Downtown Cincinnati Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
311401294
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2020
Forms available
Form 990 2020
Location
Cincinnati, OH, USA
Phone
5134214440
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Urban, Community Economic Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,130,683
Expenses
$3,082,489
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Stephen G Leeper (Secretary): $596,728 total reported compensation
  • Timothy Szilasi (Treasurer): $299,983 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To build a dynamic metropolitan center valued as the heart of the region.

What it reported doing in 2020

Downtown Cincinnati, Inc. provides enhanced cleaning and safety patrols with approximately 30 safe and clean staff over the approximately 99 block improvement district area. As part of this program Downtown Cincinnati, Inc. also employs Social Service Outreach Coordinators to provide outreach services to the downtown population that are homeless or panhandling. Downtown Cincinnati, Inc. has cleaning agreements with SORTA to clean Government Square and various bus stops and shelters, and various small cleaning contracts throughout downtown Cincinnati.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 91% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 83
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 89.3%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $477.13 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.5%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.2%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -5.4% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88% of revenue deployed · 89.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $2.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $597K · 6 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $414K reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2010 to 2020
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.