Friends of Pool Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
611745367
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2014
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
6468479719
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Water Resource, Wetlands Conservation and Management

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,018,251
Expenses
$2,620,122
Assets
$9,788,100
Liabilities
$1,370,948

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Kara Meyer (Managing Dir.): $137,876 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Friends of + POOL is working to provide free and safe access to NYC rivers for swimming. It also educates the public on the issues affecting water quality and promotes water stewardship.

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2024, Friends of + POOL taught more than 400 New Yorkers how to swim, engaged New Yorkers in water quality issues through free public programs; and ignited regulatory changes at the city and state level that provide a pathway for safe river access. In partnership with the NY Governor's office, + POOL was able to begin the process of building a floating, water-filtering pool in the East River of New York. Funds from the city and state enabled the piloting of our filtration system, which will pave the way for construction of a full-scale pool.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 83% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 51
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 83
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 22.9%; rating input score 23
  • Program expense ratio: 87.4%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $88.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 73.8%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.74; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.3%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 27% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 34.6% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 35.9% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 22.9% of revenue deployed · 87.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $138K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 23/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 48/100.