Foundation Park Conservancy Dba Ariel-foundation Park Conservancy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
264646309
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2013, Form 990-N 2012
Location
Mount Vernon, OH, USA
Phone
7403924940
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Parks and Playgrounds

Reported finances

Revenue
$278,205
Expenses
$423,855
Assets
$907,760
Liabilities
$1,170

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • NICK CLARK (President)
  • JEFF SCOTT (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • JEN ODENWELLER (Secretary)
  • NICK CLARK (President)
  • JOSH MULLET (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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To make Ariel-Foundation Park a world class example of adaptive reuse that honors its industrial heritage and makes it the focal point for recreation, entertainment, and social interaction in Knox County.

What it reported doing in 2024

Community benefit activities included caring for 250 acres of revitalized greenspace and adjacent neighborhood properties under the ownership and/or care of the Conservancy; promoted outdoor recreation throughout the year, including hosting a Total Solar Eclipse viewing event, welcoming 4,100 visitors on April 8; hosted and/or partnered on seven concerts including one in celebration of July 4th; hosted the City of Mount Vernons July 4th fireworks event welcoming 8,000 guests to the park, plus more than 130 other events throughout the park season; provided two themed sunset social events; continued redevelopment of a native prairie, now designated the Delano Field of Discovery; marketed the park including nine paid social media ads and a feature in Ohio Magazines March/April edition; supported social media and website engagement with 568,000 views on Facebook and 972 follows, plus 29,000 visitors to the parks website; managed 104 community lighting requests for the tower or downtown bridge to promote, honor and celebrate special messages from community members; hosted the Knox County Career Center AFJROTC Raider Competition; managed rentals of park pavilions and three event venues; established a sustainable lawn fertilization and weed prevention program for the park; and, partnered in improving area housing stock availability through transfer of 15 neighborhood property parcels to the Knox County Land Bank for future redevelopment in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity of Knox County.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 63% for direct work, and 37% for grants.

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 voting board members are independent and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 30
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 92.3%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 25th 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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -52.4%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.14; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.5% per year; rating input score 0; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -25.4% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -21.9% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 92.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 6 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $391K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.