How EvergreenIQ calculates Revenue Health Scores, what data we use, how factors are weighted, and what the results mean for your organization's funding readiness.
The EvergreenIQ Revenue Health Score is a composite metric (0–100) that evaluates a nonprofit organization's financial health and grant readiness based on publicly available IRS Form 990 data. The score is designed to give executive directors, development professionals, consultants, and foundation officers a quick, data-driven snapshot of an organization's funding readiness.
The score is computed across five weighted pillars that together capture the key dimensions funders evaluate when reviewing grant applications: how diversified revenue streams are, how financially stable the organization is, how healthy its donor base looks, how ready it is for competitive grants, and how sustainable its fundraising strategy appears.
Each pillar produces an individual score from 0 to 100, and those pillar scores are combined using fixed weights to produce the final overall score. The methodology is transparent and rules-based — every factor and threshold is documented below.
EvergreenIQ draws from three primary public data ecosystems to generate Health Scores and verification checks:
The primary data source. ProPublica maintains a searchable database of IRS Form 990 and 990-EZ filings submitted by tax-exempt organizations. EvergreenIQ retrieves the most recent filing data for each organization via the ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API. Financial fields extracted include total revenue, total functional expenses, total assets, total liabilities, contributions and grants received, program service revenue, investment income, and other revenue. ProPublica sources this data from the IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File and electronically filed 990 returns.
Used for verification and compliance assessment. EvergreenIQ checks whether an organization has a GuideStar (now Candid) profile and encourages nonprofits to maintain a current profile at the Gold or Platinum transparency level. Many grant funders require a GuideStar seal of transparency as part of the application process. GuideStar profiles are linked directly for each organization to facilitate verification.
EvergreenIQ verifies an organization's tax-exempt status using IRS data fields including the subsection code (e.g., 501(c)(3)), IRS Publication 78 eligibility for tax-deductible contributions, the IRS determination letter ruling date, and the organization's NTEE classification code. These checks help confirm that an organization meets the baseline compliance requirements expected by funders.
Referenced as a supplementary verification source. EvergreenIQ links to an organization's Charity Navigator profile when available, as a strong Charity Navigator rating can improve funder confidence. This is an action item rather than a direct data input into the score calculation.
The overall Health Score is a weighted average of five pillar scores. Each pillar evaluates a distinct dimension of nonprofit financial health. The weights reflect the relative importance of each dimension from a grant funder's perspective.
What it measures: How diversified the organization's income streams are across contributions, program service revenue, investment income, and other revenue.
Why it matters: Funders want to see that an organization is not overly dependent on a single revenue source. Diverse funding streams signal resilience — if one source declines, others can sustain operations.
How it's calculated:
(1 − HHI) × 100, where a lower HHI (more diversified) yields a higher score.What it measures: The organization's operating margin, net asset position, and operating reserve depth.
Why it matters: Financial stability is the single most important factor for funders. A stable organization can manage cash flow, weather downturns, and deliver on grant-funded programs without interruption. This pillar carries the highest weight alongside Grant Readiness.
How it's calculated: Starts from a baseline of 50, with adjustments based on three sub-factors:
What it measures: The balance of donor contribution reliance relative to total revenue and the scale of contributions received.
Why it matters: A healthy donor base that represents a moderate proportion of total revenue (neither too little nor too dominant) suggests a well-managed fundraising program. Over-reliance on donations can indicate vulnerability.
How it's calculated: Starts from a baseline of 50:
What it measures: Whether the organization has the operational scale, financial position, and program delivery track record that competitive grant funders expect to see.
Why it matters: This pillar directly assesses how likely an organization is to meet the minimum requirements of institutional funders. It carries the highest weight alongside Financial Stability because it is the most directly actionable dimension for grant seekers.
How it's calculated: Starts from a baseline of 50:
What it measures: The presence of earned income (program revenue), diversified non-donation revenue, and overall financial sustainability.
Why it matters: Funders increasingly value organizations that have sustainable revenue strategies beyond pure donations and grants. Evidence of earned income and financial sustainability signals long-term viability.
How it's calculated: Starts from a baseline of 50:
The final Health Score is the weighted sum of the five pillar scores:
Health Score = (Revenue Diversity × 0.20) + (Financial Stability × 0.25) + (Donor Health × 0.15) + (Grant Readiness × 0.25) + (Fundraising Strategy × 0.15)
Each pillar score is individually clamped to the range 0–100, and the resulting overall score falls within 0–100.
