Columbus Organizing Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
311467082
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Columbus, OH, USA
Phone
6142209363
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community, Neighborhood Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$355,451
Expenses
$345,792
Assets
$71,151
Liabilities
$-1,990

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • W D Smith (Co-president)
  • Rev Joanna Samuelson (Co-president)
  • Melonie Buller (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Robert T Sievert-Wagner (Lead Organizer): $78,901 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Provide ongoing training in basic community organizing skills such as 1-1s researching community problems negotiating solutions and building networks of relationships.

What it reported doing in 2024

Trained volunteer leaders in basic community organizing skills including 1-1s researching community problems negotiating solutions and building community networks and fundraising.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 83% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 92% 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 a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.7%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 79.9%; rating input score 80
  • 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.7%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.21; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.8%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -8.1% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.1% per year; rating input score 0; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.7% of revenue deployed · 79.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 34 of 34 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $276K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $79K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.