Groundwork Action Fund C/o Verdolino & Lowey Pc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 862383488
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2022–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Foxborough, MA, USA
- Phone
- 5085431720
- Rating
- 57
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,286,925
- Expenses
- $1,495,059
- Assets
- $241,541
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JOE KENNEDY III (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- EMILY KAUFMAN (DIRECTOR): $160,224 total reported compensation
- JULIA HOFFMAN (DIRECTOR): $95,500 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To support community organizers, advocates, and activists working year-round in places traditionally under-resourced, excluded, and ignored; to invest in hyperlocal efforts that build sustainable political infrastructure, engage and educate voters, and build power for the underrepresented and disenfranchised; to advocate for a more responsive and representative political system that can deliver justice, equity, and opportunity for all.
What it reported doing in 2024
Delivery of several 501(c)(4) grants to advocacy organizations in states of focus and aiding these and other groups on the ground with wrap-around support from the organization's team and its digital platforms to amplify their work.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 77% for direct work, and 23% for grants.
The verdict
MIXED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 71
- Transparency & Controls: 65
- Accountability: 18
- Sustainability: 21
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 79.9%; rating input score 80
- Program expense ratio: 68.8%; rating input score 69
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 4th 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: 69.8%; rating input score 70; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- 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: -16.2%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.16; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 17.1%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 32.2% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 15.3% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -53.4% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 79.9% of revenue deployed · 68.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 0 of 2 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $160K · 4 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $120K reported
- Consistency: 22 of 23 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 4 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: 8 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 6 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.
- 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.