Grassroot Institute of Hawaii Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
990354937
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Honolulu, HI, USA
Phone
8088641776
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,758,378
Expenses
$1,618,036
Assets
$922,023
Liabilities
$64,074

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • WILLIAM K AKINA (PRESIDENT/CEO)
  • JOSEPH W KENT (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • WILLIAM K AKINA (PRESIDENT/CEO): $197,539 total reported compensation
  • JOSEPH W KENT (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT): $113,199 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

For additional information. All cutoff responses on return are on schedule o.the grassroot institute of Hawaii is a nonprofit policy research organization that seeks to educate people about the principles of individual liberty, economic freedom and limited, accountable government.

What it reported doing in 2024

Budget and spending: Hawaii taxpayers are constantly being threatened by higher taxes at both the state and county levels. Although it is essential to assess taxes to pay for public services, the cost of running the government should not discourage people from working and contribute to the high cost of living. The grassroot institute of Hawaii educates lawmakers on how to better spend public resources and works on reforming the tax code so that taxpayers will be able to keep more of their hard-earned money.housing: thousands of families have been leaving Hawaii every year in search of cheaper housing on the mainland, thanks to the state's artificial scarcity of housing resulting from zoning and other restrictions on development. The grassroot institute of Hawaii is dedicated to educating Hawaii residents about how to make it easier to build less expensive homes on the islands, so residents will want to stay here with their families.healthcare: Hawaii continues to face a severe healthcare shortage in the areas of service providers and practitioners. Much of the fault lies in burdensome regulations that either restrict competition or discourage nurses and doctors who would like to practice healthcare. The grassroot institute of Hawaii commits itself to educating Hawaii residents about the importance of reforming these regulations to address Hawaii's acute need for healthcare professionals.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 93
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66.2%; rating input score 66
  • Program expense ratio: 71.5%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.46 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 33; 33rd 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: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 21st 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.57; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.2%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19.8% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 17.4% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 23.9% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 66.2% of revenue deployed · 71.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $198K · 9 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.