Downtown Huntsville Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
462226669
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Huntsville, AL, USA
Phone
2565331951
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Economic Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$603,987
Expenses
$634,112
Assets
$328,117
Liabilities
$12,288

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Robert J Buddo (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Robert J Buddo (CEO): $160,543 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Downtown Huntsville Inc is committed to creating a vibrant, diverse and economically sustainable Downtown Huntsville.

What it reported doing in 2024

Downtown Huntsville Inc is the economic engine and champion for a vibrant downtown. (a) urban environment master planning (b) business development (c) advocacy & public policy (d) marketing & public relations

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 76% 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

SUPPORTED - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.3%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 73.8%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -5%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.52; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 25.3%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.3% of revenue deployed · 73.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $468K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $161K · 17 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 24/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.