The overall Health Score maps to one of five bands that describe the organization's funding readiness at a glance:
| Score Range | Band | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| 80 – 100 | Excellent | Strong funding readiness. The organization demonstrates diversified revenue, financial stability, healthy reserves, and the operational maturity that competitive funders expect. Eligible for the broadest range of grants including major foundation awards, government funding, and corporate partnerships. |
| 65 – 79 | Strong | Good funding position with minor areas for improvement. The organization meets most funder requirements and is competitive for mid-to-large grants. Strengthening one or two pillar areas could move the score into the Excellent range. |
| 50 – 64 | Moderate | Baseline funding readiness with noticeable gaps. The organization qualifies for many community and foundation grants but may be passed over by funders with strict financial requirements. Focus on the lowest-scoring pillars to improve competitiveness. |
| 35 – 49 | At Risk | Below-average funding readiness. The organization has significant financial or structural gaps that many funders would flag. Priority should be given to stabilizing finances, diversifying revenue, and building reserves before pursuing competitive grants. |
| 0 – 34 | Critical | Severe funding readiness concerns. The organization may be in financial distress or lacks the basic financial infrastructure funders require. Immediate focus on financial stabilization, 990 compliance, and building a track record is recommended before grant applications. |
Beyond the overall Health Score, EvergreenIQ provides a dedicated Revenue Concentration Risk analysis that examines how dependent an organization is on a single revenue source. This uses the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), a widely-used economic measure of market concentration, adapted for nonprofit revenue streams.
The HHI is computed by summing the squares of each revenue source's percentage share of total revenue. The result ranges from 0 (theoretical perfect diversification) to 10,000 (all revenue from a single source).
HHI = ∑ (source share %)² — e.g., if contributions = 70% and program revenue = 30%, then HHI = 70² + 30² = 5,800
| HHI Range | Risk Level | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| 0 – 1,499 | Low | Revenue is well-diversified across multiple income streams. The organization can sustain operations even if one source declines significantly. |
| 1,500 – 2,499 | Moderate | Some concentration exists. While no single source dominates completely, further diversification would strengthen financial resilience. |
| 2,500 – 4,999 | High | Revenue is heavily concentrated. Loss of the primary funding source could significantly impact operations and program delivery. |
| 5,000 – 10,000 | Critical | Nearly all revenue comes from a single source. This represents an existential risk — diversification should be an immediate strategic priority. |
The concentration risk analysis generates tailored recommendations based on the organization's specific revenue profile, including guidance on reducing single-source dependency, developing earned income strategies, and building investment or endowment income for organizations with sufficient scale.
EvergreenIQ provides peer benchmarking that compares an organization's Health Score and individual pillar scores against similar nonprofits across three dimensions: mission area, size, and geography. This helps organizations understand where they stand relative to their true peers and identify the most impactful areas for improvement.
Benchmarks are determined using three dimensions:
Sector benchmark averages are derived from aggregate analysis of nonprofit financial data across IRS 990 filings. The benchmarks represent median scores for organizations in each sector-size-geography combination, providing a meaningful point of comparison rather than aspirational targets.
Each organization receives a percentile ranking in three separate dimensions, allowing a nuanced understanding of competitive positioning:
The overall peer percentile combines all three dimensions, providing the most specific peer comparison by matching organizations that share the same sector, size tier, and geographic region.
Each organization receives an estimated percentile ranking within its peer group. A percentile of 75, for example, means the organization's Health Score exceeds approximately 75% of comparable nonprofits. The percentile calculation uses the difference between the organization's score and the peer average, assuming a normal distribution of scores around the median.
Beyond the overall score, each of the five pillars is compared individually against peer benchmarks. This reveals specific strengths and weaknesses relative to peers:
In addition to the Health Score, EvergreenIQ assigns each organization an Audit Readiness Tier (1, 2, or 3) based on a composite evaluation of 990 data completeness, revenue scale, financial health indicators, compliance verification status, and overall Health Score. The tier classification helps organizations understand which categories of funding they are currently eligible for.
Complete 990 data, strong compliance indicators, and financial metrics that meet or exceed the thresholds expected by most grant funders. Organizations at this tier are eligible for the broadest range of funding including major foundation grants ($50K–$500K+), government grants (including those requiring Single Audit compliance), corporate partnerships, and capital campaigns.
Has 990 data on file but with gaps in financial reporting or missing compliance indicators. Eligible for many foundation grants ($10K–$100K), community foundation grants, and government sub-grants, but may face limitations with funders requiring comprehensive audited financials or Single Audit compliance.
Limited or no 990 financial data on file. The organization may be too new, below the IRS filing threshold ($200K gross receipts or $500K total assets), or not yet indexed. Eligible for starter grants ($1K–$10K), fiscal sponsorship arrangements, and crowdfunding. Focus should be on filing 990s, building a GuideStar profile, and establishing at least one year of financial history.
The audit tier is determined by a composite tier score that evaluates:
Health Scores are calculated fresh each time an organization is searched. There is no cached or pre-computed score. When you search for a nonprofit by name or EIN, EvergreenIQ retrieves the latest available 990 filing data from ProPublica's database at that moment and computes the score in real time.
This means scores automatically reflect any new 990 data as soon as it becomes available in the ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer database. However, it is important to note that there is an inherent lag in the underlying data:
As a result, while the score computation itself is always real-time, the underlying 990 data may reflect the organization's financials from 1–2 years prior to the current date.
The EvergreenIQ Revenue Health Score is an informational tool designed to help nonprofits understand their financial positioning from a funder's perspective. It is not a credit rating, audit opinion, financial certification, or guarantee of grant eligibility.