Environmental Design Research Association Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237451983
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
5073394620
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Professional Societies, Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$409,765
Expenses
$341,630
Assets
$896,140
Liabilities
$21,698

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DENI RUGGERI (Executive Dir.): $65,735 total reported compensation
  • MARZIEH REZAEI GHALEH (ASSISTANT ED): $23,286 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The environmental design research association advances & disseminates behavior & design research toward improving understanding of the relationships between people & their environment.

What it reported doing in 2024

EDRA hosts an annual conference that brings together approximately 500 researchers, academics, students & policymakers to share & explore the latest research in environmental design. EDRA also publishes peer-reviewed conference proceedings & a quarterly newsletter to synthesize & disseminate knowledge in design & planning, supporting members engaged in teaching & practice across 28 countries. In 2024, EDRA celebrated the 26th anniversary of its Great Places Awards, which recognize exemplary work that integrates design, research & practice. These awards honor projects that advance EDRA's mission to create dynamic, humane environments that engage attention & imagination. Award-winning submissions reflect interdisciplinary, sustainable & human-centered approaches that emphasize the experiential relationship between people & their environments. The Great Places Awards are presented in the following categories: design, book, planning, art & research at the Annual Conference in Portland, OR.In 2024, EDRA bestowed 15 CORE (Certificate of Research Excellence) to outstanding research by professionals in environmental design practice. Additionally, the association honored 2 distinguished members with the EDRA Achievement Award.Furthering its educational mission, EDRA hosted a Graduate Student Workshop in Portland, OR, during the EDRA55 2024 conference & organized four Zoom webinars & events to promote the dissemination of scientific & creative work in both professional & academic contexts globally.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 84% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 58
  • Transparency & Controls: 93
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 56.8%; rating input score 57
  • Program expense ratio: 79.3%; rating input score 79
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 16.6%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.62; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 26.1%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 56.8% of revenue deployed · 79.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $271K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $66K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 57/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 38/100.