Ecodistricts

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
800407220
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2021
Forms available
Form 990 2021, Form 990-EZ 2021
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
5037192487
Rating
60
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$244,316
Expenses
$399,437
Assets
$65,253
Liabilities
$65,253

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2021. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBERT BENNETT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ROBERT BENNETT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $153,055 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2021. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To accelerate district-scale sustainable development in partnership with urban development leaders. The organization is a fast-paced and entrepreneurial non-profit working towards a big idea to create a global movement and marketplace for revitalizing every city from the neighborhood up.

What it reported doing in 2021

Accreditation: ecodistricts' accredited professional (ap) program launched in 2017 and is the world's only professional credential marking expertise in district-scale sustainable development. A one-day or online training course is required to sit for the ecodistricts ap exam and complements professional planning, design and sustainability credentials such as leed ap, aicp and aia. Learning outcomes include: understanding key issues that are fundamental to neighborhood sustainability, including collaborative governance, benchmarking performance and developing comprehensive roadmaps that address climate, resilience and equity; an in-depth overview of the ecodistricts protocol; an in-depth overview of requirements for achieving ecodistricts certified; exploration of inspiring case studies and examples of districts-scale best practices.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 63% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 56
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 5
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.3%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 41.2%; rating input score 41
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.85 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: -63.5%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.16; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 38.3%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -16.9% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.3% per year; rating input score 0; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.3% of revenue deployed · 41.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $164K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $153K · 12 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2010 to 2021
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 41/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 46/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.