Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs

Legal name: Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
810727619
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Atlanta, GA, US
Phone
(404) 912 - 8494
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Business and Industry

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$12,084,148
Expenses
$12,093,842
Assets
$28,132,495
Liabilities
$6,437,207

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JAMES BAILEY (President & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • JAMES BAILEY (President & CEO): $282,200 total reported compensation
  • SHAWN GRAHAM (COO): $190,730 total reported compensation
  • MONICA DELORES HOOKS (CHIEF EXPERIENCE OFFICER): $170,914 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 serve as an economic mobility engine for Black entrepreneurs and small business owners, providing programming and opportunities to decrease wealth disparity and increase economic mobility.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (RICE) serves as a mission-driven collaborative hub dedicated to empowering Atlantas entrepreneurial community. Since opening in 2019 with an initial cohort of 100 Entrepreneurs in Residence, RICE has evolved into a 40,000-square-foot world-class facility located in Atlanta's historic Castleberry Hill district. This dynamic ecosystem connects both aspiring and established entrepreneurs through a customized curriculum and immersive corporate experiences. RICE actively fosters relationships between entrepreneurs and capital sources, providing essential resources to support the growth of Atlanta's top entrepreneurial talent. By offering a supportive environment tailored to the needs of its members, RICE promotes sustainable business development, economic inclusion, and advancement of entrepreneurial skills, aligned with its mission to uplift and empower diverse business leaders.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 78% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 68
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.3%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 71.2%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.53 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: -0.1%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.33; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.2%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 39.3% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 22.9% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.9% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 71.3% of revenue deployed · 71.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 13 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $8.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $282K · 15 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 16 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 47/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.