Detroit Development Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
383322605
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Detroit, MI, USA
Phone
7734746944
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Small Business Development

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,914,508
Expenses
$2,873,865
Assets
$19,889,714
Liabilities
$9,246,178

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Ray Waters (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Ray Waters (President): $198,516 total reported compensation
  • Deborah Jones (VP of Operations): $178,615 total reported compensation
  • John Schoeniger (Loan Fund Manager): $174,153 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Detroit Development Fund (DDF) promotes the economic development of low to moderate income residents in the city of Detroit. DDF focuses on lending programs to provide financial assistance for minority small business owners, affordable housing developers and contractors, as well as job creation and retention for low to moderate-income Detroit residents.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Organization's small business loan fund provides growth capital in the form of business loans to Detroit companies not able to obtain the necessary financing needed from traditional financing sources.Over the last few years, the target market has seen an influx of young, entrepreneurs moving into its neighborhoods bringing forth creative synergies and increased demand for housing and local businesses. Because the Fund stays aligned with local revitalization strategies, in 2014 it moved forward with providing start-up and neighborhood business financing in an effort to provide smaller companies the proper business technical assistance to get started and/or to scale their company for growth, with a continued goal of creating additional jobs for Detroit residents and more viable neighborhood communities. Over the years, the Fund provided over $42 million in financing to over 300 companies with businesses and projects in Detroit.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 87% 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 - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 93
  • Sustainability: 71
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 46.7%; rating input score 47
  • Program expense ratio: 78.9%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $31.3 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 81.8%; rating input score 82; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 41.5%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.92; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.46; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 28.8%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.6% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 46.7% of revenue deployed · 78.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $199K · 13 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $114K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 47/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.