Common Ground Center Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 030343966
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-PF 2013, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Starksboro, VT, USA
- Phone
- 8024532592
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Education N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $582,077
- Expenses
- $699,777
- Assets
- $377,631
- Liabilities
- $435,325
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- LINDSAY WHITAKER (EXECUTIVE DI): $76,506 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
A multi-age arts, education, and outdoor recreation and conference center dedicated to environmental sustainability and strengthening diverse families and communities. There are five flagship programs: 1) camp common ground (family camp), 2) camp k, a camp for autistic kids and their families, 3) camp outright for queer youth, 4) adventure day camp and 5) school field trips.
What it reported doing in 2024
Common ground center, inc. Offers programs such as camp common ground, group programming, camp kaleidoscope, and adventure day camps, etc. Camp common ground is an inter-generational family camp founded in 1994, is the center's marquee program, operates four 1-week summer sessions, and is designed to create positive family outcomes. Group programming is a partnership with established community organizations to provide programs such as camp outright, a week long residential program for youth between the age of 13-18 with traditional summer activities such as the arts, hiking, swimming, drama, yoga, campfires, talent show, along with workshops and discussion groups geared specifically toward meeting the needs identified by the lgbtqqa youth. Camp kaleidoscope is a unique residential program for families with children on the autism spectrum and provides a safe, positive and educational experience for the entire family including siblings and programs for adults. Adventure day camps are for local children ages 6-12 to attend camp for one week during their school breaks in february, april, and july. These camps are an affordable way for families in addison county to give their children a safe, entertaining, and educational school break.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 78% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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
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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 87
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 16
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 97.8%; rating input score 98
- Program expense ratio: 80.7%; rating input score 81
- Fundraising efficiency: $13.54 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -20.2%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.54; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.15; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.9%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 0.7% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -12.3% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 97.8% of revenue deployed · 80.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $565K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $77K · 16 people listed
- Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 7 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 47/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.