Idea Works Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
823865130
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2023
Location
Mansfield, OH, USA
Phone
4195654495
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Small Business Development

Reported finances

Revenue
$188,368
Expenses
$193,524
Assets
$57,006
Liabilities
$6,334

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Edward Patrick Akinyemi (President)

People named in this filing

  • Barbara Lindsay (Director)
  • Walter Bonham (Director)
  • Edward Patrick Akinyemi (President)

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

Our mission to rebuild the local food chain Food matters to us. So much so that part of our mission involves supporting and rebuilding our local food chain. We collaborate with Richland Gro-Op, and The Ohio State University at Mansfield in conjunction with their Initiative for Food and Agricultural Transformation (InFACT) program. Together we are building capacity for university-community partnerships to address issues such as racial justice and environmental sustainability. Idea Works made an investment of over $100,000 to help the micro farmers get a solid start when they formed their business, Richland Gro-Op. By providing them free, unlimited access to the kitchen, they have a fully licensed facility to collect, sort and pack their produce for distribution. We are always looking for new opportunities to collaborate with other area businesses to help with the long-term goal of building a vibrant, thriving food campus.

What it reported doing in 2024

Food is a universal language. We believe food entrepreneurs should be able to access the right facility and resources to grow. The process of buying or leasing your own space is too expensive and time consuming, but we can help you! The Entrepreneurs Kitchen offers shared-used kitchen space for food entrepreneurs to strategically grow their business. We work with caterers, food truck operators, bakers, meal services, food delivery businesses, pop up carryout businesses, and packaged food preparers. By becoming a kitchen member you gain access to our facilities, coaching to pass your inspections and the connections you need to grow your business. As a nonprofit, were on a mission to rebuild the food chain in north central Ohio. Thats why were investing in the facility to make food entrepreneurs successful.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 64% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 45
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 46.9%; rating input score 47
  • Program expense ratio: 52.5%; rating input score 52
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 13; 13th 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: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.7%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.29; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.1% per year; rating input score 0; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.2% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 46.9% of revenue deployed · 52.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $102K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 47/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 52/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 13/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 25/100.