Big Initiatives Incorporated
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 465083170
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY, USA
- Phone
- 7187772065
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Pollution Abatement and Control Services
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,733,659
- Expenses
- $3,024,190
- Assets
- $7,328,395
- Liabilities
- $6,283,171
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- KATE GROSSMAN (PRESIDENT)
- JUSTIN GREEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- JUSTIN GREEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $160,575 total reported compensation
- DIANA STINEHOUR (FINANCE DIRECTOR): $98,508 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 protect the environment, to reduce the impact of climate change and conserve natural resources and energy. The organization achieves its mission by diverting materials from landfill, conserving energy and promoting and installing renewable energy.
What it reported doing in 2024
Compost program - the compost program partners with the city of New York to collect food scraps and yard waste, transform them into compost, and distribute the finished compost to community greening groups and parks. By diverting organic material from landfills and incinerators, the program reduces climate-changing emissions and enriches New York city's soils. The program also broadens composting access and education through a master composter course, community garden compost bin installations, volunteer composting days, hands-on workshops, and outreach at local events.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 78% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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.
- 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 74
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 31
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 88%; rating input score 88
- Program expense ratio: 81.7%; rating input score 82
- Fundraising efficiency: $22.31 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -10.6%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.42; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.86; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.6%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 31.4% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 88% of revenue deployed · 81.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $161K · 11 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 9/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.