Equity in the Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 850728401
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 2029640916
- Rating
- 70
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Intergroup, Race Relations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,947,412
- Expenses
- $2,367,017
- Assets
- $1,697,945
- Liabilities
- $67,360
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- KERRIEN SUAREZ (PRESIDENT/CEO)
- SHEHNAZ JAGPAL (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT)
- HERNA CRUZ (VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIO)
Highest reported compensation
- KERRIEN SUAREZ (PRESIDENT/CEO): $357,916 total reported compensation
- SHEHNAZ JAGPAL (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT): $197,220 total reported compensation
- HERNA CRUZ (VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIO): $175,150 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To support organizations, including nonprofit, philanthropic, and other mission-focused entities and their leadership, in mitigating inequality by adopting the personal beliefs, behaviors, policies and processes, including data analysis, that builds a race equity culture.
What it reported doing in 2024
Awake to woke to work: explore the levers that drive change and the stages that mark transformation using the race equity cycle. In collaboration with over 120 experts in the fields of diversity, equity, and inclusion (dei) and race equity, we provide insights, tactics, and best practices to shift organizational culture and operationalize equity.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 63
- Transparency & Controls: 74
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 21
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 69.8%; rating input score 70
- Program expense ratio: 56.7%; rating input score 57
- Fundraising efficiency: $12.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
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: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -21.5%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.72; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 32.4%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 22.5% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -4.1% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 69.8% of revenue deployed · 56.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 11 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $358K · 13 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $290K reported
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
- 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 57/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 45/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.