Austin Dmo Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
742640134
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Phone
5124691766
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$16,478,799
Expenses
$14,476,061
Assets
$7,516,774
Liabilities
$2,553,594

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

Leadership & pay

41 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Dewitt Peart (CEO/President)
  • Davon Barbour (President & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Dewitt Peart (CEO/President): $465,363 total reported compensation
  • Samia Burns (Chief Financial Officer): $255,680 total reported compensation
  • Meliss Barry (Chief Program Officer): $249,561 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Downtown Austin Alliance's mission is to creat, preserve, and enhance the vibe, vitality and value of downtown Austin for everyone.

What it reported doing in 2024

Downtown Ambassadors were expanded from 60 to 91 FTE, including a new Safety Patrol and increased cleaning and maintenance staff. Downtown Ambassadors accomplished the following: 49,186 hospitality contacts; 179 safety escorts; 25.5 million square feet pressure washed; 156,470 pounds of trash removed; 7,652 graffiti removed and 5 beautification projects. DAA-funded APD overtime shifts in downtown resulted in 6,296 ordinance compliance requests (with a 99% compliance rate) and 519 welfare checks. Conducted 2,460 restroom cleanings and 2,415 restocking (toilet paper, hand sanitizer, menstrual products) efforts. Conducted 11 monthly safety forums with 60-80 attendees per forum to connect the downtown community with safety initiatives. Provided non-harmful bird and bird waste management within the PID to keep downtown sidewalks and public areas clean and welcoming and provided regular maintenance of the Congress Avenue and Red River District sidewalk planters. Provided funding for Brush Square security. Completed HEART (Homelessness Engagement Assistance Response Team) pilot program and dedicated funding to supplement expansion of the program by COA to a year-round program with a larger geographic area (DAA funded PID area). Provided annual contribution of $200K towards a $2M/10 year pledge to Mobile Loaves & Fishes Community First! Village, which currently houses over 360 formerly chronic homeless community members. 186 people experiencing homelessness were reunited or connected with family or other support base through our funding partnership with the Trinity Center family reunification program. Conducted 4 (quarterly) unsheltered homeless counts that showed a 7% increase in the fiscal year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 97% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.6%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 85.7%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $189.54 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • 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: 66.3%; rating input score 66; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 12.2%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.52; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.34; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.9%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75.6% of revenue deployed · 85.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $12.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $465K · 41 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $7.1M reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 38 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 13 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.