Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 474225769
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-PF 2023
- Location
- New York, NY, USA
- Phone
- 6465822350
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $5,656,027
- Expenses
- $6,053,441
- Assets
- $4,360,523
- Liabilities
- $186,458
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
33 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Diahann Billings-Burford (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Diahann Billings-Burford (CEO): $502,599 total reported compensation
- Andrew MacIntosh (Chief Program Officer): $245,773 total reported compensation
- Lauren Givner (Chief of Staff): $236,018 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
RISE is a nonprofit organization founded in 2015 that uses the power of sports to improve race relations and promote social progress. Through collaboration with professional sports leagues, athletes, educators, and media, RISE works to foster understanding, respect, and equality in society.
What it reported doing in 2024
Promote racial equality public awareness campaigns and educational programming with high schools, collegiate and community athlete education and leadership programs.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 84
- Transparency & Controls: 73
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 25
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 88.6%; rating input score 89
- Program expense ratio: 82.8%; rating input score 83
- Fundraising efficiency: $20.38 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- 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: 86.5%; rating input score 86; 24th 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -7%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.72; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 27.3%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 88.6% of revenue deployed · 82.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 26 of 26 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $503K · 33 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $1.6M reported
- Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 44 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 10 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.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.