Heart of Ellsworth
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 271127363
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2023, Form 990-N 2017
- Location
- Ellsworth, ME, United States
- Phone
- 2074795011
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Community Service Clubs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $253,737
- Expenses
- $249,349
- Assets
- $115,024
- Liabilities
- $55,600
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- KARIN OTTO (PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- HAILEE CARTER (MEMBER AT LA)
- ERIC COLUMBER (VICE PRESIDE)
- NOAH DIDONATO (STUDENT MMBR)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Heart of Ellsworth supports artistic, economic, educational, environmental, cultural, and historic activities in the downtown area of the City of Ellsworth, Maine. Heart of Ellsworth promotes artistic, economic, educational, environmental, cultural, and historic activities in the downtown area of the city of Ellsworth, Maine to provide a vibrant community for all residents, businesses, non-profit organizations and local Government. Diversity and Inclusion. Downtown Ellsworth’s service businesses are here to help you feel your best, get things done, and connect with local experts you can trust. Thank you for supporting the professional services that keep Main Street thriving! Click any image to be connected to the business’ website.
What it reported doing in 2024
The heart of ellsworth has three main areas of focus: economic and community development programs as well as marketing the district for the city and all the businesses that fall in our geographic area of focus.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 73% 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.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 82
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 82
- Sustainability: 36
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 91.2%; rating input score 91
- Program expense ratio: 92.7%; rating input score 93
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- 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: 1.7%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.46; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.48; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: 19.7% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 15.2% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 91.2% of revenue deployed · 92.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $231K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
- Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 43/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 23/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.