Common Circles
Legal name: Common Circles Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 473397535
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2018, Form 990-N 2020
- Location
- Greenwich, CT, USA
- Phone
- 9176907270
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Neighborhood Centers
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $315,701
- Expenses
- $173,239
- Assets
- $274,633
- Liabilities
- $15,253
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
3 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MARLA FELTON (CHAIR, PRESIDENT & CEO)
People named in this filing
- MARLA FELTON (CHAIR, PRESIDENT & CEO)
- GREGG FELTON (TREASURER)
- STEPHEN RADINSKY (SECRETARY)
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
Innovative experiences that empower people of all ages to explore our multi-layered identities so that we can get along better in school, work, and in our communities
What it reported doing in 2024
Common circles has designed the "we are . . . : bridgeing, belonging, and building community" traveling exhibit and educational program. This program is a two-part experience that uses innovative and interactive technology, the arts, conversation, and poweful storytelling to increase empathy, reduce antisemitism and bias, and build communities of belonging. The "we are . . . " exhibit features usc shoah foundation's "dimensions in testimony (dit), and an art and photography-based museum style exhibit focused on themes of belonging and building community. In 2022, common circles began a partnership with the white plains city school district to customize the exhinit for the school district and community.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% 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.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. 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: 63
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 70
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 53.8%; rating input score 54
- Program expense ratio: 98%; rating input score 98
- 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: 45.1%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.59; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -2.5% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 53.8% of revenue deployed · 98% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $170K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
- Consistency: 18 of 18 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2015 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 54/100.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.