Rooted

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
823215105
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Denver, CO, USA
Phone
7209163229
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,469,668
Expenses
$4,233,858
Assets
$2,852,021
Liabilities
$120,145

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CLARENCE BURTON (CEO AS OF 1/1/25)

Highest reported compensation

  • PATRICK DONOVAN (MANAGING PART. THROUGH 12/24;PRES.): $367,454 total reported compensation
  • LATIA HENDERSON (DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $203,860 total reported compensation
  • VICTORIA SCOTT-HAYNES (PARTNER, COMMUNITY RELATIONS & ADMINISTRATION): $137,636 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 dramatically increase the number of dps students attending schools that partner authentically with communities to deliver a high quality education for all.

What it reported doing in 2024

Rooted advances educational equity by partnering with families, educators, and community members to strengthen denver's public education system and build a public education system where high-quality schools are available in every neighborhood. Programming includes initiatives such as advocacy ambassadors, a community engagement program that supports parents and caregivers in building knowledge of public education issues and systems, strengthening relationships, and participating in school- and district-level processes; lead 101, an introductory leadership development program that provides families, educators, and community members with foundational training on denver public schools, public education systems, and leadership skills; learn, a community listening program designed to understand community priorities for education and elevate dialogue around public education through door-to-door canvassing; high-quality, responsive public schools, which focuses on school partnerships, research, policy, and advocacy to support improvements in school quality, particularly for students who have historically been underserved in denver; and school & community grant making, which provides funding to public schools and community organizations working to advance educational equity, strengthen school-community partnerships, and advance student-centered policy.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 62% for direct work, and 38% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 56.5%; rating input score 56
  • Program expense ratio: 86.3%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $114.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.2%; rating input score 99; 38th 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 34.6%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.67; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.8%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -10.3% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -12.1% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -20.4% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 56.5% of revenue deployed · 86.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $367K · 14 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $695K reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 24 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 20 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 56/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.