HousingWorks Austin

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
208249818
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2010
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Phone
5124541444
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis

Reported finances

Revenue
$497,431
Expenses
$447,504
Assets
$395,693
Liabilities
$71,774

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Nora Linares-Moeller (Executive Director (January to August))
  • Awais Azhar (Executive Director (September to December))

Highest reported compensation

  • Awais Azhar (Executive Director (September to December)): $59,584 total reported compensation
  • Nora Linares-Moeller (Executive Director (January to August)): $45,833 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 provide research, education and advocacy related to affordable housing

What it reported doing in 2024

Research: HousingWorks' research is focused on equity and geographic disparities in district analysis of housing facts, highlighting affordability issues facing the Austin area as a whole and each City Council district. In 2024, HousingWorks updated that research, which identifies Austin's demographics, poverty rate, median family income, average rent per month, median home price, number of homeless on the street, number of subsidized affordable housing units, the percentage of renters vs. owners by district, the percentage of individuals that are cost-burdened, the average annual mass transit trips taken citywide, and the percentage of subsidized units within a five-minute walk to high-frequency transit. In 2024, for the fourth time, the county analysis was completed for the five MSA surrounding counties (Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop, and Caldwell County). The same data found in the district analysis can be found in the county analysis. The research can be found on our website at http://housingworksaustin.org. In 2024, research was conducted on regional approaches to preserving and building affordable housing. HousingWorks also released "Who Needs Housing That's Affordable" research for both the City of Austin and Travis County, which identifies low-income to moderate-income households and the associated occupations that align with those income levels. HousingWorks conducted research on the 2024 Strategic Housing Blueprint Scorecard for the City of Austin and the new Progress-to-Date Scorecards (2018-2023). The scorecards analyze the 2017 Strategic Housing Blueprint goals, adopted by the Austin City Council, vs. actual numbers of affordable, preservation, and homeless housing units completed each year.

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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.3%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 87.1%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $18.01 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

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: 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: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 10%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.88; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 23.6%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.7% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.3% of revenue deployed · 87.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $390K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $60K · 22 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 55/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.