Groundswell Capital

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
861017490
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Tucson, AZ, USA
Phone
5202226722
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Housing Development, Construction, Management

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,063,297
Expenses
$591,509
Assets
$13,828,734
Liabilities
$11,536,961

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ANDREA THOMPSON (PRESIDENT)
  • DAVE DICOSOLA (VICE-PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ANDREA THOMPSON (PRESIDENT): $174,854 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Groundswell capital is an Arizona-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit lender focused on creating innovative, blended capital solutions to tackle our communities' biggest challenges and invest in a vibrant, clean economy where all residents can prosper.

What it reported doing in 2024

Community grants - groundswell capital receives pass-through grant funding from various organizations and uses these funds to distribute community grants. Depending on the terms of each contract, we may receive an administrative fee for managing the grant process. Our role typically includes marketing the grant opportunity, collecting and reviewing applications, processing and disbursing awards, tracking grant activity, and communicating with applicants throughout the process.

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 56% for direct work, and 44% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 61
  • Accountability: 78
  • Sustainability: 79
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 56.5%; rating input score 56
  • Program expense ratio: 90.4%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $103.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 63.1%; rating input score 63; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90%; rating input score 90; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 44.4%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 23.38; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.83; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.9%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.4% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 106.9% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 56.5% of revenue deployed · 90.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $535K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $175K · 10 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 56/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.