Near Southside, Inc.

Legal name: Historic Southside Incorporated

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
752123545
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Fort Worth, TX, USA
Phone
817-923-1649
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$572,758
Expenses
$578,598
Assets
$142,970
Liabilities
$17,602

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

Leadership & pay

45 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Michael Brennan (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Michael Brennan (President): $179,050 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Historic Southside, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the ongoing redevelopment of Fort Worth's Near Southside as a vibrant, urban, mixed-use neighborhood. This is accomplished through the production of public cultural events, and the implementation of targeted initiatives that invest in public spaces; promote the arts and historic preservation; expand housing choices; and initiate new community partnerships.

What it reported doing in 2024

Community Events - Providing free, safe activities and promoting public spaces for the Near Southside community. HSI produces the annual ArtsGoggle festival, the Friday on the Green and Lost 'N Sound live music series, and Open Streets community events. ArtsGoggle began in 2002 as an indoor gallery night and has grown into a street festival that spans a mile of Near Southside's prominent Magnolia Avenue. Highlighting local artists, this family-friendly event hosts more than 1,000 visual artists, 50 musical performances, artistic displays of every kind, food, drink, and fun for everyone. ArtsGoggle attracts over 80,000 visitors to the Near Southside. Friday on the Green is a free, community concert series produced annually in the spring/fall at the Magnolia Green park. Open Streets is a 6-hour annual event that closes Magnolia Avenue to vehicles and opens the streets for cyclists, scooters, strollers, food trucks, dog walkers, skateboarders, yoga classes, face painters and free activities hosted by local businesses. Open Streets has grown to be one of the Near Southside's most beloved community events with attendance in the thousands and more than 150 community partners providing free activities for our patrons.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 78% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 99.3%; rating input score 99
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: -1%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.25; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.7%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 24.1% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.3% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -30.3% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 9 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 99.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 44 of 44 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $574K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $179K · 45 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 15 of 16 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 59/100.