Foundation for Improvement of Public Services

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
465563807
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2018
Forms available
Form 990 2018
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2029424206
Rating
58
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,955,337
Expenses
$354,949
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

People named in this filing

  • JOHN MUSSO (CHAIR)
  • CLARENCE ANTHONY (DIRECTOR)
  • GRAHAM KNAUS (DIRECTOR)

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 2018. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The foundation for improvement of public services (formerly u.s. Communities foundation) is a nonprofit organization that provides charitable and educational support to state and local governmental agencies, by sponsoring conferences, commissioning and and publicizing studies on public policy and public benefit, and supporting public benefit projects that provide aid to state and local government agencies.

What it reported doing in 2018

Conducted directional meetings, provided guidance, and implemented services in support of the u.s. Communities cooperative purchasing program, including the application of the foundation's philanthropic fund to the development and publication of an educational whitepaper.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 80% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

MIXED - 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: 21
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 6.7%; rating input score 7
  • Program expense ratio: 51.1%; rating input score 51
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.6%; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: No; rating input score 0
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 88%; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 91.1% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 88.3% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -50.8% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 6.7% of revenue deployed · 51.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $181K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2015 to 2018
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 10 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 7/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 51/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Major donor itemization scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.