Columbia Downtown Housing Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
461508330
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Columbia, MD, USA
Phone
4109353379
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Low-Income & Subsidized Rental Housing

Reported finances

Revenue
$459,008
Expenses
$130,504
Assets
$9,365,762
Liabilities
$2,790

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • REV MARY KA KANAHAN (BOARD CHAIR, PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • REV MARY KA KANAHAN (BOARD CHAIR, PRESIDENT)
  • CHRISTOPHER J FRITZ (DIRECTOR, SECRETARY)
  • JOLLY BURKS (DIRECTOR, TREASURER)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

To make affordable housing available to low and moderate income individuals and families.

What it reported doing in 2024

Cdhc works with the county administration (the "county"), the howard research and development corporation ("hrd"), and howard county housing commission (the "commission") to implement the various objectives for affordable housing in downtown columbia, Maryland. These four parties, cdhc, hrd, the commission, and the county, entered into a long-term partnership written agreement titled "agreement for affordable housing downtown columbia" ( 4-party agreement) on february 3, 2017, which is to be read in conformity with the development rights and responsibilities agreement ("drra") executed by the county and hrd on that same date. In 2024, six (6) very low income housing units (vliu) at marlow were modified to be fully accessible for people with physical disabilities. Cdhc paid the cost for the modifications and the howard county housing commission (hchc) is leasing the units. Including these 6 units, there are a total of 54 inclusionary units in the merriweather district; 24 at juniper and 30 at marlow. Half of these units are leased to people with incomes at or below 80% of the howard county area median income (hcami), approximately $73,000 for a one-person household in 2024. The other half are leased to voucher holders or people with incomes at or below 50% hcami. Under the drra, cdhc shall use its commercial fee revenue to assist the commission in covering the utility costs for the vlius. In 2024, cdhc continued to assist in covering the utility costs for the vlius at marlow as well as at juniper.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 85% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
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.

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 41
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 89
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 26.3%; rating input score 26
  • Program expense ratio: 80.8%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 71.6%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 71.77; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 37.9% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -20.6% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 26.3% of revenue deployed · 80.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $105K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 18 of 18 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 26/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 58/100.