Philanthropy & Grantmaking (T20) 990 on File

STERLING FOUNDATION

EIN: 27-1480662 · CHAPEL HILL, NC 27516-9379 · United States · FY 2025 Data

3 out of 5 50 / 100 Based on 2+ years of filings

Financial strength (30%) 91/100

Reliability (20%) 50/100

Effectiveness (25%) 51/100

Impact (25%) No data yet

Financial data: FY 2025 · Scored 9/13/2026

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CharityAI™ Score

Not yet evaluated

Financial Overview — FY 2025

$64K

Total Revenue

$75K

Total Expenses

$930K

Net Assets

N/A

Employees

Revenue Sources

Expense Breakdown

Program Expense Ratio 86.8%

Fundraising Efficiency N/A

Operating Reserve 148.08x

Liability-to-Asset 0.0%

Revenue Diversification 85.2%

Executive Compensation $0

Compared with Peers

FY 2025

Compared with 11,336 similar organizations (United States, Philanthropy & Grantmaking, under $100K in expenses), FY 2025.

This organization Middle half of peers (P25–P75) Peer median

Ratio	This org	Peer median	Position (P10 → P90)
Program expense ratio Program expenses / total expenses · higher is better	86.8%	86.1%	P10P90	Above median
Operating reserve Months of expenses covered by net assets · higher is better	148.1 mo	119.9 mo	P10P90	Above median
Liabilities to assets Total liabilities / total assets · lower is better	0.0%	0.0%	P10P90	Top quarter
Revenue concentration Share of revenue from the largest source · lower is better	85.2%	92.1%	P10P90	Above median
Surplus margin Surplus as a share of revenue	-18.0%	11.2%	P10P90

Financial History

Year	Revenue	Expenses	Net Assets	Program %	Staff
2025	$64K	$75K	$930K	86.8%	—
2023	$128K	$64K	$948K	8.3%	—
2022	$90K	$210K	$884K	23.9%	—

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Organization Details

EIN: 27-1480662
State: NC
City: CHAPEL HILL
ZIP: 27516-9379
Classification: T20
Category: Philanthropy & Grantmaking
Rating: 3★
Coverage: A
Last Updated: Aug 2026
Form 990: On File

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CharityAI™ rates charities from 0 to 100 using public filings (IRS Form 990 and the equivalent registries outside the US) together with the information the charity itself provides on DonationX. Ratings are recalculated every quarter, without human bias, and shown as stars.

Four pillars

Financial strength30%

Program expense ratio, fundraising efficiency, operating reserves, liabilities and revenue diversification, compared with similar organizations.

Reliability20%

Standing with the registry, filing history, verification and how complete the profile is.

Effectiveness25%

How much goes to programs and how consistently the organization delivers them.

Impact25%

The outcomes the charity reports on DonationX: people served, cost per service and results.

Stars

★★★★★ 80–100 ★★★★☆ 60–79 ★★★☆☆ 40–59 ★★☆☆☆ 20–39 ★☆☆☆☆ 1–19

A pillar with no data counts as zero. Without impact metrics the score is capped at 59 (three stars): only the charity can supply that data.
The coverage grade (A to D) says how much filing data the score rests on; NONE means there is not enough to rate.
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"Compared with peers" places the charity's key ratios against organizations of the same country, sector and size.

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