Free Center Incorporated

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
841783149
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2022–2022
Forms available
Form 990 2021, Form 990-EZ 2022, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Hartford, CT, USA
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community, Neighborhood Development

Reported finances

Revenue
$194,617
Expenses
$363,728
Assets
$7,721

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Richard Hollant (Executive Director)

People named in this filing

  • Richard Hollant (Executive Director)
  • Kerry Kincy (Director)
  • Zoe Chatfield (Program Manager)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Mission: OUR MISSION & VISION Our mission is to provide access to space information and quality programs for those in our community. We stand at the intersection of art culture and organizing and we act as a vehicle for elevating the intentions and actions of our residents. Through community-led and community-oriented gatherings events and workshops we envision growth and a sense of deep belonging for our neighbors that grows out of meaningful engagement in our community. We imagine an ever-growing pride in the resilient and diverse cultures that define the cities we love. Program Activities: Independent Artists Fund: Support funding and programming for independent BIPOC artists in Greater Hartford Spring Free: Community-led street mural project Grow Free: community garden and education project Care free: Community info program around health and wellness specifically COVID vaccinations Free Space: Free Center has provided space to over 300 community-developed programs

What it reported doing in 2022

Spring Free: create 100 street portraits and work with an elementary school to paint a street mural celebrating heroes in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Middletown Connecticut. The participants were the direct beneficiaries: 250 people. Every day the children parents and educators experience this mural that helped ease conflicts in the neighborhood. To include these indirect beneficiaries: 2000

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 92
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 4
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 79.3%; rating input score 79

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -86.9%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.02; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.8%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: -104.5% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -183.3% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 79.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 3 filed program accomplishments · $288K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 7 of 7 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.