Austin Community Foundation

Legal name: Austin Community Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
741934031
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Austin, TX, US
Phone
(512) 477-5383
Rating
91
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Community Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$79,280,742
Expenses
$70,092,345
Assets
$556,297,153
Liabilities
$69,616,364

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

33 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MIKE NELLIS (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • MIKE NELLIS (CEO): $358,570 total reported compensation
  • CORALIE PLEDGER (CFO): $228,305 total reported compensation
  • MEAGAN A LONGLEY (VP COMMUNITY IMPACT): $197,868 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To inspire philanthropy and invest in the common good to create a more vibrant and equitable community in Central Texas.

What it reported doing in 2024

Grantmaking. The foundation makes grants from the various endowments and funds that it holds. The foundation has a competitive grants cycle that makes grants only in the central Texas region to support public charities and government efforts in the following issue areas: arts/culture; education/training; community development/service; environment; health; human services; animal-related services; and recreation/leisure. Additionally, through designated, donor-advised and field of interest funds, the foundation makes grants to public charities and governmental entities locally, state-wide, nationally and occasionally, internationally.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 83% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 91% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 98
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 77
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 98.3%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: $106.54 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • 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: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Pass
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 95.2%; rating input score 95; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 11.6%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.94; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.5%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 7 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 98.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $68.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $359K · 33 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $260K reported
  • Consistency: 41 of 42 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 774 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 771 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 45/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.