Friends of Rhode Island Ave NE
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 460716370
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2012
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 2028089050
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Economic Development
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $673,733
- Expenses
- $747,967
- Assets
- $345,434
- Liabilities
- $78,616
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Michaela Blanchard (Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- Michaela Blanchard (Executive Director): $79,897 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
See Schedule O.
What it reported doing in 2024
DC Squared (Distinct Corridors. Developing Communities.) is a community development organization that advances equitable economic growth, entrepreneurship, workforce development, arts and humanities, food access, placemaking, and neighborhood revitalization throughout Northeast Washington, DCboth within and beyond designated Main Street corridors. Through its management of Rhode Island Avenue Main Street and Upper Bladensburg Road Main Street, DC Squared provides small business technical assistance, storefront improvement, market analysis, business recruitment, vacancy activation, and entrepreneur support. The organization also creates market opportunities and business incubation pathways that help entrepreneurs launch, grow, and access permanent commercial space. Beyond its Main Street programs, DC Squared develops workforce and entrepreneurial pathways while curating community events, markets, and public spaces that strengthen neighborhood identity, improve food access, activate underutilized spaces, and expand access to arts, humanities, culture, and economic opportunity. Through strategic partnerships, DC Squared integrates community development, event and space curation, real estate activation, and neighborhood-serving initiatives to build vibrant, walkable, and economically resilient communities.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 98% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 81% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 82
- Transparency & Controls: 86
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 22
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 86.9%; rating input score 87
- Program expense ratio: 78.3%; rating input score 78
- Fundraising efficiency: $29.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 12th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- 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: -11%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.46; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.7%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 0.4% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 0.6% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 86.9% of revenue deployed · 78.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $586K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $80K · 9 people listed
- Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 16 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 15 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 16/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.