Texas · Nonprofit
FERGUSON ROAD INITIATIVE
FERGUSON ROAD INITIATIVE (Texas) receives grants from 13 organizations whose IRS filings report $415,686 to it, the largest being COMMUNITIES FOUNDATION OF TEXAS INC ($209,932). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 51% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $400k
- Funders on record
- 13
- Grants received
- $416k
- Net assets
- $435k
What Ferguson Road Initiative does
Mission
Engage and empower a community of advocates to advance a safe, beautiful, prosperous and proud community in Far East Dallas.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Communication: FRI employs a comprehensive communication strategy to engage a diverse network of stakeholders, including 84, 000 constituents, 52 multi-family complexes, 30 faith communities, 2,000 businesses, and 20 nonprofit organizations. The annual FRIdays print magazine (18,000 households), the monthly digital NewsFlash newsletter (2,000 readers), monthly Resource Directory supports low-income families through its distribution to apartment, church, and school communities. FRI hosts semi-annual Community Connection Town Halls and Crime Task Force meetings to promote civic engagement, public safety, and social cohesion. Semi-annual briefing reports are shared with donors, members, and volunteers to highlight progress. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram enhance outreach, and special events, resource fairs, and celebrations provide additional engagement opportunities. FRI's communication efforts are consistent, inclusive, and mission-driven, reinforcing its role as a trusted community connector in Far East Dallas.
$34,405 spent$13,934 earned by the program12% of program spendingCommunity-Building: FRI serves as a backbone organization in Far East Dallas, operating as a grassroots, participatory organization whose key program is community-building. Its approach is intentional and strategic, beginning with the identification of service gaps and the formation of project coalitions to address community needs. By mobilizing local leadership and fostering collaboration, FRI works to improve the overall quality of life in Far East Dallas. The organization provides continuous support by guiding vision and strategy, securing funding, convening stakeholders, aligning activities, and establishing shared measurements. It also plays a key role in building public trust, communicating progress, advancing policy, and mobilizing resources. These efforts contribute to a strong collective impact among area nonprofit partners, enabling them to not only meet but exceed their missions. FRI operates behind the scenes to ensure their success, with its greatest strength lying in the development of civic leadership. Through identification, training, and coaching, FRI empowers leaders to work collaboratively and solve problems within their own communities.
$222,114 spent80% of program spendingFinancial Services/Education: For the past 20 years, FRI has been a vital resource for low-income individuals earning less than $67,000 annually, offering support through its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Financial Education Literacy programs. Since launching these services in 2005, FRI has prepared 18,200 free income tax returns, contributing to the retention of over $3.5 million in the Far East Dallas community through tax refunds. The organization primarily serves Hispanic families, with more than 60% of its clients being non-English speakers, reflecting its commitment to inclusivity and accessibility. In 2025 alone, FRI prepared 325 free tax returns, generating $388,256 in refunds for local taxpayers. By offering these services at no cost, FRI helped clients save an average of $190 per return in preparation fees. In addition to tax assistance, FRI provided 645 hours of financial education and literacy services, reinforcing its mission to empower families with the knowledge and tools needed to achieve financial stability.
$20,922 spent8% of program spendingIn 2025, in collaboration with an area food pantry, FRI launched a direct food distribution service to (2) area apartment complexes with large populations without access to transportation. Going into 2026, the goal will be to not only increase apartments served but also provide other important resources to these communities such as voter registration, family violence prevention, and workforce training opportunities. With the support of our City Council members, a portion of the Far East Dallas community will become the Far East Dallas Public Improvement District (FEDPID) in 2026. By establishing FEDPID we will be significantly building upon the safety and beautification efforts that the Ferguson Road Initiative (FRI) began in 1998. FEDPID will provide a long-term funding source for the community-building efforts of FRI. The FEDPID service plan will allocate 41% of its annual revenue to extended neighborhood patrols (ENP), law enforcement and public safety initiatives, and crime prevention efforts. Additionally, revenue will also be used for beautification, enhanced landscaping, capital improvements, public amenities, and communication with property owners.
$0 spent$10,347 earned by the program0% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $277,441.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $266k to $362k (+36%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 0% · 2018 0% · 2019 0% · 2020 6% · 2021 0% · 2022 0% · 2023 0% · 2024 0% · 2025 0%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
94% of FERGUSON ROAD INITIATIVE’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (62% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Vikki Martin
Executive Director
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 7 funders, grant income rose $5k → $60k.
2 of 13 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 51% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of FERGUSON ROAD INITIATIVE’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
FERGUSON ROAD INITIATIVE leans on a few funders — its largest provides 51% of grant income and the top three 77%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
51% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund FERGUSON ROAD INITIATIVE.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 100% · 2019 60% · 2020 67% · 2021 71% · 2022 68% · 2023 40% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
80% of FERGUSON ROAD INITIATIVE's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 54% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
51% of FERGUSON ROAD INITIATIVE's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $205k that is directly attributable, 60% of it comes from Texas funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $210k arriving through sponsors registered in 2 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
FERGUSON ROAD INITIATIVE runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 7,175 community improvement nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 7,175 community improvement nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like FERGUSON ROAD INITIATIVE
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Texas
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
85% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
77%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for FERGUSON ROAD INITIATIVE: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds FERGUSON ROAD INITIATIVE?
- FERGUSON ROAD INITIATIVE (Texas) receives grants from 13 organizations whose IRS filings report $415,686 to it, the largest being COMMUNITIES FOUNDATION OF TEXAS INC ($209,932). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 51% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does FERGUSON ROAD INITIATIVE have?
- IRS filings report 13 organizations giving $415,686 in grants to FERGUSON ROAD INITIATIVE, 7 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of FERGUSON ROAD INITIATIVE?
- COMMUNITIES FOUNDATION OF TEXAS INC is the largest funder on record, with $209,932 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like FERGUSON ROAD INITIATIVE find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Texas. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Ferguson Road Initiative →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 13 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing