Living Cities Inc the National Community Development Initiative
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 260003950
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 6464422200
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Personal Social Services
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $4,268,425
- Expenses
- $22,573,794
- Assets
- $21,379,033
- Liabilities
- $19,035,912
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
26 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JOSEPH SCANTLEBURY (PRESIDENT & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- JOSEPH SCANTLEBURY (PRESIDENT & CEO): $438,630 total reported compensation
- MYUNG J LEE (CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER): $252,851 total reported compensation
- JULIE BOSLAND (CHIEF IMPACT OFFICER): $241,045 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Living cities harnesses the collective power of philanthropy and financial institutions to improve the lives of low-income people and the cities where they live.
What it reported doing in 2024
City and community engagement: living cities programmatic area focused on advancing initiatives that shift social, knowledge and financial capital so more people on u.s. Cities have access to ownership and wealth building pathways. This area acknowledges that public, private and philanthropic leaders and capital decision makers have a role to play in addressing long standing racial income and wealth gaps. Through place-based, city-facing and field building initiatives, living cities tests innovations that increase the equitable flow of capital locally and leverages lessons to promote replication and systemic change across the nation.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 68% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 41% for direct work, 59% for grants, and 1% for affiliated organizations.
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 expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 17
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 79.5%; rating input score 80
- Fundraising efficiency: $3.69 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Pass
- 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- 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: 9 of 9 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -428.9%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.95; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.89; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.1%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -3% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 79.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $18M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $439K · 26 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.2M reported
- Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 22 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 13 filed related-organization links
- 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 11/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.