Downtown Westfield Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
223516173
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Westfield, NJ, USA
Phone
9087899444
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$661,063
Expenses
$663,980
Assets
$269,247
Liabilities
$50,155

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Daniel Taugher (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Daniel Taugher (Executive Director): $50,417 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Establish Westfield as a preferred destination for people to want to live, work and visit.

What it reported doing in 2025

Provide programs, events and advertising to strengthen Downtown Westfield as the center of community life; improve its economic viability, support existing businesses; encourage the establishment of new enterprises; and support cultural activities. Make Downtown Westfield a safer, cleaner and more attractive pedestrian environment with adequate public parking to serve the needs of local residents and attract new shoppers and visitors. Preserve the rich architectural legacy of the downtown area.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 74% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.2%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 86.8%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.4%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.41; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.6%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.2% of revenue deployed · 86.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $576K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $50K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 44/100.