Foundation for Social Connection

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN: 861322969
IRS 990 coverage: 2022–2025
Forms available: Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2020
Location: Washington, DC, USA
Phone: 2023683703
Rating: 74
Verdict: SUPPORTED
Rating confidence: Moderate
Sector: Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue: $1,798,011
Expenses: $1,863,891
Assets: $1,720,516
Liabilities: $488,497

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Highest reported compensation

JILLIAN RACOOSIN (EXECUTIVE DI): $190,614 total reported compensation
JULIANNE HOLT-LUNSTAD (DIRECTOR): $18,083 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Foundation for social connection dedicated to advancing social connection nation-wide rooted in evidence for our collective well-being. The organizations work translates research into practice, creates long-lasting partnerships and convening opportunities for field builders and prioritizes social connection as a national value powered by lived experiences. The organization envisions a vibrant society where social connection is at the heart of how they live. The mission is to advance social connection nation-wide rooted in evidence for our collective well-being.

What it reported doing in 2025

-action guide for building socially connected communities technical assistance program with 5 communities. -hosted social connection conference in oct 2025. -developed a structural social capital framework to improve economic mobility. -developed an intergenerational toolkit on genai and its impact on youth social connection. -wrote and released a social framework report on food & nutrition and opportunities to include the sector in social connection strategies.

Operating model

Revenue model: Donor-supported. 65% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

Financial Efficiency: 75
Transparency & Controls: 70
Accountability: 82
Sustainability: 29
Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

Mission deployment rate: 82.5%; rating input score 82
Program expense ratio: 79.3%; rating input score 79
Fundraising efficiency: $9.01 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

Operating margin: -3.7%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.92; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Officer compensation ratio: 11.2%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

Program expense growth: 32.2% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
Revenue growth: 25.9% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
Asset growth: 47% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Details

Where the money goes: 82.5% of revenue deployed · 79.3% of spending went to programs
Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.5M in reported program spending
Leadership: top reported pay $191K · 10 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $614K reported
Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 9 not reported.
Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 41/100.
High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 20/100.
Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.