Rochester Downtown Development Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
161081958
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Rochester, NY, USA
Phone
5855466920
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Economic Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,720,371
Expenses
$1,635,559
Assets
$3,566,093
Liabilities
$648,131

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

Leadership & pay

48 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Galin Brooks (President & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Galin Brooks (President & CEO): $206,445 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Rochester Downtown Development Corporation drives economic vitality in Downtown Rochester through innovation and collaboration.

What it reported doing in 2024

Telling the Story of Downtown:- Crafted consistent reporting, data and market analysis, marketing, and promotion.- Maintained the @downtownrochesterny social media channels, seeing a 14% increase in followers in 2024, adding roughly 3,000 new followers. - Featured in dozens of earned media placements and press hits.(Continued on Schedule O) Downtown Activation:- Built partnerships with local event producers and the city of Rochester to bring fun-filled, positive experiences to downtown, through the production of the second annual Downtown Definitely Events and a new downtown Farmers Market. These events brought 22,000+ people downtown from June to October 2024.- Launched planning and community engagement create a plan to activate Washington Square Park in the heart of downtown with temporary seating and regular events.- Implemented a downtown welcome program with promotional materials on local amenities and attractions, discounts, and downtown swag to over 700 newcomers to downtown. - Continued promotional partnership to highlight dozens of small and local businesses as part of events.- Ran third annual seasonal dcor grant program to assist businesses with public-facing seasonal dcor and enliven exterior storefront spaces. Strategic Convening, Collaborating, and Planning:- Through public private collaboration, such as The Partnership for Downtown Rochester, strategically planned for sustainable programs and services to support the unique needs of downtown. - Held quarterly property manager and owner's meetings to convene in a collective fashion to discuss current initiatives, receive downtown updates, and share group feedback.- Hosted four member socials to gather RDDC members together around key celebratory moments in downtown Rochester.- Initiated Public Safety Info Sessions for downtown residents, employees, and business owners to meet with RPD and each other and learn more about local resources, initiatives, and data. This program is primarily supported by grants and contributions.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 70% 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

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 reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 55
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 49.6%; rating input score 50
  • Program expense ratio: 82.4%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 39.9%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.18; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.6%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.2% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 20.1% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 27% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 49.6% of revenue deployed · 82.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 47 of 47 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $206K · 48 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $120K reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.