Elm Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
833984300
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2023, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Phone
9172047129
Rating
61
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts Service Organizations and Activities

Reported finances

Revenue
$433,014
Expenses
$425,118
Assets
$8,702
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

2 people listed

People named in this filing

  • MELINDA MCCOY (DIRECTOR)
  • PAUL EISENBERG (TREASURER)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Promote the healing power of the arts. Through art therpay advocacy, multidisciplinary arts education, and mentorships connecting professtional artists with youth.

What it reported doing in 2025

Gallery: The Boiler, ELM Foundations gallery and exhibition space, provides equitable access for artists and promotes diversity in contemporary and community arts programming. Serving as a vibrant hub for creativity and mentorship. The Boiler supports both emerging and established artists while engaging the broader community through exhibitions, youth programs, and partnerships. In 2024, we hosted five professional and two high school exhibitions, welcoming over 1,000 visitors. These shows included four youth workshops serving more than 200 participants, offering hands-om experiences with exhibiting artists. Collaboration is central to our mission-The Boiler partnered with three nonprofit organizations to help them achieve their goals, reaching an additional 450 attendees. Art gallery programs incorporate mentorship, inspiring youth to see art as a viable career path and connecting them with creative professionals who encourage their continued artistic and educational growth.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 32
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 36%; rating input score 36
  • Program expense ratio: 36.7%; rating input score 37
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 1.8%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.02; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 30.4% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -70.7% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 36% of revenue deployed · 36.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $156K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 2 people listed
  • Consistency: 15 of 15 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 36/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 37/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.