Downtown Greensboro Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
562242416
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2014, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Greensboro, NC, USA
Phone
3363790060
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies, Related Historical Activities

Reported finances

Revenue
$931,555
Expenses
$879,286
Assets
$1,473,688
Liabilities
$611,283

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ZACK MATHENY (FORMER PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • ZACK MATHENY (FORMER PRESIDENT & CEO): $281,336 total reported compensation
  • JOY ROSS (CFO): $84,812 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Supports the educational, historical preservation, and other exempt public efforts of downtown greensboro, inc. Which is a nonprofit economic development organization formed to promote and stimulate new investment and interest in the center city area of greensboro, North Carolina.

What it reported doing in 2024

Ice rink - providing the community with ice rink operations as part of piedmont winterfest, a community cultural festival during the holiday season.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 70% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 68% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.2%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 98.8%; rating input score 99
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: 5.6%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.68; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.41; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: Limited

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.4% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.4% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.2% of revenue deployed · 98.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $869K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $281K · 17 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 3 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.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 9 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.