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Michigan · Nonprofit

FRIENDS OF BERSTON

FRIENDS OF BERSTON (Michigan) receives grants from 13 organizations whose IRS filings report $9,388,230 to it, the largest being CHARLES STEWART MOTT FOUNDATION ($5,765,428). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2024
$1.1M
Funders on record
13
Grants received
$9.4M
Net assets
$4.0M
6/13 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 67%
01What it does

What Friends of Berston does

Mission

Community enrichment through education, athletics, the arts, and community service

As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.

Programs

  1. Professional services by various consultants assist with the Enhancement of the Programs and Capital projects a focus of funding a new building expansion as Berston Field House celebrates 100 years of success in serving the Flint community and surrounding areas

    $224,580 spent
    57% of program spending
  2. Various organizations housed inside and outside of Berston Field House are instrumental in offering community services and community enrichment programs through education, athletics, dance, art, health and wellness, financial wisdom and others.

    $93,848 spent
    24% of program spending
  3. Various community events are hosted inside Berston Field House and throughout the community that provide valuable information to the public such as access to free legal services, small business set-up, health screenings and more

    $64,514 spent
    16% of program spending
  4. All other program related expenses are normal operating exenses such as salaries, supplies, building maintenance and general expenses that are necessary to continue the accomplishments built on Berstons legacy as a unique place for individuals and community enrichments programs to thrive.

    $12,985 spent
    3% of program spending

The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $395,927.

02The organization over time

The organization over time

Each line starts at 100 in 2019, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2019, 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.

100 = 20192019 Revenue 100 ($637k) Expenses 100 ($558k) Net assets 100 ($154k)2020 Revenue 129 ($825k) Expenses 101 ($565k) Net assets 261 ($403k)2021 Revenue 155 ($987k) Expenses 182 ($1.0M) Net assets 243 ($375k)2022 Revenue 1919 ($12M) Expenses 195 ($1.1M) Net assets 7454 ($12M)2023 Revenue 295 ($1.9M) Expenses 177 ($986k) Net assets 7960 ($12M)2024 Revenue 173 ($1.1M) Expenses 170 ($949k) Net assets 2578 ($4.0M)
201920202021202220232024
Revenue (173)Expenses (170)Net assets (2578)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $391k to $13M (+3286%).

$170k
$413k
$391k
$13M
$12M
$21M
201920202021202220232024
Total assetsTotal liabilities

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.

2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

Government-grant reliance: 2019 60% · 2020 56% · 2021 52% · 2022 95% · 2023 15%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.

99% of FRIENDS OF BERSTON’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (81% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 11,793 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 6 reported years ran a deficit.

$79k
’19
$260k
’20
−$28k
’21
$11M
’22
$891k
’23
$152k
’24
45
months of
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

James Avery

Executive director

As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.

201920202021202220232024
Listed111114131410
Joined·+1+4+2+1+1
No longer listed·11305
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2018 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 4 funders, grant income rose $20k → $662k.

5 of 13 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 1% 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 FRIENDS OF BERSTON’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

FRIENDS OF BERSTON leans on a few funders — its largest provides 61% of grant income and the top three 98%; half comes from just 1 funder.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left

38% 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 FRIENDS OF BERSTON.

61%
largest funder
98%
top three
~2
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2018 99% · 2019 96% · 2020 80% · 2021 94% · 2022 52% · 2023 75% — 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

13% of FRIENDS OF BERSTON's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 46% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y

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

99% of FRIENDS OF BERSTON's grant income comes from Michigan funders.

MI
NY

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
Michigan out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $109k arriving through sponsors registered in 5 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.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

FRIENDS OF BERSTON holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 11,263 human services nonprofits its size.

Operating margin14% · above the median
Months of reserve45.0mo · top quartile
Revenue growth (annualized)12% · above the median

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 11,263 human services nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024

Organizations like FRIENDS OF BERSTON

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 Michigan

Nationally

05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

42% of spending goes to programs.

Program 42%Management 58%Fundraising 0%

Governance

9
board members
100%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy–Whistleblower policy–Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990–Audited financials

Public support

100%

Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

MI

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for FRIENDS OF BERSTON: 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.

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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 FRIENDS OF BERSTON?
FRIENDS OF BERSTON (Michigan) receives grants from 13 organizations whose IRS filings report $9,388,230 to it, the largest being CHARLES STEWART MOTT FOUNDATION ($5,765,428). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does FRIENDS OF BERSTON have?
IRS filings report 13 organizations giving $9,388,230 in grants to FRIENDS OF BERSTON, 6 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of FRIENDS OF BERSTON?
CHARLES STEWART MOTT FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $5,765,428 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like FRIENDS OF BERSTON find more funders?
Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Michigan. 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 Friends of Berston →

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2019–2024), 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