Arlington Community Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 541602838
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2023
- Location
- Arlington, VA, USA
- Phone
- 7032434785
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Community Foundations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $16,507,053
- Expenses
- $5,493,346
- Assets
- $50,626,160
- Liabilities
- $8,501,552
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
19 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JENNIFER OWENS (PRESIDENT & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- JENNIFER OWENS (PRESIDENT & CEO): $280,919 total reported compensation
- CHRISTINA COLE (DIR OF PHILANTHROPY): $153,708 total reported compensation
- BRIAN MARROQUIN (DIR GRANTS/INITIATIVES): $125,479 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
We exist to identify and elevate the needs in our community, and to attract and deploy charitable resources to address those needs. Acf stewards the gifts and charitable legacies of individuals, families and businesses to meet needs in arlington and beyond.
What it reported doing in 2024
Arlington community foundation administers a well-established scholarship program that makes awards to approximately 200 students each year. The program is funded by generous individuals, families, businesses, and organizations, many of whom establish named scholarships to honor loved ones, employees, or community members. Donors define the eligibility criteria, such as academic achievement, financial need, athletic involvement, or community service, while the foundation's scholarship committee manages the selection process, ensuring broad outreach and equitable review across a diverse applicant pool. In addition, contributions to the community scholarship fund support a general pool of awards that respond flexibly to students' demonstrated needs and aspirations. This program expands access to post-secondary education for arlington-area students and reflects the community's collective investment in educational opportunity.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 87% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 54
- Transparency & Controls: 83
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 81
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 32.9%; rating input score 33
- Program expense ratio: 85.2%; rating input score 85
- Fundraising efficiency: $35.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 88.5%; rating input score 88; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 66.7%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.22; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 12.3%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 10.1% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 14% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 32.9% of revenue deployed · 85.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $4.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $281K · 19 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 118 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 114 filed related-organization links
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 33/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.