Root Social Justice Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
821917956
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2017
Location
Brattleboro, VT, USA
Phone
8024510509
Rating
57
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Intergroup, Race Relations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$419,148
Expenses
$523,003
Assets
$518,617
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Shela Linton (Executive Director)

People named in this filing

  • Josue Chanduvi (Chair)
  • Cindy Douglas (Secretary)
  • BE Farrow (Vice Chair)

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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Root Social Justice Center is a Vermont based, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color BIPOC led racial justice organization centering blackness. The Root prioritizes BIPOC people and their communities by shifting resources to BIPOC for leadership, connection, healing, education and the arts and supports BIPOC led racial justice movement work.

What it reported doing in 2025

Youth 4 Change Youth 4 Change is a youth-led program based in anti racist principles working to dismantle white supremacy and other harmful structures and systems. Youth leaders of Y4C provide peer support to shift power, build leadership and develop voice throughout Youth communities most impacted by injustices we face today.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% 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

MIXED - 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: 26
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 32.1%; rating input score 32
  • Program expense ratio: 25.5%; rating input score 26
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: -24.8%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.99; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.4% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.6% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 32.1% of revenue deployed · 25.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $134K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • 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 32/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 26/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 41/100.