The Milestone Charitable Foundation, Inc.
Keeping People out of Poverty while they Seek Justice
The Milestone Charitable Foundation, Inc.
EIN: 81-1207829
Mission
The Milestone Foundation provides financial support to people going through litigation who are having trouble making ends meet. Lawsuits can take months or even years, and we help keep families out of poverty by providing funding so they can cover their basic living expenses during this time. We also strengthen the civil justice system by enabling individuals to see their lawsuit through to its just end, instead of them having to take whatever is offered because they are pressed for cash. When someone suffers a catastrophic injury, not only do they have to cope with the injury or tragedy, but they also have to continue to pay the bills. The Milestone Foundation supports these individuals and helps them get past the tragedy and to the next steps of their lives.
Ruling year
2018
President
John Bair
Main address
737 MAIN ST STE 100
BUFFALO, NY 14203 USA
Formerly known as
The Bairs Foundation
EIN
81-1207829
Public safety
Human rights
Population served
Adults
NTEE code
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution (I12)
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution (R12)
IRS subsection
501(c)(3) Public Charity
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Tax forms
Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
We aim to help low income plaintiffs see their lawsuits through to settlement by providing non-recourse advanced with 10% simple interest. We provide an ethical alternative as the only nonprofit in an industry known for its predatory interest rates.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Supporting Plaintiffs in Need
Our program is to provide financial support to those who are going through litigation and need help covering their basic living expenses while they seek justice.
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Supporting Plaintiffs in Need
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Leveling the playing field in civil justice by helping low income defendants afford their essential living expenses (housing, food, transportation) as they undergo lawsuits against deep-pocketed defendants.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We provide low interest loans to as many qualified plaintiffs as possible. Philanthropy helps us grow our program. We also seek to inspire legislation protecting consumers in the space, as well as hope to inspire others to join us with similar ethical lending programs.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Every repaid advance that comes in goes right back out the door to help the next qualified plaintiff.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
To date we have advanced nearly $5 million to over 600 plaintiffs and their families, ensuring that their essential needs are met.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback
Financials
Financial documents
Download audited financialsRevenue vs. expenses: breakdown
Liquidity in 2021 info
0.00
Months of cash in 2021 info
0
Fringe rate in 2021 info
0%
Funding sources info
Assets & liabilities info
The Milestone Charitable Foundation, Inc.
Revenue & expensesFiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
The Milestone Charitable Foundation, Inc.
Balance sheetFiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.
Fiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
This snapshot of The Milestone Charitable Foundation, Inc.’s financial trends applies Nonprofit Finance Fund® analysis to data hosted by GuideStar. While it highlights the data that matter most, remember that context is key – numbers only tell part of any story.
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Business model indicators
| Profitability info | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted surplus (deficit) before depreciation | -$19,285 | $37,789 | -$18,378 | $40,142 | $78,781 |
| As % of expenses | -17.9% | 24.3% | -8.7% | 37.7% | 46.0% |
| Unrestricted surplus (deficit) after depreciation | -$19,285 | $37,789 | -$18,378 | $40,142 | $78,781 |
| As % of expenses | -17.9% | 24.3% | -8.7% | 37.7% | 46.0% |
| Revenue composition info | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue (unrestricted & restricted) | $88,371 | $173,141 | $192,153 | $146,673 | $254,679 |
| Total revenue, % change over prior year | 0.0% | 95.9% | 11.0% | -23.7% | 73.6% |
| Program services revenue | 50.0% | 89.9% | 53.2% | 77.9% | 61.1% |
| Membership dues | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Investment income | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Government grants | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| All other grants and contributions | 50.0% | 10.1% | 46.8% | 22.1% | 38.9% |
| Other revenue | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Expense composition info | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses before depreciation | $107,656 | $155,352 | $210,531 | $106,532 | $171,085 |
| Total expenses, % change over prior year | 0.0% | 44.3% | 35.5% | -49.4% | 60.6% |
| Personnel | 32.1% | 28.5% | 36.8% | 35.2% | 57.2% |
| Professional fees | 20.1% | 29.8% | 11.0% | 6.9% | 3.9% |
| Occupancy | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Interest | 16.2% | 26.3% | 22.7% | 38.8% | 22.7% |
| Pass-through | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| All other expenses | 31.6% | 15.4% | 29.5% | 19.2% | 16.3% |
| Full cost components (estimated) info | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses (after depreciation) | $107,656 | $155,352 | $210,531 | $106,532 | $171,085 |
| One month of savings | $8,971 | $12,946 | $17,544 | $8,878 | $14,257 |
| Debt principal payment | $0 | $0 | $26,561 | $873,261 | $0 |
| Fixed asset additions | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total full costs (estimated) | $116,627 | $168,298 | $254,636 | $988,671 | $185,342 |
Capital structure indicators
| Liquidity info | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Months of cash | 0.0 | 5.8 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 0.0 |
| Months of cash and investments | 0.0 | 5.8 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 0.0 |
| Months of estimated liquid unrestricted net assets | -3.3 | 0.7 | -0.6 | 3.4 | 7.6 |
| Balance sheet composition info | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $397 | $75,481 | $46,274 | $19,185 | $0 |
| Investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Receivables | $723,571 | $835,637 | $920,456 | $1,089,085 | $1,269,129 |
| Gross land, buildings, equipment (LBE) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Accumulated depreciation (as a % of LBE) | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Liabilities (as a % of assets) | 104.0% | 99.1% | 101.0% | 97.3% | 91.4% |
| Unrestricted net assets | -$29,289 | $8,500 | -$9,878 | $30,264 | $109,045 |
| Temporarily restricted net assets | $0 | $0 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Permanently restricted net assets | $0 | $0 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Total restricted net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total net assets | -$29,289 | $8,500 | -$9,878 | $30,264 | $109,045 |
Key data checks
| Key data checks info | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Material data errors | No | No | No | No | No |
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Documents
President
John Bair
Number of employees
Source: IRS Form 990
The Milestone Charitable Foundation, Inc.
Officers, directors, trustees, and key employeesSOURCE: IRS Form 990
Compensation data
There are no highest paid employees recorded for this organization.
The Milestone Charitable Foundation, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 05/31/2023
Board of directors data
John Bair
The Milestone Foundation
Term: 2016 -
Amy Bair
Rachel Mathews
John Abeel
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
No data
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 05/01/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
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- Financial statements for 2021
- Letter of Determination
- Officer and/or Employee data for 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017
- Contractor and/or Paid Preparer data for 2021, 2020, 2019
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