Brunswick Downtown Association

Overview

Mission

The mission is to enhance the vitality and appeal of downtown Brunswick, Maine as a center of business activity, to increase the general physical and psychological appeal of the downtown, and to promote the cultural, retail, service, and economic interests of the membership.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Brunswick Downtown Association BDA is a not-for-profit entity organized as a 501C 3. The mission of the group is to enhance the vitality and appeal of downtown Brunswick as a thriving center of business activity to increase the general physical and psychological appeal of downtown, and to promote the cultural, retail, service, and economic interests of our membership. Some of the accomplishments of the BDA include education of the extended community on locally related historical figures and events creating awareness to membership of opportunities to assist in community improvements sponsorship of community events that regularly include other local nonprofit organizations such as Music on the Mall concerts, family activities such as Maine Street Celebrates, the Christmas tree lighting and arrival of Santa Claus, holiday coloring contest, and Home for the Holidays coordination of efforts to buy new benches for Maine Street sidewalks advocating solutions for additional parking and promotion of opportunities to improve the creative economy in Brunswick. Services that are provided include advocating critical business success issues within the Town of Brunswick, disseminating information on critical issues to the business, nonprofit and residential communities, surveying community interest and presenting them to the business community and municipal government, and collaborating with Bowdoin College and its students to identify issues and opportunities. People affected by the BDA are community residents, members of local cultural organizations, Bowdoin College students, faculty, and staff, and local businesses.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
753131242
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Headquarters
Brunswick, ME, USA
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Quality, Protection, and Beautification N.E.C.

Official website

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 57
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.7%; rating input score 62
  • Program expense ratio: 67%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.9%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.7; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4.8% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 61.7% of revenue deployed · 67% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $230K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 20 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 22 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 annual filings from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.