $24K | |
| Pay of disqualified personsLn 6 | $0 | |||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $333K | $311K | $22K | |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $5K | $5K | $190 | |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $31K | $28K | $3K | |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $42K | $38K | $4K | |
| Management feesLn 11a | $0 | |||
| Legal feesLn 11b | $0 | |||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $0 | |||
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $0 | |||
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $0 | |||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $0 | |||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $13K | $11K | $1K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $16K | $14K | $2K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $12K | $10K | $1K | |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $0 | |||
| RoyaltiesLn 15 | $0 | |||
| OccupancyLn 16 | $177K | $160K | $18K | |
| TravelLn 17 | $6K | $6K | $631 | |
| Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18 | $0 | |||
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $0 | |||
| InterestLn 20 | $0 | |||
| Payments to affiliatesLn 21 | $0 | |||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $5K | $4K | $456 | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $11K | $10K | $1K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $46K | $41K | $5K | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $14K | $13K | $1K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $1.5M | $1.4M | $83K | $0 |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 LatestFiled with the IRS Nov 11, 2025 | $3.1M | $2.4M | $622K | $2.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Oct 29, 2024 | $2.2M | $2.2M | −$15K | $1.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Oct 11, 2023 | $2.0M | $2.0M | $32K | $2.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Aug 10, 2022 | $2.4M | $1.7M | $604K | $2.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 ViewingFiled with the IRS Oct 20, 2021 | $1.8M | $1.5M | $310K | $1.8M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990
Part I · Summary $1,822,660 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 5 of 5 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,822,660 across 10 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,512,644 across 31 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $1,885,045 assets, 22 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,777,982 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file FY2020 from the IRS (about our sources) · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit
The names, titles, and financial information shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records. More
Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown. A filing can only be corrected by the organization filing an amended return with the IRS; the corrected information appears here at our next update.
We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing, and less than the filing contains. Our pages do not display home addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.
Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.
If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.
Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.
If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, contact the filing organization or the IRS directly.