Groundwork Cincinnatimill Creek

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
311388594
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2017
Forms available
Form 990 2017
Location
Cincinnati, OH, USA
Phone
5137318400
Rating
65
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Water Resource, Wetlands Conservation and Management

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$332,086
Expenses
$294,529
Assets
$183,103
Liabilities
$72,918

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ROBIN CORATHERS (EXEC DIR (PA): $35,821 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To serve as catalyst for developing sustainability in the mill creek watershed through community-based planning and empowerment, environmental education, and economically sound ecological restoration.

What it reported doing in 2017

The development of a mill creek greenway system that improves water quality, the aquatic and wildlife habitat, and improves the overall health of the mill creek corridor ecosystem.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and the required major-donor schedule is missing or incomplete.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 58
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.5%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 81.7%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.77 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 52; 52nd 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: No; rating input score 0
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 11.3%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.62; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.4; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.2%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -7.7% per year; rating input score 0; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -6.1% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.8% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.5% of revenue deployed · 81.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $241K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $36K · 9 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2012 to 2017
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Major donor itemization scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 52/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.